• Hailo raises $120 million in funding, valuing the company at $1.2 billion.
  • The Hailo-10 AI chip enhances edge computing capabilities for various applications.
  • Early applications of Hailo-10 focus on personal computers and automotive infotainment systems, improving CPU processing.

Israeli chipmaker Hailo raises $120 million, unveiling its Hailo-10 AI chip for edge computing. The company aims to accelerate growth and potentially go public, capitalizing on the AI boom driven by innovations like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Funding and valuation

Israel-based chipmaker Hailo has secured £120 million in a fresh funding round, establishing its value at £1.2 billion, and unveiled a high-performance generative AI chip, the company announced on Tuesday.

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The funding was led by both existing and new investors, including the Zisapel family, construction tools provider Comasco, and online venture investing platform OurCrowd, among others. This latest round brings Hailo’s total investment to over £340 million since its establishment in 2017.

“We aim to utilize the new funds to expedite our growth and execute more swiftly on our roadmap. With this in mind, and contingent upon favorable market conditions, our objective is to transition into a publicly traded company,” revealed Hailo CEO and Co-Founder Orr Danon to Reuters, though no specific timeline details were provided.

Investors are increasingly supporting AI startups following the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, banking on potential advantages stemming from the widespread adoption of the technology, which could pose challenges to industry incumbents and hasten innovation.

Hailo, boasting over 300 global customers including Schneider Electric, Dell Technologies, and ABB, offers an array of products such as AI accelerators and an AI software suite.

Product launch: Hailo-10 AI chip

The chipmaker disclosed the introduction of the Hailo-10 high-performance generative AI accelerator, designed to enable users to execute GenAI applications locally without relying on cloud-based GenAI services. Samples of the Hailo-10 are slated for shipment in the second quarter of this year.

“Whether users are leveraging GenAI for real-time translation automation, code generation, or generating images and videos from text prompts, Hailo-10 empowers them to do so directly on their PCs or other edge systems, without overburdening the CPU,” stated Danon in a press release.

The initial applications of the Hailo-10 will target personal computers and automotive infotainment systems, enhancing the processing capabilities of central processing units (CPUs), as per Hailo’s assertions.