Rivos Raises $250 Million in Series A-3 Funding Round

Published 7 months ago

Chip startup company Rivos has successfully raised $250 million in a Series A-3 funding round. The round attracted both new and existing investors, such as Intel Capital, MediaTek, Walden Catalyst, Dell Technologies Capital, and Koch Disruptive Technologies.

Matrix Capital Management Joins Rivos Board

The largest investor, Matrix Capital Management, will have a representative on the Rivos board. Romit Shah, a representative of Matrix Capital Management, has secured a position on the company’s board.

Rivos to Manufacture New AI Server Chip

Rivos, established in 2021 and based in Santa Clara, intends to use the funding to manufacture its first AI server chip. The chip, based on RISC-V architecture, will combine a CPU with an AI accelerator, optimized for large language models (LLMs) and data analytics.

Rivos’ Recompile-not-redesign Approach

“The rapid changes in LLMs and the merger with the data analytics stack makes it vital that accelerators are easy to program and debug, and that data can seamlessly move between CPU and accelerator. Rivos addresses this need through our recompile-not-redesign approach,” stated Rivos co-founder and CEO, Puneet Kumar.

Despite legal turmoil in 2022, when Apple filed a lawsuit against Rivos, the chip startup has shown resilience. Apple alleged that Rivos had hired a number of its former engineers and used confidential information to develop rival chips. Rivos denied these allegations and countersued. The legal battle led to the company laying off approximately six percent of its workforce and delaying a planned $400 billion Series A fundraising round. The lawsuit was eventually settled in February 2024.

Rivos Expanding Its Team

Rivos, following the successful funding round, announced that they are currently recruiting engineering talent across multiple disciplines.