AxeleraAI receives $66 million EU grant for AI chip development

This funding comes as part of the EU’s strategy to strengthen its AI sector and close the competitiveness gap with the US and China.
Electronics, Hardware, Computer Hardware, Electronic Chip, Printed Circuit Board, Computer, Cpu

AxeleraAI, a promising AI chipmaker based in Eindhoven, Netherlands, has been awarded a €61.6 million ($66 million) grant by the European Union to develop its Titania chip.

The grant, provided by EuroHPC, aims to bolster Europe’s AI capabilities by supporting the development of a chip specifically designed for “inference” computing in data centres.

However, this initiative is part of the EU’s broader strategy to enhance its AI sector and reduce its dependency on US and Chinese technologies.

Fabrizio Del Maffeo, CEO of AxeleraAI, expressed pride in the award, viewing it as a significant opportunity for the Dutch company to expand its business.

The new chip will be built on the open-source RISC-V standard, a growing alternative to more traditional chip systems like those from Intel and Arm. AxeleraAI’s existing Metis chip is already being used in edge AI applications, such as monitoring safety in factories through CCTV analysis.

While the company does not aim to compete with industry giants like Nvidia in training AI models, Del Maffeo stated that the Titania chip is designed to excel in running large AI models once they are trained.

This shift towards more affordable inference computing is expected to become increasingly important as the demand for AI solutions grows. AxeleraAI has already raised $200 million from investors, including Samsung, since its founding in 2021.

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