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South Korean AI chipmaker Rebellions has raised $15 million in a Series B extension, funded by Wa’ed Ventures, a venture capital firm owned by Saudi Aramco.
The funds will be used to expand the startup’s business in Saudi Arabia, along with accelerating its plans in AI chip development. Rebellions said it aims to establish a subsidiary in Saudi and launch new business operations.
Founded in 2020, Rebellions specialises in AI inference accelerators that offer energy efficiency and low-latency performance. Within three years, the company has introduced two AI chips, with its third ready to be rolled-out in the second half of 2024.
Rebellions completed its $124 million Series B funding this January, and with this extension, has now secured over $225 million in total funding since inception.
Saudi Arabia has been heavily investing in Artificial Intelligence as part of its Vision 2030 diktat to diversify its economy. Earlier in March, the New York Times reported on the government’s plans to create a fund of about $40 billion to invest in AI.
In February, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also launched Alat, a tech company backed by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which plans to invest $100 billion by 2030 to transform the kingdom into a global hub for technology manufacturing that focuses on advanced technologies, AI, and electronics.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Brinda Darasha)