Nvidia challenger AI chip startup MatX raised $500M

In a significant move to disrupt the AI chip industry, MatX, a startup co-founded by two ex-Google hardware engineers, has successfully raised $500 million in a Series B funding round. This investment was spearheaded by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, an investment fund created by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. MatX aims to enhance the performance of its processors, targeting a tenfold improvement in training large language models (LLMs) compared to Nvidia's GPUs. The funding round also saw participation from notable investors including Marvell Technology, NFDG, Spark Capital, and the co-founders of Stripe, Patrick and John Collison, as announced by founder and CEO Reiner Pope on LinkedIn. While MatX did not disclose its current valuation, it is noteworthy that its closest competitor, Etched, raised $500 million at a valuation of $5 billion last month, according to Bloomberg. MatX's recent funding follows its previous Series A round of approximately $100 million, led by Spark Capital over a year ago. Reports indicate that the startup was valued at over $300 million in its latest funding round. Before establishing MatX in 2023, Pope was instrumental in AI software development for Google's TPUs, the company's dedicated AI chips. Co-founder Mike Gunter previously served as the lead designer for TPU hardware. With this new influx of capital, MatX plans to collaborate with TSMC for chip production, with ambitions to commence shipments by 2027.