VC funding for chip startups on target for bumper year
Global venture funding for semiconductor firms has hit nearly $5.3 billion across just 175 deals so far this year. This puts 2024 well ahead of the last two years.
For many years, chip startups were considered to be less glamorous than those of other tech sectors. But the boom in AI and the extraordinary rise of Nvidia has changed all that. This year is proof. According to Crunchbase data, VC funding is already at USD 5.3 billion this year. In 2023, it reached USD 8.8 billion for 12 months, while in 2022, the total was almost USD 10.9 billion across 447 deals.
Some big deals have skewed the numbers for 2024. Australia's PsiQuantum, which focuses on semiconductor process development and integrated photonic devices and systems, landed USD 620 million from the Australian Commonwealth and Queensland governments. Meanwhile there were big raises by Chinese chipmakers like ChangXin Memory Technologies, Unisoc and AaltoSemi.
Notable US raises included Celestial AI (USD 75 million), Recogni (USD 102 million) and Eliyan (USD 60 million).
