Nvidia-Backed Enfabrica Locks Up $115M As It Prepares New Chip

AI networking chip startup Enfabrica raised a $115 million Series C led by Spark Capital as it inches closer to its newest chip release early next year.

The round comes just about 14 months after the Mountain View, California-based firm closed a $125 million Series B led by Atreides Management that also included an investment from Nvidia.

The new Series C investors include some of the biggest names in the chip world: Arm Holdings, Cisco Investments, Maverick Silicon, Samsung Catalyst Fund and VentureTech Alliance.

Previous investors Atreides Management, Alumni Ventures, IAG Capital Partners, Liberty Global Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Valor Equity Partners also took part.

Enfabrica also announced its new “groundbreaking” ACF SuperNIC chip. The startup’s networking infrastructure helps tie AI chips together — allowing for the consistent flow of data needed for modern AI workloads.

“This Series C fundraise fuels the next stage of growth for Enfabrica as a leading AI networking chip and software provider,” co-founder and CEO Rochan Sankar said in a release. “We were the first to draw up the concept of a high-bandwidth network interface controller fabric optimized for accelerated computing clusters. And we are grateful to the incredible syndicate of investors who are supporting our journey.”

Semi investment

Even with the new Enfabrica investment, total venture dollars invested into semiconductor startups this year likely will end right on par with the $10 billion the sector received last year, per Crunchbase data.

The biggest round that went to a U.S.-based chip startup this year was the $640 million Series D that Groq, an AI semiconductor and software startup, locked up in August at a valuation of $2.8 billion. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.