RIYADH: Energy giant Saudi Aramco’s growth capital arm, Wa’ed Ventures, has invested $15 million in chipmaker firm Rebellions, marking the fund’s first investment in a South Korean startup.
The funding will enable Rebellions to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence chips globally and expand its business into the Kingdom, according to a press statement.
Saudi Arabia is aggressively pushing to develop its chipmaking industry as part of its broader strategy to advance technological capabilities and drive economic diversification under Vision 2030.
Fahad Alidi, managing director at Wa’ed Ventures, said: “This investment underscores our commitment to fostering innovation in the semiconductor industry, which has become one of the strategic focus areas in Saudi Arabia’s vision for technological advancements.”
Established in 2013 by Saudi Aramco, Wa’ed Ventures is a $500 million venture capital fund investing in technology-based startups to promote economic diversification and business growth in the Kingdom.
It currently manages a portfolio of over 70 startups, providing end-to-end support from funding to partner resources.
The investment will help Rebellions establish a foothold in the Saudi AI infrastructure market and align with the Kingdom’s aim for economic diversification through technological advancements.
“This strategic investment is pivotal as it not only accelerates our growth but also enhances our global business opportunities, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where AI technology investment is thriving. This partnership provides us with a clearer path to expand and innovate in key markets worldwide,” said Sunghyun Park, CEO of Rebellions.
Founded in 2020, Rebellions specializes in AI inference accelerators with superior energy efficiency and low-latency performance. The company has introduced two AI chips in three years and plans to roll out its third in the latter half of 2024.
Rebellions completed a $124 million Series B funding round in January and has now secured over $225 million in total funding since inception. The company is working with Samsung Foundry on its next-gen AI chip, REBEL.
Earlier this month, Wa’ed Ventures also led a $6.5 million pre-Series A funding round for California-based AI platform aiXplain. Backed by US firms including Transform VC and Calibrate VC, aiXplain has raised $16.5 million to date and is planning a global rollout of AI solutions.
