AI chip startup Mythic raises $125 million in bid to take on Nvidia

"(Bloomberg/Ian King) Chip startup Mythic Inc. has raised $125 million in a new funding round, money that will help support its attempt to challenge Nvidia Corp. in the lucrative market for artificial intelligence processors. Mythic, which tapped Nvidia veteran Taner Ozcelik as its chief executive officer last year, raised the money from a group led by venture firm DCVC, according to a statement Wednesday. The investors also included New Enterprise Associates, Atreides Management, SoftBank Group Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp."

"Ozcelik, who spent a decade at Nvidia, believes that Mystic's technology has the ability to exploit a weakness in current systems: They draw too much power. If a company can successfully field an alternative that requires much less electricity, data-center operators should embrace the approach, he said in an interview. After all, finding enough power has become a key challenge for companies adding AI computing capacity."

"Mythic offers what it calls analog processing units. This type of chip uses much simpler arrangements for handling information and removes an element that typically increases power consumption, Ozcelik said. Digital chips spend a lot of time and energy shifting information between the processing and memory circuitry. If processing can be done within the memory then that time and energy is no longer wasted, he said."

Mythic Inc. secured $125 million in funding led by DCVC with investors including NEA, Atreides, SoftBank, Honda and Lockheed Martin. Taner Ozcelik, an Nvidia veteran, became CEO last year to guide the company’s expansion. The company develops analog processing units that perform computation within memory, reducing the energy spent moving data between memory and processors. Lower power draw targets a key weakness in current AI systems and addresses data-center electricity constraints. The AI infrastructure market is growing rapidly under Nvidia’s dominance, creating both opportunity and challenge for rivals seeking market share.

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