DEEPX is a South Korean on-device AI chip (NPU, or neural processing unit) startup that builds hardware and software for various AI applications in electronic devices. The company announced this week that it had raised $80 million (KRW 108.5 billion) in a Series C round valued at $529 million (KRW 723 billion), more than eight times its Series B funding. The increase has increased, to about $15 million, in 2021
The Series C funding, which brings its total raised to nearly $95 million, is largely due to the launch of the startup's inaugural products — the DX-V1, DX-V3, DX-M1 and DX-H1 — in late 2024. Will go to production. The startup will also use the new capital to develop and launch its next-generation Large Language Model (LLM) on-device solutions.
DEEPX was founded in 2018 by CEO Lukun Kim, who previously worked at Apple, Cisco Systems, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center and Broadcom.
According to a recent report, the market size of global edge AI, also known as on-device AI, is expected to reach $107.47 billion by 2029, up from $11.98 billion in 2021. “The on-device AI market needs to implement AI capabilities, bypassing servers or the cloud, excluding edge servers,” Kim told TechCrunch. “Give [on-device AI market] Computer vision capabilities such as face and voice recognition, smart mobility, robotics, Internet of Things and physical security systems are expanding.
If mass production begins this year, potential customers such as end-product manufacturers will be able to commercialize their products with DEEPX's AI chips in 2025, Kim said.
DEEPX, which has about 65 employees, is not the only company that has developed AI chip solutions. The Korean outfit competes with Hailo, which raised $120 million in funding last month. SiMa.ai, which closed at $70 million, also in April; and Accelra, a Belgium-based AI chip startup that secured $27 million in 2022.
Kim said his company's differentiators include cost efficiency, energy consumption efficiency and the All-in-4 AI Total Solution, a comprehensive solution for various AI applications. Its all-in-4 AI solutions include: DX-V1 and DX-V3, designed for vision systems in home appliances, surveillance camera systems, robot vision and drones. Also DX-M1 and DX-H1, which are designed for AI computing boxes, AI servers, smart factories and AI booster chips. DEEPX now has more than 259 patents pending in the US, China and South Korea, Kim said.
“Nvidia's GPGPU-based solutions are the most cost-effective for large language model services like ChatGPT. The total power consumed by GPUs is more than the electricity of the entire country,” Kim said. “Server-scale AI and on-device This technology, powered by collaboration between large AI models, is expected to reduce energy consumption and cost significantly more than relying on data centers.”
The startup does not yet have customers but is collaborating with more than 100 potential clients and strategic partners, such as Hyundai Kia Motors Robotics Lab and Korean IT company POSCO DX, to test the capabilities of DEEPX's AI chip.
Fresh from SkyLake Equity Partners, a South Korean technology-based private equity firm, with participation from BNW Investments, a Korean private equity firm founded by the former president of Samsung LED and Samsung Electronics' memory chip unit. Led the most investment. AJU IB and previous backer Timefolio Asset Management also participated in the round.