News highlights:
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AiM Future secures multi-million dollars in new Series A funding.
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Round led by L&S Venture Capital, Hi Investment Partners, Daedeok Venture Partners and existing investors KB Investments and WE Ventures.
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New funds to help scale engineering and go-to-market teams in South Korea and the United States.
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Product will be available for purchase from August 2023.
July 07, 2023 05:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time–SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AiM Future announced today the successful closure of a Series A funding round. The round consists of a multi-million-dollar investment led by L&S Venture Capital, Hi Investment Partners, Daedeok Venture Partners, and existing investors KB Investments and We Ventures. The company, founded in October 2020 by CEO ChangSoo Kim, CTO Jaehwa Kwak, and Executive Vice President of Hardware Engineering Jongtae Lee, was spun out of the Advanced Research Lab of LG Electronics, USA. The core technology was developed there beginning in 2015 and the first consumer products using the resulting semiconductor components went into production in 2019.
Jihae Kim, Managing Director of L&S Venture Capital said, “AiM Future has proven to be a leading innovator in the rapidly growing market for edge AI devices. The team’s expertise in delivering state-of-the-art technologies for consumer electronics positions it well to disrupt incumbent technologies.”
Young Jong Chi, CFA, CAIA, Director of Hi Investment Partners said, “We are thrilled by the promising outlook that the disruptive technologies by AiM Future will soon present to the global market. During a period of rapid growth in AI and edge computing, the breakthrough innovation by AiM Future in semiconductor, AI, robotics, and other industries will be adding further growth opportunities to this market and I believe this investment propels the team to compete on a global scale.”
Sungha Kim, Venture Partner of Daedeok Venture Partners said, “NPU is already the key factor of advanced AI devices and AiM Future is one of the leading NPU IP-based companies in Korea. Therefore, we are very delighted to have the opportunity of investing in this NPU-specialized tech-innovator.”
Jun Lee from KB Investments, Director of KB Investments said, “I am thrilled to continue AiM Future’s journey. The company’s silicon proven NPU IP has already been successfully integrated into LG Electronics’ home appliances. What sets this AI semiconductor company apart is the scalability and flexibility of the company’s NPU IP, which can be adapted to various products. This makes the company’s solutions highly valuable in a market where customization and adaptability are becoming increasingly important.”
Daniel H. Park from We Ventures, Senior Manager of We Ventures said, “Developing high-performance NPUs requires expertise in hardware design, software optimization, and deep learning algorithms. AiM Future is the company that meets all these requirements with cutting-edge technology.”
“I am happy to close this series-A funding during an extended period of turbulent economic conditions. With the support of prominent investors in the AI & semiconductor sectors, AiM Future is able to accelerate the growth of our team and technology portfolio to provide complete AI solutions to the market for many years to come. The proceeds will be deployed to hiring world-class talent and producing test silicon of our next-generation architecture,” said ChangSoo Kim, Chief Executive Officer of AiM Future.
About L&S Venture Capital
L&S Venture Capital is a venture capital firm based in Seoul, established in 2016. The company’s team members continually strive towards providing professional services in their field of expertise and are constantly researching and developing to appropriately respond to changing trends. Companies always pay attention to technologically innovative companies that can continuously develop the surrounding society. Its mission is to become “the choice investor” to innovative entrepreneurs and offer them our support so that they may realize their dreams.
About Hi Investment Partners
Founded in 2015, Hi Investment Partners, one of the DGB Finance Group’s affiliates, is a venture capital firm based in Seoul and Daegu, South Korea. Hi Investment Partners is currently managing 10 funds and mainly focuses on domestic SME investment, especially in ICT, Manufacturing, Bio/healthcare, Fintech, brand & commerce, F&B, and ESG sectors. Hi Investment Partners discovers and bolsters exceptional teams with long-term growth potential and creates sustainable value through digital transformation and ESG approach.
About Daedeok Venture Partners
Daedeok Venture Partners (DVP) is a VC specializing in deep-tech investments. It is composed of experts with many years of practical experience and works with early-stage startups having excellent technology. Based in Daejeon, a city rich in technology and R&D manpower in Korea, we are devoting our passions to becoming a reliable partner for global startups that are growing rapidly.
About KB Investments
KB Investment is a top Korean venture capital firm with over USD$2 billion dollars in assets under management since 1990. For 33 years, KB Investments has been aiming at the role of investment firms in creating a ‘Great Company, Innovative Company beyond Good Company’. KB Investment is a subsidiary of KB Financial Group which is the leading financial institution offering a broad range of financial products and services in Korea.
About WE Ventures
WE Ventures, founded in 2019, is a venture capital firm in Korea that has made significant strides in a short period of time. With an AUM of KRW 5 trillion+, we are the fastest-growing VC in the country. Our team comprises partner-level investors who are experts in TMT, semiconductors, AI/Big data, content industry, and more. What sets us apart is that most of our partners have experience working in CVCs, enabling us to invest strategically and seize opportunities that align with the rapidly changing market directions.
About AiM Future
Based in Seoul, South Korea, the company was founded in late 2020 with LG Electronics as a strategic investor. Subsequently, it attracted a seed round investment from a group of leading venture capital firms, such as We Ventures, KB Investment, and D.Camp. The company is focused on the development of neural network hardware accelerator IP and compiler software. Its flagship NeuroMosAIc architecture achieved commercialization in 2019 and the company has executed several license agreements with partners around the world. Learn more at www.aimfuture.ai.
AiM Future Official SNS
Website: www.aimfuture.ai
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aim-future/
