FuriosaAI, a leading South Korean startup developing AI accelerator chips for data centers, has officially achieved unicorn status, with its valuation surpassing KRW 1 trillion. The milestone comes after the company closed a KRW 170 billion Series C bridge funding round, elevating its valuation from KRW 830 billion pre-investment.
The round attracted strong interest from both existing and new investors. Returning backers include Korea Development Bank, DSC Investment, and IMM Investment. New participants joining the syndicate are Keystone Partners, Kakao Investment, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), IBK Venture Investment, and IBK Investment & Securities.
Launched in the second half of 2024, the round was oversubscribed—underscoring high investor confidence in FuriosaAI’s technology and growth potential.
Founded in 2017 by CEO Joonho Baek, a former executive at Samsung Electronics and AMD, FuriosaAI specializes in designing Neural Processing Units (NPUs) for high-performance inference tasks in data center environments. The company’s second-generation NPU, Renegade, entered mass production last year and is tailored for large language models (LLMs) and other hyperscale AI workloads.
FuriosaAI drew widespread attention in March after reportedly turning down an $810 million acquisition offer from Meta, a move interpreted as a sign of the company’s confidence in its roadmap and commitment to independent growth. Since the launch of Renegade, FuriosaAI has partnered with major AI developers such as Upstage and LG AI Research, achieving significant performance optimization milestones.
The company’s ascent to unicorn status marks a major milestone for South Korea’s AI ecosystem, reinforcing the nation’s emerging leadership in advanced semiconductor technology and AI innovation.
