Dutch AI Semiconductor Startup Axelera AI Launches With $12 Million Seed Round
15.9.2021 16:10:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
AI semiconductor startup Axelera AI announced today that it has successfully closed a seed investment round of $12 million.
The round was led by emerging technologies leader Bitfury and joined by global nanoelectronics R&D center imec and deep-tech venture capital funds Innovation Industries and imec.xpand. The funding will support the company’s development of an industry-defining product powering AI applications at the edge.
Axelera AI was incubated by Bitfury Group in 2019, formerly operating as Bitfury AI until the company came out as an independent entity this year. Building on its extensive research and development focused on integrating world-class hardware and software technologies for edge and cloud-to-edge enterprise solutions, Axelera AI joined forces with imec in early 2020 to develop groundbreaking computing architecture for high-performance AI. Headquartered in the AI Innovation Center of the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Axelera AI also has R&D offices in Leuven (BE) and Zurich (CH). The company has already recruited an elite team of more than 20 senior engineers and developers from world-leading AI companies and research centers, including Intel, Qualcomm, IBM, and imec.
“With our launch as a new independent company and the closing of this investment, Axelera AI is now claiming its place as a significant player in the global AI sector,” said Fabrizio del Maffeo, CEO and co-founder of Axelera AI. “Our extraordinary team merges complementary expertise in software development, image processing, dataflow architecture, in-memory computing, algorithms and quantization with a proven track record of business success. We look forward to building on our extensive R&D and introducing new solutions across the globe over the next few years.”
Axelera AI is designing the world’s most efficient and advanced solutions for AI at the edge. Its game-changing hardware and software product will concentrate the AI computational power of an entire server into a single chip at a fraction of the power consumption and price of AI hardware today. The company’s groundbreaking solution will empower thousands of applications of AI at the edge, making the use of AI more efficient and accessible than ever before. Axelera AI’s products will be fully integrated with the leading open-sourced AI frameworks when it launches to select customers and partners in early 2022.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005028/en/
Contact information
Felipe Augusto Chies
press@axelera.ai
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Bending Spoons opens office in Madrid, betting on a promising pool of tech talent5.8.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Bending Spoons, the technology company behind products such as WeTransfer and Meetup, has opened an office in Madrid. The decision is underpinned by Spain’s strong talent pool, fuelled by excellent universities, and by Madrid’s international appeal and its quality of life. “We’re impressed by the talent we’ve seen in Spain. This year, we’ve received around 10,000 Spain-based applicants every month, and many of them perform among the very best candidates in our selection process. The calibre of education offered by Spanish universities is particularly high, and over the next few years we’re hoping to grow our team in Madrid into the hundreds,” says Andrea Maiorana, talent data lead. Located in the Recoletos area, the office is the company’s third European base, following the Milan headquarters and the recently opened London branch. The office is in one of the city's most coveted locations, within walking distance of Retiro Park and the Prado Museum. For new hires relocating to Madrid, B
Moove Raises $250 Million at $2.1 Billion Valuation to Scale the Global Infrastructure Layer for Autonomous Mobility5.8.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Moove, the global mobility company building the operating layer for autonomous mobility, today announced it has raised $250 million at a $2.1 billion valuation in a Series C funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company and co-led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s Growth Fund, and Ion Pacific. The round also brings in BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management and The Raptor Group, further strengthening the depth of Moove’s institutional backing, alongside the likes of BlackRock, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, Uber, Left Lane, Silverbacks Holdings, Square Associates, The Latest Ventures, and the Ontario Power Generation Pension Plan, supporting Moove’s next phase of growth. The funding will support the expansion of Moove’s autonomous vehicle business, including autonomous fleet ownership and robotics-first depot infrastructure “Nests”, where autonomous fleets are charged, serviced, maintained and orchestrated for continuous operation. The funds will also be used to support new market l
Network X Awards 2026 Finalists Announced, Spotlighting Telecom Innovation and Industry Excellence5.8.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Network X, the global event series bringing together the international fixed-line, transport and mobile telecom communities, today announced finalists for the fifth annual 2026 Network X Awards, recognising the companies, technologies and projects driving innovation across the global telecommunications industry. Celebrating excellence across 21 solution provider and operator categories, winners will be announced on 14 October during an awards ceremony at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna. “The Network X Awards recognise the technologies, solutions and industry leaders actively shaping the next generation of global connectivity,” said Chris Lycett, Event Director, Network X. “With more companies entering than ever before, this year was the most competitive process to date. The finalists reflect an industry undergoing rapid transformation, from AI-driven network operations and cloud-native infrastructure to advanced products and services spanning fibre, mobile and in-home connec
European AI Startups Grab Record 55% of VC Capital as H1 Funding Reaches $23B5.8.2026 01:01:00 EEST | Press release
European AI startups raised a record-breaking $23 billion in the first half of 2026, a 130% year-over-year surge that captured 55% of all venture capital in the region, according to the 2026 European AI Economy Report released today by HumanX and Crunchbase. Up from $10 billion in H1 2025, the historic funding total signals that Europe is rapidly asserting itself as a primary engine of global AI innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260804090835/en/ "If the AI story was supposed to be a two-horse race, Europe didn't get the memo," said Stefan Weitz, Co-Founder and CEO of HumanX. "$23 billion is flowing straight into the industries Europe already leads: robotics, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, defense. This is a continent betting on its own strengths." Capital concentrates in a small cohort of breakout companies While total investment set records, capital concentrated heavily at the top. A striking 7
IFF Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Use of Proceeds Plan for Food Ingredients Divestiture4.8.2026 23:15:00 EEST | Press release
IFF (NYSE: IFF) reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. Results are presented on a continuing operations basis, excluding the Food Ingredients business and other minor perimeter adjustments (the “Food Ingredients disposal group”), and the Soy Crush, Concentrates, and Lecithin businesses (the “SCL disposal group”). The Food Ingredients disposal group and the SCL disposal group are reported as discontinued operations. Management Commentary “IFF delivered a strong first half of 2026 on a continuing operations basis,” said Erik Fyrwald, CEO of IFF. “Performance was driven by volume growth, disciplined margin execution and robust free cash flow generation. These results reflect the strength of our commercial and innovation pipelines and the actions underway to improve efficiency and cash flow across the company.” “This quarter marked a defining step in our portfolio transformation with the announced agreement to divest Food Ingredients. The transaction sharpen
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom