Axelera AI Secures Major EU Funding for High-Performance AI Chiplet
Eindhoven, Friday, 7 March 2025.
Dutch startup Axelera AI receives €61.6 million EU grant to develop scalable AI technology, aiming to strengthen Europe’s independence in AI with the Titania chiplet by 2028.
Strategic Investment in European AI Independence
Axelera AI, headquartered in the AI Innovation Center of Eindhoven’s High Tech Campus [3], has secured a significant €61.6 million grant from the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) and member states [1][2]. This funding comes as part of the Digital Autonomy with RISC-V for Europe (DARE) Project, aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on AI technologies from China and the United States [1]. The grant follows an oversubscribed $68 million Series B funding round, bringing Axelera AI’s total funding to more than $200 million in under three years [2].
Revolutionary Digital In-Memory Computing Architecture
The company’s innovative Titania project centers on developing a high-performance AI chiplet utilizing Digital In-Memory Computing (D-IMC) technology [1]. According to Evangelos Eleftheriou, CTO and co-founder of Axelera AI, ‘Our D-IMC technology leverages a future-proof, scalable multi-AI-core architecture that ensures unparalleled adaptability and efficiency’ [2]. The architecture incorporates RISC-V vector extensions, creating a versatile ‘mixed-precision’ platform designed for diverse AI workloads [2].
Expanding European R&D Capabilities
To support this ambitious development, Axelera AI is expanding its research and development teams across three European countries: the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium [1][4]. The company currently maintains R&D offices in these locations plus Switzerland and the UK, employing more than 200 professionals across three continents [4]. The development timeline targets deployment by 2028 [2], with the Titania chiplets designed to be packaged in a System-in-Package (SiP) format for data center applications [1].
Market Impact and Future Prospects
The AI market is experiencing significant growth with a 28%+ CAGR, primarily driven by inference applications [2]. Axelera AI’s current product portfolio includes the Metis™ AI Platform, which has already demonstrated the ability to increase efficiency and performance by 3-5 times [2]. Fabrizio Del Maffeo, co-founder and CEO of Axelera AI, emphasizes the significance of this development: ‘Today, we deliver a cutting-edge hardware and software platform for accelerating computer vision on edge devices at a fraction of the cost and energy consumption of current solutions’ [3].