Neurophos, a US-based startup developing next-generation AI chip technology, has successfully closed a $110 million Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Gates Frontier and Aramco Ventures, with significant participation from M12, Microsoft’s venture capital arm. Additional investors included Carbon Direct Capital, Bosch Ventures, and Tectonic Ventures, among others.
Aramco Ventures’ Strategic AI Play
The participation of Aramco Ventures in this funding round signals a significant strategic investment in foundational AI hardware. As Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region accelerate their digital transformation agendas under initiatives like Vision 2030, securing access to cutting-edge, energy-efficient computing technology is paramount. This investment aligns with the region’s ambition to become a global hub for artificial intelligence, supporting the immense data center infrastructure required to power future AI applications without facing prohibitive energy constraints.
Photonic Chips to Power the Next AI Wave
Founded in 2020 by Dr. Patrick Bowen and Dr. Andrew Traverso, Neurophos is tackling one of the most critical bottlenecks in the AI industry: the immense power consumption and physical limitations of traditional silicon-based chips. The company is engineering photonic AI inference chips, which use light instead of electricity for computation, enabling massive reductions in energy usage and breaking through the performance barriers of current GPUs.
“This physics-level shift means both efficiency and raw speed improve as we scale up, breaking free from the power walls that constrain traditional GPUs,” said Dr. Patrick Bowen, CEO and Co-Founder of Neurophos.
This innovation is designed to make AI more accessible and cost-effective, paving the way for the next generation of AI infrastructure.
“Neurophos is addressing the only problem that really matters for the future of AI: the limits imposed by silicon. Their optical architecture provides the foundation for the next generation of machine intelligence,” commented Chris Alliegro, Managing Partner at MetaVC Partners.
Fueling Expansion and Product Launch
With the fresh capital, Neurophos plans to accelerate the delivery of its first integrated photonic compute system. This includes datacenter-ready OPU modules, a comprehensive software stack, and early-access developer hardware for key clients. The funding will also support the company’s expansion from its headquarters in Austin, Texas, with plans to open a new engineering site in San Francisco to meet growing customer demand.
About Neurophos
Neurophos is an AI chip startup founded in 2020, focusing on the development of high-performance, energy-efficient photonic AI inference chips. Its core mission is to enable significant reductions in power consumption to support the next generation of AI infrastructure, making advanced AI more accessible and cost-effective across various industries.
Source: Waya
