AI chip startup Ricursive hits $4B valuation two months after launch

Ricursive Intelligence Raises $300 Million to Accelerate AI-driven Semiconductor Design

Ricursive Intelligence, a groundbreaking startup focused on building an AI system for designing and enhancing AI chips, has recently secured a significant investment of $300 million, valuing the company at $4 billion. The funding round, spearheaded by Lightspeed, was announced by the company on Monday.

The core technology developed by Ricursive is aimed at revolutionizing the process of creating silicon substrate layers and expediting improvements in AI chip performance. The founders envision a continuous cycle of innovation and advancement, ultimately leading to the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

This latest Series A funding round comes just two months after Ricursive’s official launch, following an initial seed investment led by Sequoia. With a total of $335 million raised so far, as reported by The New York Times, the company is well-positioned for rapid growth and technological breakthroughs.

Founded by former Google researchers CEO Anna Goldie and CTO Azalia Mirhoseini, Ricursive has already made significant contributions to the field of chip design. Their innovative reinforcement learning approach, known as AlphaChip, has been instrumental in enhancing Google’s TPU chip across multiple generations.

In addition to Lightspeed, other notable investors in Ricursive include DST Global, Nvidia’s venture capital arm NVentures, Felicis Ventures, 49 Palms Ventures, and Radical AI, underscoring the industry’s confidence in the company’s potential.

It is worth noting that Ricursive should not be confused with another AI startup, Recursive, founded by renowned neural networks researcher Richard Socher. Recursive is also reportedly in discussions to raise a significant funding round at a $4 billion valuation, as highlighted in a recent Bloomberg report. Both companies share a focus on self-improving AI systems.

Furthermore, the landscape of AI hardware startups continues to evolve, with new players like Naveen Rao’s Unconventional AI entering the fray. Unconventional AI recently raised $475 million in seed funding at a $4.5 billion valuation, with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Ventures, Lux Capital, and DCVC. The race to develop intelligent substrates for AI applications is heating up.