Chip Design Startup EagleChip Bags $41M in Angel Funds
Suzhou-based chip design company Yige Technology, also known as EagleChip, announced on August 31 its completion of angel investment totaling 286 million yuan ($41.5 million). The round featured joint funding by Jingwei Venture Capital, Redpoint China Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, CTC Capital, VLight Capital and other well-known institutions. The funds are mainly to be used for new product R&D.
EagleChip was established on January 26, 2022. It focuses on the R&D of high-end FPGA chips and special EDA tool chains.
In July, EagleChip completed the definition of its first chip, for the development of a 12nm 500K chip. In August, it completed the initial design of key modules and said would launch the product within two years, releasing the 2KK in five years as planned. In addition, EagleChip has initiated its core patent layout. Its first batch of 25 patents ensures that the core intellectual property of EagleChip is protected.
Wang Huadong, a partner of Jingwei Venture Capital, said: “High-end FPGAs are an important part of high-performance heterogeneous computing, and also the domain in which overseas computing giants consistently invest on a large scale. The management experience and technical ability of EagleChip team match the demand of the high-end FPGA industry. It is very scarce in China. We are very happy to complete the investment in EagleChip.”
SEE ALSO: Former Tesla Engineer Guangzhi Cao Joins Automated Driving Startup Pegasus
In the field of integrated circuits, FPGA chips, as “universal chips,” are equally important as CPUs and GPUs. A FPGA is a programmable device with unique advantages and wide applications in the fields of low-latency communication, high-speed parallel computing, video image processing, high-speed interface, IC verification, and more, especially in the construction of heterogeneous computing systems.
According to data from ASKCI Corporation, in 2021, the size of the global FPGA chip industry was about $6.86 billion, up 12.8% year-on-year, and the market size is expected to reach $12.58 billion by 2025.
