AI startup Blaize raises $106 million in funding from Mercedes-Benz, Temasek, and others

AI computing startup Blaize announced on Monday it has raised $106 million in funding to usher in a new era of edge computing. This funding round saw contributions from familiar backers like Mercedes-Benz and Temasek, along with support from existing investors such as Bess Ventures, Franklin Templeton, and Denso. Not stopping there, fresh faces like Rizvi Traverse, Ava Investors, and BurTech LP also jumped on board for the fundraising journey.

This substantial influx of capital mirrors the ongoing frenzy in the AI sector, which snagged a significant slice of the venture capital pie last year despite a generally subdued economic climate. With the recent launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI sparking a fresh wave of interest in AI, companies are shelling out millions to capitalize on the trend.

Since its inception in 2010 by CEO and co-founder Dinakar Munagala, the El Dorado Hills, California-based Blaize has been pioneering full-stack AI-enabled computing solutions across a spectrum of markets, from automotive and mobility to retail and healthcare. Blaize’s unique processor architecture and software platform empower enterprises to swiftly harness AI’s power at the periphery of networks and data centers, delivering real-time insights with speed and efficiency.

Munagala, in a statement, emphasized that this investment bolsters their belief that edge AI is revolutionizing all industries. With a focus on solving real customer problems and empowering developers, Blaize is gearing up to tackle the challenges of a fast-changing AI landscape head-on. The company’s commitment to offering fully programmable solutions underscores its readiness for the unknown, de-risking, and reducing costs for customers across various applications.

“This investment lends further credence to our thesis that edge AI is revolutionizing all industries, and we are supercharging our roadmap to deliver its promise,” Munagala said. “Blaize has always focused on solving real customer problems and empowering developers and innovators. Our current and next-generation offerings will deliver value across all AI applications, including computer vision, transformers, and multimodal Generative AI. Our unique, fully programmable approach makes us ready for the unknown. This is ideal in the fast-changing AI applications landscape, de-risking and reducing cost for our customers, scaling from the edge to the data center, with one uniform and complete hardware and software solution.”

Blaize kicks off Day 2 of ISCEvents ICSwest with another round of new product demos, cutting-edge technologies, and solutions from our ecosystem.

Looking ahead, Blaize has its sights set on going public, with plans for a business combination with Nasdaq-listed BurTech Acquisition Corp. This recent funding will bolster the company’s balance sheet and accelerate its roadmap for AI computing solutions from the edge to the data center. With an eye on automotive, computer vision, AI inference, and generative AI, Blaize is poised to solidify its position as a leader in the hardware and software market.