EnCharge AI raises over $100 million in funding to bring AI inference chips to market
Feb 13 (Reuters) - Startup EnCharge AI raised more than $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Tiger Global to bring more efficient and less expensive AI chips to the market, the company said on Thursday.
The company did not disclose details on valuation.
EnCharge AI develops analog chips that are integrated into semiconductors used for storage. These in-memory chips are designed for inference, a phase where AI models are utilized rather than trained.
While most AI inference chips are typically housed in vast server clusters within data centers, EnCharge AI's chips are designed for edge computing, being utilized in user-facing devices like laptops.
Their approach to embedding analog processing in memory chips allows their accelerators to perform AI tasks with up to 20 times less energy consumption compared to some of the leading AI chips, the company said.
Battery-powered devices like laptops and smartphones need efficient chips to process AI and analog chips situated inside semiconductors for memory are a viable solution, CEO Naveen Verma told Reuters.
"It turns out that these platforms can now really overcome many of the barriers in terms of cost and sustainability, but also in terms of privacy and security, which the enterprise and also a lot of consumer applications care very much about."
Groq, founded by a former Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab chip engineer and Cerebras, are among the companies developing specialized chips for AI inference.
Other investors in the round included Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS), opens new tab VC arm and HH-CTBC, a partnership between Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW), opens new tab and CTBC Venture Capital.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
17 hours ago
- Reuters
UK's Metro Bank receives takeover approach, Sky News reports
June 14 (Reuters) - UK's Metro Bank (MTRO.L), opens new tab has been approached about a takeover bid backed by a private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, Sky News reported on Saturday. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Inter Milan set to early repay bond as plans new debt deal
MILAN, June 13 (Reuters) - Champions League finalist Inter Milan is set to repay early a 415 million euro ($479.57 million) high-yield bond this month as the Italian soccer club prepares to secure funds from a new debt deal, it said in a statement on Friday. Inter Milan paid a 6.75% coupon to place a five-year bond in 2022 to refinance Italy's top-flight soccer club's debt. The debt facility was issued by the Serie A club's media company, which manages the broadcast and sponsorship business of Inter Milan. The company plans to redeem the bond on June 26, subject to securing funds from a debt financing transaction by the business day before the redemption date, it said in a statement. Companies typically repay debt early to secure better financial conditions. Controlled by U.S. investment fund Oaktree (OAK_pa.N), opens new tab, Inter Milan was reportedly tapping private debt investors to refinance the debt facility. Oaktree took over the club last year after a missed 395 million euro payment from the then majority shareholder, Chinese conglomerate Suning ( opens new tab. ($1 = 0.8654 euros) (This story has been refiled to fix typos in paragraphs 1 and 5)
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Skadden law firm fellowship revamps application to omit 'racial justice,' 'equity'
June 13 (Reuters) - The Skadden Foundation, a public interest law fellowship program entirely funded by law firm Skadden Arps, has altered its application criteria to remove language related to racial justice and other topics that became flashpoints for U.S. law firms under the Trump administration. Applicants last year were required to explain "the role of public interest work in addressing systemic racism" and asked, "to the extent your project relates to racial justice, please describe the intended impact of your project on racial equity in our country." That essay question is absent in updated application materials for the two-year fellowship, which funds law graduates to work at non-profit organizations, according to a Reuters review of the current applications and archived versions from one year ago. The foundation also removed language encouraging applications from lawyers "who are members of groups that historically have been underrepresented in the legal profession," and who have "deep connections with or insights into the marginalized client communities they seek to serve," a comparison showed. Spokespeople for the Skadden Foundation and the law firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The foundation's former executive director Kathleen Rubenstein resigned last week, telling Reuters that she was leaving "rather than endorse actions that I believe will undermine its mission." She did not elaborate and had no immediate comment on Friday on the updated application. Susan Plum, who took over as interim executive director of the foundation, said in a statement last week that "maintaining a broad, nonpartisan approach in an increasingly polarized climate is more difficult than ever and some believe it runs counter to the foundation's purpose and values. We fundamentally disagree." Plum did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Skadden, a 1,700 lawyer firm based in New York, made a deal in March with President Donald Trump to devote $100 million in free legal work to causes supported by the White House and committed to what Trump called merit-based employment practices. That agreement, one of nine made by prominent firms after Trump began targeting law firms with executive orders over their past cases and hires, required Skadden to also fund at least five fellowships related to "Assisting Veterans; ensuring fairness in our Justice System; combatting Antisemitism, and other similar types of projects." Skadden had agreed that its fellows would "represent a wide range of political views, including conservative ideals," Trump had said in a March 28 post on his Truth Social platform. The Skadden Foundation's website now includes new language, saying that it prohibits "discrimination against applicants and fellows on any basis prohibited by applicable law." It adds now that applicants should work at a "strong, nonpartisan host organization." Skadden's deal with Trump also resolved an inquiry launched by the acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which in March had warned Skadden and 19 other major law firms that their employment policies, meant to boost diversity, equity and inclusion, may be illegal. Other law firms and major U.S. companies have dropped or considered altering their DEI policies after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 2023 ruling curtailing affirmative action. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January cracking down on such programs in the federal government and in the private sector.
