Efficient Computer, a chip startup spun out of Carnegie Mellon University, has raised $97 million in additional funding, valuing the company at $650 million, in a sign of renewed investor appetite for alternative processor architectures.
Data-flow chips bet
The Pittsburgh-based company is developing chips based on data-flow architectures, which it says can be both faster and 10 to 100 times more energy-efficient than conventional architectures used by industry leaders like Intel and Nvidia.
Data-flow computing has circulated in academic research for decades without achieving commercial traction, largely because such chips have been difficult for software developers to program for the wide range of tasks handled by mainstream processors. Surging demand for computing power, however, has reignited interest in the approach.
From labs to robots
Efficient says it rebuilt the concept from scratch in academic labs, designing both the hardware and the software tools needed to make the data-flow approach work as a general-purpose processor. While the company eventually plans to build larger chips for data centres, its first products now shipping are aimed at drones and small robots.
The focus is deliberate: cramming artificial intelligence features into battery-powered devices means those small chips must handle a growing variety of tasks. "We sort of thread the needle where we're easy to program, fast, and efficient," CEO Brandon Lucia told Reuters.
What investors see
Efficient did not disclose its revenues. But Andrew Marks, a partner at TQ Ventures, which led the funding round, said the new cash will go toward increasing shipments through next year. Marks noted that while many chip startups have promising architectures, very few get working silicon into customers' hands.
The raise adds to a crowded wave of venture funding for AI hardware, even as the biggest chipmakers race to supply data centres building out AI infrastructure.
Sources:
- Reuters (via Northland News Radio): Chip startup Efficient Computer raises $97 million at $650 million valuation
- Reuters (via Superhits 97.9): Chip startup Efficient Computer raises $97 million at $650 million valuation
Data-flow chips bet
The Pittsburgh-based company is developing chips based on data-flow architectures, which it says can be both faster and 10 to 100 times more energy-efficient than conventional architectures used by industry leaders like Intel and Nvidia.
Data-flow computing has circulated in academic research for decades without achieving commercial traction, largely because such chips have been difficult for software developers to program for the wide range of tasks handled by mainstream processors. Surging demand for computing power, however, has reignited interest in the approach.
From labs to robots
Efficient says it rebuilt the concept from scratch in academic labs, designing both the hardware and the software tools needed to make the data-flow approach work as a general-purpose processor. While the company eventually plans to build larger chips for data centres, its first products now shipping are aimed at drones and small robots.
The focus is deliberate: cramming artificial intelligence features into battery-powered devices means those small chips must handle a growing variety of tasks. "We sort of thread the needle where we're easy to program, fast, and efficient," CEO Brandon Lucia told Reuters.
What investors see
Efficient did not disclose its revenues. But Andrew Marks, a partner at TQ Ventures, which led the funding round, said the new cash will go toward increasing shipments through next year. Marks noted that while many chip startups have promising architectures, very few get working silicon into customers' hands.
The raise adds to a crowded wave of venture funding for AI hardware, even as the biggest chipmakers race to supply data centres building out AI infrastructure.
Sources:
- Reuters (via Northland News Radio): Chip startup Efficient Computer raises $97 million at $650 million valuation
- Reuters (via Superhits 97.9): Chip startup Efficient Computer raises $97 million at $650 million valuation
