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Axelera AI Raises $68 Million Series B Funding to Accelerate Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence
Axelera AI, the leading provider of purpose-built AI hardware acceleration technology for generative AI and computer vision inference, announced its successful close of an oversubscribed $68 million Series B financing round, bringing the total amount raised to $120 million. In just three years, Axelera AI has built a world-class team of 180+ employees (including 55+ PhD’s with more than 40,000 citations), launched its Metis™ AI Platform which achieves a 3-5x increase in efficiency and performance, and has visibility into a strong business pipeline which exceeds $100 million. This success has attracted diverse, global funding from venture capital, sovereign wealth and pension funds.
Axelera AI’s Series B funding round is Europe’s largest oversubscribed Series B funding round in the fabless semiconductor industry. It is backed by major institutional investors, including Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, the European Innovation Council Fund, Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund (backed by Dutch Pension Funds PMT and PME, administered by MN) and Samsung Catalyst Fund, along with existing investors Verve Ventures, Innovation Industries, Fractionelera and the Italian sovereign fund CDP Venture Capital SGR. The new capital adds to previously raised funds, including the innovation credit from RVO, and equity investment from Bitfury, CDP Venture Capital, Federal Holding and Investment Company of Belgium (SFPIM), imec, imec.xpand and Innovation Industries.
This new capital enables Axelera AI to grow its high demand AI inference solutions based on its proprietary digital in-memory computing and RISC-V technology.
BioBTX secures over € 80 million to launch world’s first renewable aromatics plant
By converting plastic waste and biomass into renewable aromatics, BioBTX is spearheading the creation of a circular chemical industry, significantly reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. Aromatics, essential for producing every-day products like insulating foams, coatings, PET bottles, batteries, and pharmaceuticals, will now have a sustainable alternative to fossil-based sources, presenting a major opportunity for circular business models.
As a leading technology developer since 2012, Groningen-based BioBTX aims to scale up its revolutionary technology at the PETRA Circular Chemicals Plant in Delfzijl. The PETRA plant will convert 20,000 tons of mixed plastic waste annually into renewable aromatics, replacing fossil resources and recycling low-value plastic waste into high-value chemicals. Once production is proven, the company intends to roll out the technology to chemical industry customers world-wide.
The € 80 million investment round includes € 42 million in equity from new shareholders Invest-NL, Infinity Recycling, and Covestro, alongside existing shareholders Carduso Capital, NOM and Groninger Groeifonds, and others. Additional funding comprises of € 15 million in debt financing from the Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund and € 4 million from the Province of Groningen, a € 14 million grant from the Dutch Government via RVO, and other subsidies. Invest-NL’s investment is partly backed by InvestEU, a European Commission program that supports initiatives aligned with EU policy priorities.