AI Chipmaker DeepX’s Valuation Vaults Up in SkyLake-Led Funding
(Bloomberg) -- AI chip designer DeepX Co. raised 110 billion won ($80 million) in a funding round that multiplied its valuation and was led by the private equity firm of a Samsung Electronics Co. veteran known as a semiconductor pioneer.
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The young South Korean firm’s valuation grew more than eight-fold to more than 700 billion won in the latest round, with Seoul-based SkyLake Equity Partners becoming its second-largest shareholder, DeepX said on Friday. SkyLake founder Chin Dae-je is known in the country as Mr. Semiconductor, for the work he did spearheading Samsung’s rise as one of the world’s top memory chipmakers during his long tenure at the firm. He also served as Korea’s minister of information and communication.
Other backers included BNW Investments Co., whose chairman Kim Jea-Wook formerly served as president of Samsung’s memory division. AJU IB as well as existing investor TimeFolio Asset Management Co. also joined the round.
DeepX’s semiconductors are intended for AI applications outside of data centers, helping to make smarter robotics and electronic devices. Alongside fellow AI silicon startup Rebellions, which recently got a fresh round of $124 million, DeepX is one of a promising crop of new ventures in this field in South Korea, home to the world’s top two memory makers.
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