Rebellions Secures $124 Million in Series B Funding to Develop Next-Gen AI Chip with Samsung Partnership
As Rebellions gears up for the mass production of its second chip, ATOM, this year, the company aims to expand its customer base both domestically and internationally.
South Korean AI chipmaker, Rebellions, has successfully closed its Series B funding round, raising $124 million. This funding places Rebellions at the forefront of South Korea's semiconductor startups, with a total funding amount exceeding $200 million. The investment was led by KT, South Korea's premier datacenter corporation, with participation from KT's subsidiary kt cloud and Shinhan Venture Investment. Global investors, including Temasek's Pavilion Capital, also contributed to the round. New investors, such as Koreyla Capital from France and DGDV from Japan, further demonstrate global confidence in Rebellions' technological prowess.
Rebellions plans to use the funds to advance the development of its third AI chip, named Rebel, which is designed in collaboration with Samsung Electronics. The company aims to complete the development of Rebel by the end of 2024 and commence mass production in 2025. Rebel will utilize Samsung Electronics' 4-nanometer fabrication process and deploy in Samsung's advanced memory chip technology HBM3E, designed for high bandwidth memory, particularly for large language models (LLMs) and hyperscalers.
Sungkyue Shin, Chief Financial Officer of Rebellions, expressed gratitude for the remarkable confidence shown by investors in a challenging investment climate. The funding provides a solid foundation for Rebellions to enhance its global presence, particularly in markets like the U.S. and Japan, and accelerate the implementation of its global business strategies and next-gen product development.
Rebellions' unique selling point lies in the versatility of its technology and products, which claim to support various generative AI models requiring AI accelerators. The company's second chip, ATOM, targeted for mass production this year, is designed for data centers and language models of up to 7 billion parameters. The first chip, Ion, launched in November 2021, is undergoing qualification testing in the U.S., with applications expected in edge computing, particularly in financial services.
The Series B funding will also support talent acquisition and the continued production of ATOM. Rebellions expressed gratitude for the confidence shown by investors, emphasizing its commitment to expanding its global presence, particularly in the U.S. and Japan.
