Positron Secures $230 Million to Challenge Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance
Semiconductor startup Positron raised $230 million in a Series B funding round to accelerate the deployment of its high-speed memory chips, a critical component for AI workloads, according to TechCrunch. The funding round included participation from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the country's sovereign wealth fund, which is increasingly focused on building out AI infrastructure, sources told TechCrunch.
The Reno-based startup's Series B comes as hyperscalers and AI firms seek to reduce their reliance on Nvidia, the longstanding leader in AI chips. OpenAI, one of Nvidia's largest customers, is reportedly unsatisfied with some of the firm's latest AI chips, according to TechCrunch.
In other tech news, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced at the Cisco AI Summit on Tuesday that the company will begin producing graphics processing units (GPUs), a market currently dominated by Nvidia, TechCrunch reported. These specialized processors are used for gaming and training artificial intelligence models. Kevork Kechichian, the executive vice president and general manager of Intel's data center group, will oversee the project, according to Reuters. Kechichian was hired in September as part of a wave of new engineer-focused hires, TechCrunch noted.
Meanwhile, India-based climate tech startup Varaha raised $20 million to scale carbon removal projects from the Global South, TechCrunch reported. The investment marks the first portion of a planned $45 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from existing investors including RTP Global and Omnivore. Founded in 2022, Varaha has raised about $33 million in equity to date, alongside $35 million in project financing and $500,000 in grants, as it builds carbon removal projects across Asia and Africa. India has emerged as an increasingly important base for carbon removal projects, offering lower operating costs and a deep agricultural supply, according to TechCrunch.
In policy news, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is seeking more information from Google about its plans to build a checkout feature into its Gemini AI chatbot, The Verge reported. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Warren expressed concerns that the integration could allow Google to send user data to retail partners. Warren is asking Google for more details about the kinds of data it will send to retail partners and how much, according to The Verge.
Finally, Adobe reversed its decision to discontinue Adobe Animate on March 1st, The Verge reported. In an FAQ, the company stated that Animate will now be in maintenance mode and that it has no plans to discontinue or remove access to the app. Animate will still receive ongoing security and bug fixes and will still be available for both new and existing users, but it will not get new features, according to The Verge. Many creators expressed frustration after Adobe initially announced its plans to discontinue the software.
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