Axelera AI – a provider of the world’s most powerful and advanced solutions for AI at the Edge – announced new investors who have joined their oversubscribed Series A round, bringing the total amount raised to $50 million. Over the last several months, CDP Venture Capital, Verve Ventures, and Fractionelera have joined the round. The latter consortium of investors was created to fund Axelera AI. Innovation Industries had increased its investment in the company becoming the largest investor.
This funding round will support Axelera AI’s global expansion and mass production of its first-generation AI acceleration platform – powered by its in-memory computing and RISC-V controlled dataflow technology. And a few months after their product announcement, over 350 customers have shown interest, close to 100 requested a sample for testing, and over 50 signed up to the company’s Early Access Program (EAP), which still has a few weeks remaining for potential applicants. The EAP supports customers in developing next-generation computer vision products by providing benefits like collaborative hardware design and specialized support for software and machine learning.
Through the Metis AI Platform, Axelera AI redefines boundaries and provides access to industry-leading Edge AI products. And offering the best performance and user-friendliness at a significantly reduced cost and power consumption. Compared to existing alternatives, this platform aims to make AI readily accessible to a wider audience.
Axelera AI has begun expanding its operations within the United States with Jonathan Ballon joining as non-executive Chairman and the addition of Sander Arts, a marketing veteran in Silicon Valley as Marketing Advisor. And Dr. Massimo Vanzi was recently appointed to its board of directors, bolstering its 45-year experience in deep-tech and semiconductor technology.
KEY QUOTES:
“In just 20 months, we’ve achieved incredible milestones including the tape out of two cutting-edge AI chips, securing a total of $50M in funding, forging impactful partnerships and design wins with industry-leading customers. We’re thrilled to bring our new investors into the fold. This is a testament to our trailblazing technology and the unwavering trust our investors place in our extraordinary team.”
— Fabrizio Del Maffeo, CEO of Axelera AI
“We are proud to contribute to the growth of Axelera AI, a great Italian-led European company that is expanding its R&D division in the Milan office by bringing know-how and expertise to a highly strategic market for the future such as semiconductors.”
— Mario Scuderi, Senior Partner and head of Evolution Fund, CDP Venture Capital
“We believe that Axelera AI is in a unique position to capture the rapidly developing edge AI market with a strong combination of next-generation hardware and software. The exceptional founding team has been able to constantly attract top-level talent and push the technology to a commercial level at a high pace. We are excited to join this future European semicon champion on their journey.”
— Emma Schepers, Senior Investment Associate at Verve Ventures
“We are thankful for the opportunity to invest as a collective of individuals in a company that is positioned at the forefront of innovation in the semiconductor industry. We believe in the continued growth and development of the market and are confident in the potential for Axelera AI to deliver ground-breaking solutions that will shape the future of the industry.”
— A representative of Fractionelera
“As one of the first investors in Axelera AI, we are happy to see additional strong investors joining the journey. This further acknowledges the strength of the team, technology and product while positioning the company perfectly for strong growth. We look forward to building this company together with the management team and the investors.”
— Sander Verbrugge, Partner at Innovation Industries
