Check out the 11-slide pitch deck semiconductor startup Synthara used to secure $11 million
A Zurich-based semiconductor startup has raised around $11 million in venture capital funding and grants.
Synthara, launched in 2019, has developed a technology that allows chips to work faster and more efficiently across various AI-enabled devices.
AI relies on a vast amount of computer power to work, which is enabled by semiconductor chips. Synthara’s technology allows embedded processors — tiny chips that control mechanical functions in hardware, such as wearables devices — to work much more efficiently, cofounder and CEO Manu Nair told Business Insider in an interview.
Nair said chips on the market “aren’t capable of handling the workloads” needed to power cutting-edge AI products.
“This means that device makers are also spending a lot more money, effort, and time getting their products to market,” he added.
The startup has developed a “ComputeRAM” product, which allows general-purpose chips to work across various AI applications. It works using in-memory computing, and integrating this technology into existing chips.
Synthara is working with companies in the smart sensing, wearables, and robotics space, including Bosch, Nair added. Because these devices are often small, they have a limited number of smart features because they can handle only a certain amount of computing power.
Nair said Synthara’s chips would allow these devices to process more power more efficiently, boosting their functionality.
Synthara makes money through an IP-based approach, which Nair compared to chip giant Arm’s operation. “We also provide software development kits. From a larger perspective, the ambition is to build an ecosystem for this technology,” he added.
Nair said that the fundraising environment had been favorable. “Chips are a strategically important topic, so venture funding isn’t hard to raise in this space,” he told BI.
The round was divided into two segments; $5.5 million in funding was led by Vsquared Ventures, with OTB Ventures, Hermann Hauser’s Onsight Ventures, and Deep Tech Labs participating. The other $5.9 million came from grants.
Synthara will use the funding to double down its focus on smart sensors and wearables and scale up its technology to work for more complex use cases, Nair said.
Check out the 11-slide pitch deck used to secure the fresh funding.
