China chip IP specialist Akrostar raises $78m
Akrostar, a Chinese chip designer established less than a year ago by a team that spun out from US-headquartered industry leader Synopsys, has raised RMB500 million ($78 million) in Series A funding.
Gaorong Capital led the round, with additional contributions coming from Matrix Partners China, Jade Stone Venture Capital, University of Macau Development Foundation, and Macau University of Science & Technology Foundation. Existing investors Sequoia Capital China, GL Ventures, Green Pine Capital Partners, V Fund, Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Company re-upped, according to a statement.
Akrostar claims to have raised more than RMB1 billion since its inception. It continues a trend of sizeable funding rounds for recently formed semiconductor start-ups perceived as having strong teams or the potential to challenge global market leaders in certain niches.
Moore Threads closed two funding rounds amounting to several billion renminbi within a few months of its establishment by a team from Nvidia. Biren Technology was founded by a senior executive from SenseTime who recruited a team from Huawei Technologies-owned HiSilicon. It is two years old, has yet to release a product, and has secured approximately $700 million in funding.
Akrostar focuses on high-speed interface intellectual property - which enables chips to integrate with different systems and devices - and related services. Its technology is used in data centers, smart cars, high-performance computers, and products that feature 5G, the internet of things, and artificial intelligence (AI). The new capital will go towards recruitment and product development.
In the world of chip IP products, UK-based Arm is a leading force, with processors based on its designs used in all classes of devices. The company was acquired last year by Nvidia for $40 billion.
Keqiang Zeng, Akrostar's chairman and CEO, was previously the deputy general manager of Synopsys China. Chengbing Yu, a professor at the University of Macau who recently joined as co-CEO, formerly served as R&D director and general manager of the Synopsys branch office in Macau. Other new recruits include Anwar Awad, ex-vice president of global R&D at Synopsys.
Chip design is arguably the most popular area among PE and VC investors targeting China's semiconductor industry, largely because it has the highest technology content and is the least capital intensive. Within chip design, activity is concentrated on AI chips, often referred to as GPU chip design. Moore Threads and Biren operate in this space, as do the likes of Enflame Technology, Vastai Technologies and Horizon Robotics.
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