Chip wars heat up: Israeli startup Speedata raises millions to challenge Nvidia with lightning-fast processor

The battle for supremacy in AI and big data computing just got more competitive after an Israeli chip startup Speedata raised $44 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total capital to $114 million as it gears up to unveil a next-generation processor that could shake up the industry and challenge Nvidia’s long-standing dominance, as per Benzinga.

What Sets Speedata Apart?

According to the report, Speedata’s innovation is its analytics processing unit (APU), a chip custom-built to accelerate data analytics workloads from the ground up. Unlike GPUs, which were initially designed for graphics and later adapted for AI and data tasks, Speedata’s APU is purpose-built solely for data processing, as per Benzinga.

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Who’s Backing Speedata?

The funding round was led by existing investors like Walden Catalyst Ventures, 83North, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Pitango First, and Viola Ventures, along with strategic backers including Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who also serves as managing partner at Walden Catalyst, and Eyal Waldman, co-founder of Mellanox Technologies, reported TechCrunch.

A New Standard for Data Analytics?

Speedata CEO Adi Gelvan said, “Our APU is purpose-built for data processing and a single APU can replace racks of servers, delivering dramatically better performance,” quoted TechCrunch.

He also highlighted that, “We aim at becoming the standard processor for data processing — just as GPUs became the default for AI training, we want APUs to be the default for data analytics across every database and analytics platform,” as quoted in the report.

280x Faster Than Traditional Hardware

A pharmaceutical test found that the company's APU was able to finish a complex data workload in only 19 minutes, compared to conventional hardware which needs 90 hours, as per Benzinga. This means it is a 280x speed improvement, according to the report.

Public Reveal Coming Soon

The AI chipmaker startup has planned to showcase its APU publicly for the first time at the Databricks’ Data & AI Summit, as per TechCrunch.

FAQs

What does Speedata do?
Speedata is an Israeli startup that builds chips specifically for big data and analytics.

How much money has Speedata raised so far?
The company raised $114 million in total, including $44 million in its latest Series B round, as per Benzinga.