South Korean startup rival to Nvidia seeks $400 million valuation and plans new A.I. chip

BARCELONA, Spain — Sapeon, a South Korean artificial quality spot startup headquartered successful California, is raising a backing circular that puts its valuation supra $400 million, its CEO told CNBC.

The startup is backed by monolithic South Korean firms SK Telecom, memory-chip shaper SK Hynix and SK Square, an concern institution spun disconnected of SK Telecom.

Sapeon designs artificial quality semiconductors for information centers, for illustration those tally by unreality computing firms. These AI chips are required for AI applications that necessitate immense amounts of information processing.

Currently, U.S. steadfast Nvidia dominates this market. But a fig of established players specified arsenic AMD and startups similar Sapeon, are looking to situation Nvidia.

"AI solutions volition turn a batch acknowledgment to the improvement of AI services similar ChatGPT," Soojung Ryu, CEO of Sapeon, told CNBC successful an interrogation astatine the Mobile World Congress that aired Wednesday.

ChatGPT is the viral chatbot developed by OpenAI. It has caused a disturbance successful the tech world, with giants from Google to Chinese steadfast Baidu scrambling to merchandise their ain rivals. Technology executives accidental ChatGPT has enactment AI applications connected the map.

Analysts astatine Bernstein expect ChatGPT to beryllium a multi-billion dollar boon for chipmakers looking to substance these AI models.

"We would similar physique this benignant of strategy (AI chips) to person an accidental for the business," Ryu said.

Sapeon was created successful 2016 wrong SK Telecom, 1 of South Korea's biggest telecommunications firms. SK Telecom past spun retired the steadfast past twelvemonth and raised extracurricular investment.

Ryu said the institution is presently raising wealth astatine a valuation of $400 million.

South Korean semiconductor firms including Samsung and SK Hynix person typically been beardown successful representation chips that spell into devices similar PCs. Sapeon is among 1 of the archetypal firms retired of South Korea to effort and ace the AI spot market.

Ryu said that Sapeon is targeting the U.S. marketplace which would pit it against Nvidia. When asked if Sapeon tin situation Nvidia, Ryu answered "yes."

Currently, Sapeon has 1 spot connected the marketplace called the X220. It is built connected alleged 28-nanometer technology. The nanometer fig refers to the size of each idiosyncratic transistor connected a chip. The smaller the transistor, the much of them tin beryllium packed onto a azygous semiconductor. Typically, a simplification successful nanometer size tin output much almighty and businesslike chips.

Ryu said the institution volition motorboat a 7-nanometer AI spot this twelvemonth and it volition beryllium manufactured by TSMC, the world's biggest declaration chipmaker. That would bring it person to the existent exertion connected the market.