DELFT, NETHERLANDS, 27 June, 2024 — Neuromorphic processor company Innatera, a spin-off from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, has announced the oversubscription of its Series A funding round, securing capital totaling $21 million. This amount includes the initial Series A investment of $16 million that the company announced in March this year, augmented by an additional $5 million from new investors.
The Series A extension was led by investors Innavest and InvestNL, who join existing Series A investors including EIC Fund, MIG Capital, Matterwave Ventures and Delft Enterprises.
“We’re thrilled by the overwhelming support from investors, which underscores the immense potential of our neuromorphic processors,” said Sumeet Kumar, CEO of Innatera. “Innatera’s latest offering is radical in terms of its architecture and its efficiency, yet it only scratches the surface of what neuromorphic computing can do for edge applications. I’m excited by the opportunities ahead of us, and the work we’ll be doing to leverage the full potential of this technology together with our customers and strategic partners. This Series A funding will accelerate our journey towards mass production and enable us to meet the burgeoning demand for energy-efficient computing solutions.”
Innatera’s flagship product, the Spiking Neural Processor T1, unveiled in January 2024, represents a paradigm shift in energy-efficient AI for sensor-edge applications. Incorporating their proprietary event-driven computing engine alongside a conventional CNN accelerator and RISC-V CPU, the T1 is a comprehensive platform for sensor agnostic ultra-low power AI in battery powered devices. In its roadshows through 2023 and 2024, Innatera showcased its neuromorphic solutions applied to wearables, smart home, and consumer electronics applications.
The oversubscribed Series-A reflects the growing demand for differentiated, energy-efficient approaches to AI at the edge, driven by the rapidly expanding sensors market and concerns over the environmental sustainability of processing large volumes of data in the cloud.
The additional funding will accelerate the company towards its goal of bringing intelligence to a billion devices by 2030, further solidifying its position as a pioneer in the AI semiconductor landscape. With multiple customer engagements on-going, the company says that traction for neuromorphic technologies has been growing steadily, as vendors start to develop true edge AI applications independent of the cloud. While power-constrained applications have been centre-stage in most engagements, privacy and latency concerns are also driving more customers down the neuromorphic path. The Spiking Neural Processor is slated to enter production later in 2024, with high-volume deliveries starting in Q2 of 2025.
“Innatera’s track-record is impressive – remarkable capital-efficiency, a fantastic team, and a product with the potential to touch every aspect of our lives. Innavest is excited to be able to bring in our strategic expertise and network to help Innatera’s mission,” said Kjelle Blom, managing partner of Innavest, a consortium of private investors and entrepreneurs.
Further bolstering the company’s growth, Innatera today also announced that it had appointed veteran operations executive Duco Pasmooij, former VP at Apple, to its advisory board. On the opportunity, Pasmooij said, “Silicon innovations like the Spiking Neural Processor T1 are essential for unlocking value for ODMs in the consumer electronics space. Yet, the path to the market is much like walking a tightrope. I’m delighted to be able to advise the executive team at Innatera in taking this inspiring product to the market.”
Innatera is a spin-off from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Born out of a decade of research on energy-efficient neuromorphic computing, it pioneers a new breed of microprocessors that aim to bring brain-like intelligence to sensors. Backed by leading European deeptech VCs Matterwave Ventures, MIG Capital, InvestNL, European Innovation Council, Delft Enterprises and Innavest, we’re on a mission to make a billion sensors intelligent by 2030. Our vision of the future is one where electronic devices integrate seamlessly into our lives, making the world around us smarter, safer, and cleaner.
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