Rebellions closes Series B with $124 million to develop the Rebel AI chip
South Korean manufacturer raises its valuation to $658 million
Rebellions, a South Korean AI chip maker, just closed its Series B funding round bagging $124 million. The round was led by KT, the South Korean telecom giant, as well as Temasek’s Pavilion Capital, Korea Development Bank, Korelya Capital and DG Daiwa Ventures.
The funding will support the creation of a third AI chip, named Rebel. Additionally, the startup, which initially aimed for $90 million but received more than expected, will use the extra capital to increase the production of its data centre-oriented chip, Atom, and for hiring purposes.
The Series B funding values the startup, founded three years ago, at about $658 million (880 billion KRW) post-money, according to Rebellions’ CFO, Sungkyue Shin. With this recent investment, the total funds raised by Rebellions since its establishment in 2020 now amount to approximately $210 million.
Rebellions’ fundraising is happening at a crucial time in the chip industry, especially regarding the advancement and utilisation of AI chips. Nvidia currently dominates the AI chip market, being closely associated with the ongoing AI boom in technology. While Nvidia has succeeded in establishing a strong ecosystem of hardware and software, there’s still room for other players. Challenges persist in data processing and associated high costs for AI applications, prompting a continued effort to find innovative solutions to enhance these aspects.
Progress is happening on various fronts. Major technology giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are creating their own chips to incorporate AI into their offerings. Recently, the CEO of Open AI, Sam Altman, visited South Korea to engage with industry leaders like Samsung and SK Hynix. Open AI is reportedly in the process of raising billions of dollars to establish chip fabrication factories for producing its own AI chips. Additionally, several startups, including Rebellions, are introducing innovative ideas to enhance processing speed and efficiency.
