Newly formed semiconductor startup AheadComputing announced securing $21.5 million in seed funding on Wednesday. The company, co-founded by former Intel CPU engineers and executives, intends to leverage the open-source RISC-V architecture to develop advanced technologies and chips.
AheadComputing aims to utilize the funding to design and create CPU technology addressing computing performance challenges in artificial intelligence, such as bandwidth constraints and data processing limitations. Co-founder and CEO Debbie Marr emphasized the advantages of RISC-V technology, highlighting its open and decentralized nature, which circumvents the limitations associated with x86 architecture and single-supplier dependencies on Arm Holdings.
Marr stated in an interview with Reuters, "The RISC-V ecosystem is open, not owned, and not controlled by any single entity. There are numerous players, allowing for ample innovation opportunities."
Marr and other senior executives left Intel last year to establish AheadComputing, based in Portland. They were instrumental in developing key technologies at Intel that substantially enhanced CPU performance.
Eclipse Ventures led the seed funding round, with participation from Maverick Capital, Fundomo, and EPIQ Capital Group. Notable investor Jim Keller, formerly of Apple and Tesla, also contributed to the funding, operating his own RISC-V venture, Tenstorrent.
According to Eclipse partner Greg Reichow, the company's founding was driven by the burgeoning demand for high-performance computing, projected to reach $100 billion by 2030. "There is significant market momentum in this sector," Reichow stated.