DYLAN MARTIN 

JUNE 21, 2023, 11:45 AM EDT

These semiconductor startups could benefit from the hype around generative AI that has some companies looking at alternatives to GPU powerhouse Nvidia and better ways to architect systems. Some of these young companies are working on foundational or adjacent technologies that could improve the way AI work is computed in the future.

While the semiconductor industry banks on a late 2023 comeback after several months of waning demand, the hype around generative AI has rejuvenated interest in specialized processors and other semiconductor technologies that can run such workloads faster and more efficiently.

Nvidia has been the largest beneficiary of demand for the explosion in demand for AI chips and adjacent technologies. The company in May said it expects revenue in the second quarter to grow 64 percent from the same period last year, largely due to interest driven by generative AI technologies like ChatGPT.

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But while many companies are turning to Nvidia to fuel AI workloads, the chip designer has apparently been experiencing a shortage of data center GPUs. This, along with a desire to test out new chip architectures to optimize for performance and efficiency, has renewed interest in competing technologies, including those designed by semiconductor startups like Lightmatter and Tenstorrent.

It’s not just chip design startups that stand to benefit from the new wave of interest in AI computing. There are also other semiconductor startups working on adjacent or foundational technologies that could improve the way AI work is computed in the future.

These upstarts, such as Ayar Labs and Eliyan, are working on new ways to build chips that could benefit AI and many other workloads. They also include companies like Astera Labs and Pliops that are addressing other aspects of high-performance computing systems such as storage and connectivity.

But it’s not just AI where semiconductor startups are finding opportunity. There’s also EdgeQ, which is taking on incumbents in the telecom chip space with its “Base Station on a Chip.”

These and other young companies make up CRN’s 10 hottest semiconductor startups of 2023 so far. What follows is an overview of each company and its recent accomplishments.

https://www.crn.com/news/components-peripherals/the-10-hottest-semiconductor-startups-of-2023-so-far-/4?utm_content=253948192&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lcp-6627049

Ayar Labs

CEO: Charlie Wuischpard

Ayar Labs believes it can usher in a new era of high-performance chips with silicon photonics technology that moves data through chips using light instead of electricity.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based startup announced in May that it had raised an additional $25 million funding for its Series C round, bringing the round’s total to $155 million. The startup’s investors include Nvidia, Intel Capital, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s venture arm and GlobalFoundries.

The extra investment arrived after Ayar achieved multiple milestones. These included a demonstration of the industry’s first optical offering for delivering a connectivity speed of 4 Tbps, a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to prototype military applications using its optical I/O chiplets and lasers, and a collaboration with Nvidia to develop AI chips with optical I/O.