Big rounds marked January, with three companies raising over $100 million. Quantum computing topped the list, with the company that resulted from the merger of Cambridge Quantum Computing and Honeywell’s quantum division raking in the third-largest round for a quantum computing company ever.
Another chart-topper was an advanced packaging company that began mass production in its first factory last year. Founded by Marvell and STATS ChipPAC execs, Silicon Box promises a novel interconnect technology for chiplet integration.
AI hardware also shone, with four companies raising nearly $200 million together. As usual, approaches to making AI compute efficient abound, from domain-specific processors to memcapacitors for edge applications.
Plus, metrology test chips, high-speed data converters, and n-type conductive inks feature in this look at startups that collectively raised is over $600 million in January 2024.
Rebellions raised $124.0M in Series B funding led by telecom KT Corp, joined by Shinhan Venture Investment, Pavilion Capital, Koreyla Capital, DG Daiwa Ventures, Korea Development Bank, Noh & Partners, KB Securities, KB Investment, SV Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, IMM Investment, KT Investment, Seoul Techno Holdings, Oasis PE, Gyeongnam Venture Investment, and SDB Investment. Rebellions develops domain-specific AI processors along with optimized software. It says it re-architects AI processors to incorporate sophisticated deep learning features through silicon-dedicated DL kernels. It currently offers a product that targets the financial industry and aims to improve trading speeds and reduce latencies for high-frequency trading. It has also developed a chip focused on accelerating AI inference in the data center. Funds will be used to develop its third AI chip, focused on large language models for generative AI, and ramp up production of its data center inference chip. Founded in 2020, it is based in Seongnam, South Korea.
Krutrim drew $50.0M in financing led by Matrix Partners India and others. Krutrim plans to design and manufacture data center AI chips as part of a complete AI computing stack to power its large language model that will support generative AI applications for all Indian languages. Founded in 2023, it is based in Bengaluru, India.
Mobilint drew KRW 20.0B (~$15.3M) in a Series B round from new investors including Kyobo Securities, Union Investment Partners, Daesung Private Equity, and Game Changer Investment, and existing investors including Intervest, KDB Industrial Bank, L&S Venture Capital, and KDB Capital. Mobilint makes an NPU chipfor high-performance edge AI inference. The current generation offers performance of up to 80 TOPS, along with a custom NPU compiler and architecture that maximizes data reuse and minimizes memory access. It also provides AI accelerator cards and stand-alone AI boxes. Founded in 2019, it is based in Seoul, South Korea.
Semron drew €7.3M (~$7.9M) in seed funding led by Join Capital, joined by SquareOne Venture Capital, OTB Ventures, Onsight Ventures, and individual investors. Semron is developing analog in-memory computing for edge AI chips. The chips are based on CapRAM, the startup’s transistor replacement technology that uses memcapacitors to store the weights for matrix multiplication as a variable capacitance. Semron says this method improves energy and thermal efficiency by fundamentally lowering the noise for calculations, while its 3D stacked chip can provide very high compute density, making it suitable for applications like running AI models locally on VR headsets, earbuds, and smartphones. The device is made with conventional semiconductor materials. Founded in 2020, it is based in Dresden, Germany.
Manufacturing & equipment
Femtum raised over CAD $5.0M (~$3.7M) in seed funding led by ELAS Technology Investment and i4 Capital, joined by Quantacet, Boreal Ventures, Eureka, Hamamatsu Ventures, and VIGO Ventures. Femtum makes mid-infrared laser systems with products including mid-IR pulsed fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and tunable sources. For semiconductor processing, the mid-IR lasers can be used to precisely ablate materials including silicon and germanium through multiphoton absorption. They can also be used in selective patterning of transparent conducting films on various substrates and for on-surface waveguide inscription. Funds will be used for commercialization of mid-infrared fiber lasers tailored to semiconductor manufacturers. A spin out from the Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers founded in 2017, it is based in Québec, Québec, Canada.
Packaging & test
Silicon Box raised $200.0M in Series B funding from BRV Capital, Event Horizon Capital, Grandfull Convergence Fund, Hillhouse Capital, Lam Capital, Maverick Capital, Prasedium Capital, Tata Electronics, TDK Ventures, UMC Capital, and the company’s founders. Silicon Box provides advanced panel level packaging services with chiplet integration capabilities. The company’s approach uses sub 5 micron technology that enables very short chiplet-to-chiplet interconnections with benefits to density, power efficiency through reduced resistive losses and parasitic capacitance, signal integrity, fabrication of more efficient thermal management structures like microchannels and heat sinks, and design flexibility, along with reduced manufacturing costs for high performance devices. Funds will be used to expand production at its recently opened 750,000 square foot facility. Founded in 2021, it is based in Singapore.
Chipmetrics raised €2.4M (~$2.6M) in a seed round led by High-Tech Gründerfonds and Occident, joined by Innovestor, Redstone, and BALD Engineering. Chipmetrics makes a 3D ultra-high aspect ratio metrology test chip and test structures for conformality measurements in material deposition processes, including atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition. The chip can be used to compare different 3D thin film processes for both process development and production monitoring. Funds will be used to accelerate product development efforts, scale production capabilities, and support global expansion. Founded in 2019 as a spin out from VTT Technical Research Centre, it is based in Joensuu, Finland.
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