This article was published on April 17, 2025, at 3:31 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Domestic artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor startup FuriosaAI has increased its funding scale. Originally set to raise 70 billion won at a valuation of 830 billion won, the company decided to expand the scale due to overwhelming investment demand. After the funding round, the company’s value is projected to surpass 90 billion won.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 17th, FuriosaAI has recently raised its Series C bridge round fundraising target to 90 billion won. Earlier this year, the company aimed for 70 billion won and started an investor relations (IR) meeting targeting institutional investors, managing to secure 80 billion won in funding within four months.
Currently, the Industrial Bank of Korea plans to inject 30 billion won next month, and it has been reported that inquiries for investment from venture capitalists (VCs) are ongoing. In addition, existing investors such as Korea Investment Partners, DSC Investment, and IMM Investment have also decided to follow up with additional investments.
FuriosaAI, a fabless startup that designs AI semiconductor chips like NVIDIA, was established in 2017. Its primary focus is on designing AI semiconductor chips specialized for inference, such as the large language model (LLM). Last August, the company unveiled the second-generation AI chip "Renegade2" equipped with high bandwidth memory (HBM3) for executing LLM.
At one point, the Renegade2 faced skepticism from investors due to performance concerns, but a rumor about a potential acquisition by global tech giant Meta became a turning point. The news that Meta, having experienced underwhelming performance with its own AI chip development, turned its attention to Renegade2 and began negotiations for the acquisition of FuriosaAI earlier this year has circulated.
In this context, VCs and institutional investors exploring new investments in FuriosaAI are reportedly optimistic about the expected policy benefits. There is growing anticipation that the political landscape will support the development of the advanced technology industry, including AI semiconductors, as a national strategic industry.
Lee Jae-myung, former representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, chose FuriosaAI as his first public schedule. He met with FuriosaAI CEO Baek Joon-ho to discuss research and development (R&D) investment strategies.
FuriosaAI plans to allocate funds raised from the Series C bridge investment for the production of Renegade2. The company has already begun technology verification (PoC) with clients such as LG AI Research and Saudi Arabia's Aramco, and it is expected that revenue, currently at 3 billion won, will increase once production starts.
Expectations of achieving unicorn status (valued at over 1 trillion won) are also growing. Currently, FuriosaAI's valuation is set at 830 billion won before fundraising. If the 90 billion won fundraising round is successfully completed, the post-investment valuation will soar to 920 billion won.
A person in the VC industry said, "FuriosaAI plans to begin mass production after concluding this fundraising and immediately pursue investment for next-generation AI chip development." They noted, "With the added optimism for policy support, it is expected that the next investment round will recognize a valuation of 1 trillion won."