Semiconductor Startups to Watch: Potential Future Giants

The most exciting thing about the semiconductor industry is that it is ever-evolving. New products and ways of doing things are constantly being developed. And new disruptors are vying for contention. So far, 2024 has been a great year for innovation in the industry, with a pack of new players seeking to dethrone the giants. These are the semiconductor startups we’re watching right now.

The Top Five Semiconductor Startups to Watch

Celestial AI

Developers of ‘audacious’ artificial intelligence (AI) computing platforms, Celestial AI has become known for its Photonic Fabric optical interconnect technology. Its aim is to overcome latency and bandwidth chokepoints in AI computing, generating a whole lot of attention and investment. Its C-series round was “highly oversubscribed”. Not surprisingly, given that Photonic Fabric optical chiplets are already being designed into the early stages of product development by several high-profile semiconductor brands.

Cerebras Systems

AI is again the focus for Cerebras Systems. With its Wafer Scale Engine chip designed to outperform industry incumbents, Cerebras Systems could be a future challenger to Nvidia’s gaming throne. It’s not going to be an easy battle – Nvidia has held the crown for years now. But Cerebras has genuine potential. The Wafer Scale Engine offers considerable performance at the same price point without increasing power consumption. The company is already working with several big names – Aleph Alpha, Mayo Clinic, G42 – on high-value projects.

Hailo AI

Hailo AI is another startup with Nvidia in its sights. Focusing on ‘breakthrough AI processors uniquely designed to enable high-performance deep learning applications on edge devices’, Hailo is attracting a lot of attention. The company achieved $120 million in Series C funding earlier this year. The Hailo-10 acceleration is quoted as delivering “maximum GenAI performance with minimum required power”.

MetisX

Intelligent memory solutions are the target of MetisX. The company’s acknowledged aim is to make data centres “smarter, faster and more cost-effective” to tackle the problem of the Memory Wall. Developing proprietary architecture, based on Compute Express Link (CXL) technology, MetisX is finding solutions to address the limitations preventing increasing bandwidth and enhancing memory capacity.

Eliyan

With a focus on chiplet-based processors, Eliyan’s NuLink PHY interconnect technology seeks to break down barriers in die-to-die bandwidth. Backed primarily by Samsung Catalyst and Tiger Global Management, Eliyan recently announced its highest-performing solution for connecting multiple dies in a single-chip architecture.

The semiconductor industry thrives on disruption. These five firms are just a tiny portion of the up-and-coming businesses making their presence felt in the sector as we move into the second half of 2024. They may not all realise their potential as future industry giants. But they are all definitely worth watching.

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