Vertical Compute raises $20.5M to advance memory chip tech

Imec has spun out a new memory chip company called Vertical Compute with $20.5 million in seed funding to develop innovative vertical integrated memory technology for AI applications.

Key funding details: The seed round was led by Imec.xpand with participation from Eurazeo, XAnge, Vector Gestion, and imec.

• The company, founded by former Google executive Sylvain Dubois (CEO) and ex-imec executive Sebastien Couet (CTO), will be headquartered in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
• R&D operations will be spread across Leuven, Grenoble, and Nice
• The funding will support development of vertical integrated memory and compute technology aimed at enabling more efficient AI applications

Technical innovation: Vertical Compute’s core technology addresses the “memory wall” problem that currently limits AI processing capabilities.

• The technology integrates vertical data lanes directly above computation units, potentially reducing data movement from centimeters to nanometers
• This approach could achieve up to 80% energy savings compared to current solutions
• The company employs a chiplet-based design approach, which allows for modular chip construction
• The technology aims to outperform traditional DRAM in density, cost, and energy efficiency

Market context: The growing demands of AI and large language models are pushing current memory technologies to their limits.

• Traditional memory technologies like SRAM (fast but small and expensive) and DRAM (larger but energy-intensive) face scaling limitations
• Current AI models rely heavily on cloud infrastructure and high-bandwidth memories, leading to latency issues and high energy consumption
• Edge computing solutions are constrained by cost, power, and scalability issues when running large AI models
• The need for efficient data access in AI workloads makes addressing the memory wall crucial for future advancement

Strategic vision: The company aims to establish European leadership in semiconductor technology.

• Vertical Compute is actively recruiting engineers across Europe
• The technology promises to enable hyper-personalized AI solutions while protecting user privacy
• The company’s approach could eliminate the need for remote data transfers in many applications
• The strong investor base demonstrates confidence in both the technology and leadership team

Looking ahead: While Vertical Compute’s technology shows promise for transforming AI processing capabilities, the company faces the significant challenge of bringing an entirely new memory architecture to market in an industry dominated by established players. Success will depend not only on technical execution but also on building partnerships within the semiconductor ecosystem and convincing potential customers to adopt their novel approach.