China-based semiconductor technology developer Iluvatar CoreX closed a series C round featuring government-owned telecommunications firm China Unicom at RMB1.2bn ($186m) yesterday.
Private equity firm Centurium Capital and investment firm Cedarlake Capital co-led the round, which also featured the Guangdong provincial government’s Gortune Investment vehicle.
Iluvatar CoreX was founded in 2015 and has developed general-purpose graphics processing unit (GPGPU) chips used to facilitate artificial intelligence computing.
The company claims its flagship GPGPU chips exhibit stronger performance, more flexible coding capabilities and are more cost-effective than other products in the Chinese GPU market.
The proceeds of the round will support the development of Iluvatar CoreX’s research capabilities and the commercialisation of its core products.
Centurium Capital and investment firm Princeville Capital co-led a series B round for Iluvatar CoreX in the nine-figure renminbi (RMB100m = $14.1m) range in September 2019 that also featured power equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric’s Hong Kong subsidiary.
The series B round was filled out by Bangsheng Equity Capital Fund and came after the company had secured $31.6m from unnamed backers the previous year.