Santa Clara-based startup EnCharge AI announced Tuesday it secured $22.6 million in an oversubscribed funding round to accelerate development of its novel chip architecture aimed at unleashing artificial intelligence's full potential.
The round, which brings EnCharge's total raised to $45 million, drew support from prominent institutional investors including VentureTech Alliance, RTX Ventures, and ACVC Partners.
EnCharge is setting its sights on revolutionizing AI's accessibility and efficiency to expand real-world adoption beyond today's select few tech juggernauts. Its mixed analog and digital in-memory computing chips promise 15x higher performance than market leaders while slashing energy usage and costs by 90%, according to CEO Naveen Verma.
"The computational demands of sophisticated AI push most organizations to the breaking point," said Verma. "EnCharge is creating accessible hardware and software solutions that make AI's advantages attainable for businesses of all sizes."
By combining the strengths of analog and digital operation, EnCharge says its full-stack AI solution delivers the horsepower needed to enhance high-value functions across sectors as diverse as manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation. And it does so at a game-changing price point.
Daniel Ateya, President and Managing Director at investor RTX Ventures, cited EnCharge's potential to accelerate AI innovation industry-wide. "Supporting the development of EnCharge's novel architecture will enable its customers to process and analyze information quicker, more efficiently, and cost-effectively," he said.
The vote of confidence from top strategic investors signals strong momentum for EnCharge as it looks to ramp up hiring and move toward commercial availability. And it comes on the heels of research predicting the AI chip market ballooning to nearly $400 billion by 2032 amid soaring demand.