FuriosaAI Raises $620M in Series D, Valuation Jumps to $2.9B
Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI has raised $620 million in a Series D round, quadrupling its valuation to $2.9 billion. The company aims to challenge Nvidia's dominance in the data center market with its energy-efficient RNGD inference chips, which reduce power consumption by minimizing data transfer. Its products are already adopted by major clients like Samsung SDS and LG, with plans to co-develop next-gen accelerators with Broadcom.
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IT Home reported on October 29 that, according to a Bloomberg report from the previous day, South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI has completed a new funding round, raising its valuation to $2.9 billion (Note: approximately 19.374 billion RMB at current exchange rates), nearly quadrupling its previous value and strengthening its position to challenge industry giants like Nvidia.
FuriosaAI announced that it raised $620 million (approximately 4.142 billion RMB) in its Series D round. Investors included US-based Infinitum Partners. The Korea National Growth Fund invested $280 million (approximately 1.871 billion RMB), while overseas investors contributed a total of $110 million (approximately 735 million RMB). Other participants included Jericho Capital, Worldline Capital, Singapore’s QUDA Capital, and Abu Dhabi’s NeoFort Holding.
Nvidia chips dominate the AI data center market, but investors are seeking more energy-efficient alternatives, with a particular focus on AI inference. As growing AI demand drives up electricity consumption, reducing inference costs has become a key competitive battleground in the industry.
Founded in 2017, FuriosaAI began mass-producing its RNGD chips—pronounced "Renegade"—in January of this year. The company is also collaborating with Broadcom to develop third-generation AI accelerators for large-scale AI infrastructure. FuriosaAI aims to expand its market share in the Nvidia-dominated sector by minimizing high-energy data transfers during chip operation. In its previous funding round last year, the company was valued at $735 million (approximately 4.91 billion RMB).
According to FuriosaAI, TSMC produced 20,000 RNGD accelerators for the company this year, with plans to increase production to over 40,000 units by 2027. Samsung SDS, LG Group, and South Korean AI startup Upstage have all adopted RNGD chips.
Existing shareholders such as Naver, Korea Development Bank, DSC Investment, Nextrans, and Kakao Investment also participated in this round. Notably, the Export-Import Bank of Korea made its first direct investment in a startup, choosing FuriosaAI as its target.