China-based deep learning technology startup Suiyuan Technology has secured RMB340m ($49.8m) in a pre-series A round led by internet group Tencent, China Money Network reported today.
Venture capital firm ZhenFund, investment management firm Yunhe Partners and private equity firms Delta Capital and Summitview Capital also participated in the round.
Founded in March 2018, Suiyuan is working on deep learning chips for use in artificial intelligence-equipped systems. The chips are being developed to provide high computational power and efficiency at an affordable cost.
The funding will be put toward research and development, as Suiyan looks to further develop its chip technology and improve its software capabilities. It maintains R&D facilities in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
Leiwen Yao, a director at Tencent unit Tencent Investment, was quoted by China Money Network as saying: “With China’s industrial upgrade, our country should be able to own independent and controllable key technologies. [The] AI chip is China’s opportunity to catch up in the semiconductor sector.
“We hope to leverage our industrial resources and work with China’s top teams to change the current situation of foreign AI chip makers’ monopolisation.”