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Axelera AI Secures 'AI Factory' Deals, Launches Second-Generation 'Europa' Chip
Dutch chip startup Axelera AI announced Tuesday it has secured multiple contracts to supply European Union-backed artificial intelligence initiatives and has launched its second-generation chip. The company stated it has signed deals worth tens of millions of dollars to equip so-called AI factories, which are data centers dedicated to running and training AI software.
New Deals and Product Launch
Axelera's new 'Europa' chip is designed for heavier AI workloads on corporate servers and is compatible with specified products from Dell and Supermicro, according to the company. CEO Fabrizio Del Maffeo told Reuters that Axelera is pursuing $1.5 billion in potential sales, a figure that represents the company's sales pipeline rather than confirmed orders or revenue.
Key figures provided by the company include:
- Tens of millions of dollars in newly signed supply deals.
- Over 600 customers are currently using Axelera's chips.
- The company has raised more than $450 million since its 2021 founding.
Strategic Focus on AI Inference
AdAxelera is targeting the AI inference market, which involves chips used to run existing AI models rather than train them. The company's first-generation 'Metis' chips were aimed at 'edge' applications, such as on-site security data analysis. The new 'Europa' chip targets corporate servers, while a future 'Titania' chiplet architecture is planned for data centers and supercomputers.
The company is a supplier for the EU-backed IT4LIA project in Italy and the MeluXina project in Luxembourg, working alongside partners like Dell and systems integrator E4. These deals align with a broader EU strategy to upgrade its supercomputing network into AI factories to increase its technological sovereignty and compete with the U.S. and China.
European AI Chip Landscape
Axelera is one of several European startups competing in the AI hardware space, alongside France’s VSORA, Britain’s Fractile, and Spain’s Semidynamics. The market is seeing significant investment activity, highlighted by a separate announcement on Tuesday from fellow Dutch startup Euclyd, which reported a €200 million ($230.8 million) funding round.
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