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The surge in Nvidia’s stock price over the past year has triggered a competitive frenzy among semiconductor startups worldwide, vying to secure more funding and establish a presence in the rapidly expanding AI chip market. In South Korea’s semiconductor hub, a young AI chip startup founded by a former Wall Street quantitative analyst recently made significant strides in the funding race.
Rebellions, headquartered in Seongnam, south of Seoul, revealed last week that it had secured \(124 million in Series B funding, bringing its total funding to \)210 million—the highest among AI chip startups in South Korea, as claimed by Rebellions. “That’s nearly twice the amount raised by other competitors,” remarked Sunghyun Park, Rebellions’ co-founder and CEO, with evident enthusiasm during a video interview.
Among its rivals is Sapeon, which raised \(45 million in July, with investors such as Ascent Equity Partners, GS Group, and WE Ventures. Another competitor, FuriosaAI, secured a \)70 million Series B funding round in 2021, with investments from D2 Startup Factory, DSC Investment, and Aion Asset Management.
Rebellions’ Series B funding round valued the company at $650 million. Park acknowledged the challenging funding landscape, citing the current high interest rates. He expressed confidence that under normal market conditions, Rebellions would undoubtedly be classified as a unicorn company.
The funding round was spearheaded by South Korean telecom giant KT, with participation from KT Cloud, Shinhan Venture Investment, and other notable investors such as Pavilion Capital, Korelya Capital, DG Daiwa Ventures, and Noh & Partners.
Rebellions’ unique appeal lies in its diverse team, blending research and development expertise from the U.S. with manufacturing proficiency from South Korea. Park highlighted this distinctive advantage, emphasizing the attention it has garnered from investors. The company’s strategic focus is on developing a next-generation AI chip named Rebel, tailored for large language models and hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
By leveraging domestic suppliers and manufacturers within the Korean semiconductor ecosystem, Rebellions aims to significantly reduce manufacturing costs compared to competitors like Nvidia. The startup’s collaboration with Samsung, utilizing its high bandwidth memory chips and 4-nanometer chip manufacturing process, is a key element in this cost-saving strategy. The partnership with Samsung is expected to culminate in the completion of Rebel’s development by the year’s end, with mass production slated for 2025.
Park envisions Rebellions challenging Nvidia’s dominance in the market, positioning the company as a formidable contender. With a strong partnership with Samsung and robust support from prominent investors, Rebellions is poised to disrupt the status quo. As Park aptly puts it, “When there’s a Goliath, there’s going to be a David. I believe one of the David candidates from South Korea is Rebellions.”
Embodying their rebellious spirit, Park asserts, “We’re rebellious, it’s in our team name.”
