Ethernovia raises $90M as investors rush to fund physical AI infrastructure

Ethernovia raises $90M as investors rush to fund 'physical AI' | TechCrunch

Investors and companies alike are trying to leverage developmental gains in AI to make leaps in technologies like robotics and autonomous vehicles -- what's being referred to now as "physical AI." That means some of the billions of dollars flowing to AI startups is starting to spill toward suppliers doing behind-the-scenes work to make these technologies real. The latest case is Ethernovia, which on Tuesday announced a $90 million Series B. The company, located in San Jose, makes Ethernet-based processors that help collect data from sensors scattered around a system -- like in an autonomous vehicle -- and quickly move it to a central computer. The company was already backed by Porsche SE and Qualcomm Ventures, but this round was led by Maverick Silicon -- an AI-focused fund created in 2024 by hedge fund Maverick Capital. It was the first sector-specific fund that Maverick Capital launched in its 30-year history. It's that kind of attention and funding that we'll likely see more of this year as investors look to boost more under-the-radar companies like Ethernovia.

Ethernovia raises more than $90M to advance Ethernet packet processors for automotive and edge AI

Ethernovia raises more than $90M to advance Ethernet packet processors for automotive and edge AI Semiconductor startup Ethernovia Inc. revealed today that it has raised more than $90 million in new funding to accelerate development and production of its next-generation packet processor family, expand software and systems capabilities, and support customer engagements across automotive, robotics and industrial markets. Founded in 2018, Ethernovia is focused on transforming how data moves within complex systems like vehicles and intelligent machines. The company was built to tackle the limitations of traditional in-vehicle networks. They can struggle with the massive volumes of high-bandwidth sensor, vision and artificial intelligence data required by modern autonomous and software-defined systems. Ethernovia designs and develops advanced packet processors and Ethernet networking chips that act as the "nervous system" of vehicles and edge devices. It says they intelligently aggregate, route and manage data streams from cameras, radar, LiDAR, control units and AI accelerators. The platform is built to handle increasingly complex workloads while maintaining low latency and high reliability. The company's product lineup includes high-performance Ethernet physical layer transceivers and scalable packet processors that support multigigabit speeds across single-pair automotive cabling. The semiconductor solutions provide the physical connectivity and data transport capabilities needed for next-generation automotive applications such as advanced driver assistance systems, centralized vehicle computing and over-the-air software updates. Ethernovia also builds products for software-defined vehicles and edge AI workloads that meet the need for flexible, programmable networking. The company's packet processors and network infrastructure allow original equipment manufacturers and system developers to deploy platforms that can be updated and reconfigured throughout the life of the product while meeting safety-critical performance standards. "The industry is entering the era of physical AI where intelligence must sense, reason and act in the real world with predictable, real-time performance," said co-founder and Chief Executive Ramin Shirani. "Legacy in-vehicle and industrial networks were never designed for AI-driven workloads. However, our packet processor platform is purpose-built to eliminate these constraints, enabling zonal and centralized architectures that scale autonomy and dramatically simplify vehicle system design." The Series B round was led by Maverick Silicon with Socratic Partners also participating. "As autonomous systems become more complex, latency, power efficiency and architectural flexibility are no longer optional -- they are essential," said Kenneth Safar, managing director of Maverick Silicon. "Ethernovia has fundamentally reimagined the nervous system of intelligent machines with its packet processing platform, solving a critical networking bottleneck in automotive, robotics and industrial AI." Prior to the new funding announced today, Ethernovia had raised a single round of $64 million in May 2023, according to data from Tracxn. Investors in that round included Porsche SE, Qualcomm Ventures, VentureTech Alliance, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Western Digital Corp., Fall Line Capital Management, Taiwania Capital Management Corp. and Enea AB.