Hailo Raises $120M In Latest Sign Of Chip Investing Frenzy

The generative AI craze has clearly made it to the startup chip sector.

Israel-based AI chipmaker Hailo has locked up a $120 million extension of its $136 million Series C that minted it a unicorn back in 2021. The new funding round was led by current and new investors including Gil Agmon, Poalim Equity and others.

“The closing of our new funding round enables us to leverage all the exciting opportunities in our pipeline, while setting the stage for our long-term future growth,” co-founder and CEO Orr Danon said in a release. “Together with the introduction of our Hailo-10 GenAI accelerator, it strategically positions us to bring classic and generative AI to edge devices in ways that will significantly expand the reach and impact of this remarkable new technology.”

Hailo develops specialized AI processors for edge computing on smart, connected devices. The processors allow such devices to perform sophisticated deep learning tasks without relying on a data center.

Founded in 2017, Hailo has raised more than $340 million, per the company.

Chips and dollars

While Nvidia’s market cap has exploded to more than $2 trillion since the AI craze started in late 2022, investor interest in startups related to chipmaking has been slower to heat up.

That has changed in recent weeks.

Last month, shares of Astera Labs — a developer of data center connectivity technology with use cases in generative AI — soared after its initial public offering on the Nasdaq. Shares have since then remained well above their IPO price.

Then just last week, optical interconnectivity startup Celestial AI raised a massive $175 million Series C led by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund.

Other AI-related chip startups like Boston-based Lightmatter and Santa Clara, California-based D-Matrix also raised big rounds last year.