AI chip startup DEEPX secures $80 million Series C at $529 million valuation

DEEPX is a South Korean AI chip-on-device startup that creates hardware and software for various AI applications in electronic devices. This week, the corporate announced that it had raised $80 million (KRW 108.5 billion) in a Series C round at a valuation of $529 million (KRW 723 billion), a rise of greater than eightfold in comparison with its Series B financing of roughly $15 thousands and thousands of dollars. in 2021

The Series C funding, which brings a complete amount of roughly $95 million, will support mass production of the startup’s inaugural products – DX-V1, DX-V3, DX-M1 and DX-H1 – in late 2024 for global distribution. The startup will even use the brand new capital to speed up the event and launch of a brand new generation of enormous language model (LLM) device solutions.

DEEP was founded in 2018 by CEO Lokwon Kim, who previously worked at Apple, Cisco Systems, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center and Broadcom.

The global edge AI, also called on-device AI, market size is: expected to achieve $107.47 billion by 2029The latest report shows that in 2021, this amount increased from $11.98 billion. “The market for AI on devices, excluding edge servers, requires the implementation of AI capabilities bypassing servers or the cloud,” Kim told TechCrunch. “The on-device AI market is growing with computer vision capabilities such as facial and voice recognition, smart mobility, robotics, IoT and physical security systems.”

Kim said that if mass production begins this yr, potential customers equivalent to end-product manufacturers could commercialize their products with DEEPX AI chips in 2025.

DEEPX, with about 65 employees, just isn’t the one company that has developed AI chip solutions. The Korean company competes with Hailo, which received a $120 million funding round last month; SiMa.ai, which closed on $70 million, also in April; and Axelera, a Belgian AI chip startup that raised $27 million in 2022.

Kim said his company’s differentiators include cost efficiency, energy efficiency and All-in-4 AI, a comprehensive solution for various AI applications. Its All-in-4 AI solutions include: DX-V1 and DX-V3, designed for vision systems in home appliances, surveillance camera systems, robotic vision systems and drones; in addition to the DX-M1 and DX-H1, that are designed for AI computing computers, AI servers, smart factories and AI amplification chips. Kim said DEEPX currently has greater than 259 patents pending within the U.S., China and South Korea.

“Nvidia’s GPGPU-based solutions are most cost-effective for services with large language models such as ChatGPT; the total power consumed by running GPUs has reached levels that exceed the electricity of the entire country,” Kim said. “This collaborative technology between server-scale AI and large AI models on devices is expected to significantly reduce energy consumption and costs compared to relying solely on data centers.”

The startup has no customers yet, but is working with over 100 potential customers and strategic partners equivalent to Hyundai Kia Motors Robotics Lab and Korean IT company POSCO DX to check the capabilities of DEEPX’s AI chips.

SkyLake Equity Partners, a South Korean technology private equity firm, led the newest investment with BNW Investments, a Korean private equity firm founded by the previous CEO of Samsung LED and Samsung Electronics’ memory chip unit. AJU IB and former sponsor Timefolio Asset Management also participated on this round.