Bundang-based SEMIFIVE, a design solution provider offering platform-based custom silicon solutions, raises $109 million in Series B round of funding, which brings the total fund raised till date to $147 million since its inception in 2019. Company’s investors include BonAngels, Game Changer, Korea Investment Partners, LB Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment and Pavilion Capital (a subsidiary of Temasek).
The funds raised will be used to accelerate design platform deployment, new technologies and methodologies, scale R&D and engineering teams and build up new capabilities in the areas of IP solutions.
Co-founded by Cho Myung-hyun and Brandon Cho, SEMIFIVE has itched its mark as an established global player. The company is one of the fastest growing Samsung Foundry SAFE DSP with more than 300 employees worldwide.
The ability to transform the rapidly changing semiconductor industry is what attracts investors to SEMIFIVE.
“SEMIFIVE’s key focus is to enable innovation by making custom silicon accessible and affordable. We envision ourselves as the new global hub of custom silicon,” said Brandon Cho, CEO and founder of SEMIFIVE. “With the strong support from our investors, we are accelerating our strategy in the U.S. which is a pivotal base for business expansion and added capabilities. Anticipating strong growth, we are scaling our sales, customer and technical support organizations.”
SEMIFIVE’s platform SoC approach significantly reduces chip development cost and schedule, enabling more diverse industry players to innovate and challenge the semiconductor landscape. To date, several AI-based semiconductor startups such as FuriosaAI, Rebellions and Mobilint have signed on as customers. The custom silicon chips are designed using Samsung Foundry’s advanced FinFET process nodes. In addition to AI, SEMIFIVE offers design platforms for edge compute, AIoT, and data acceleration. The company will also add high performance compute and automotive platforms to its portfolio.
