S Korean AI chip firm receives Samsung backing in $200m round

South Korean artificial intelligence chipmaker Rebellions has received investment from Samsung.

It aims to raise up to US$200 million in its current funding round, according to Chief Financial Officer Sungkyue Shin.

The ongoing funding round targets between US$150 million and US$200 million, with Samsung’s investment being part of this round; however, the exact amount has not been disclosed.

Since its founding in 2020, Rebellions has raised a total of US$220 million.

The startup merged with another South Korean company, Sapeon, last year and is positioning itself as a competitor to Nvidia in AI inferencing chips. These chips interpret live data using pre-trained AI models.

Rebellions’ investors include SK Hynix, SK Telecom, Korea Telecom, and Saudi Aramco.

The company was last valued at US$1 billion, and this funding round is expected to increase its valuation.

The company plans to pursue an initial public offering following the completion of this round.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Samsung’s foundry ambitions drive strategic AI chip investments

Samsung’s investment in Rebellions represents more than venture capital. It is a calculated move to challenge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s foundry dominance.

Samsung holds just a distant second position to TSMC in the global foundry market, but recently secured a major $16.5 billion semiconductor supply contract with Tesla1.

Manufacturing Rebellions’ chips using Samsung’s advanced 4-nanometer process puts Samsung on equal technological footing with TSMC, which produces Nvidia’s current Blackwell chips using the same 4nm technology1.

This partnership creates a potentially lucrative customer relationship for Samsung’s foundry business. If Rebellions successfully scales and finds large enterprise customers for their AI inferencing chips, Samsung gains a significant foundry client beyond their traditional consumer electronics manufacturing.

The strategic timing aligns with Samsung’s broader $171 trillion investment commitment in logic chip businesses through 2030, demonstrating their serious intent to compete in the foundry space2.