AI chip startup Rivos seeks up to $500 million in funding to take on Nvidia

In the race to supply the hardware behind artificial intelligence, few names have risen as quickly as Rivos. The Santa Clara startup, best known for its RISC-V-based server chips, pulled in $250 million just a year ago.

Now it’s aiming much higher, with plans to raise between $400 million and $500 million in fresh capital, according to a new report from The Information. If it gets there, the company’s valuation would climb past $2 billion, setting the stage for a direct challenge to Nvidia’s dominance in AI processors.

Rivos has the kind of backers most chip startups can only dream of, including Intel’s current CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. The company is betting that open-source architectures and power-efficient designs can win over data centers struggling with the cost and energy demands of today’s AI workloads.

From Stealth to Center Stage

Founded in 2021, Rivos began as a stealth project building system-on-chips around the RISC-V architecture—an open alternative to proprietary designs like Arm and x86. Unlike many rivals, the team started by building out the software layer before moving to hardware design. CEO Puneet Kumar has said that this approach gives Rivos a better shot at meeting the heavy compute demands of large language models and complex data analytics.

The chips themselves aim to integrate high-performance CPUs with AI accelerators, tuned for server environments where every watt and every dollar count. With RISC-V’s royalty-free model, Rivos can customize its designs without paying licensing fees—an edge that could matter for customers looking to escape Nvidia’s GPU-centric model.

A Legal Battle and a Breakthrough

Rivos’ path hasn’t been entirely smooth. In 2022, Apple sued the startup, accusing it of luring away more than 40 engineers and taking trade secrets tied to SoC technology. The lawsuit alleged that departing employees downloaded sensitive files before making the jump. The legal fight dragged on for nearly two years, making it harder for Rivos to raise funds or hire aggressively.

That cloud lifted in February 2024 when the two sides settled. Rivos agreed to scrub any Apple-owned data from its systems and submit to a forensic review. Two months later, the company closed an oversubscribed Series A-3 round worth more than $250 million, drawing in Matrix Capital Management, Dell Technologies Capital, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Intel Capital, and MediaTek.

A $500 Million Push

The latest funding target, first reported by The Information, would bankroll the production of Rivos’ first server chip built for AI and analytics. At over $2 billion in valuation, the raise would be among the largest ever for a pre-revenue chipmaker—proof of the market’s appetite for alternatives to Nvidia as AI adoption surges.

Lip-Bu Tan’s role adds another layer to the story. Now leading Intel, Tan chairs Rivos through his venture firm Walden Catalyst, which backed the startup early. His background in chip design from his time running Cadence Design Systems gives him an insider’s view of what it will take to get Rivos’ hardware into production.

The Nvidia Factor

Nvidia still controls the lion’s share of AI compute with GPUs that train and run the biggest models. But they come with high costs, high power draw, and tight supply chains. Rivos is betting it can chip away at that lead with customizable, energy-efficient processors that appeal to cloud providers and enterprises ready to diversify.

Analysts see RISC-V as fertile ground for that challenge. The open-source model allows for rapid innovation and potentially lower costs—if a company can deliver performance at scale. For Rivos, that means proving its first-generation hardware in real-world AI deployments, finding a reliable manufacturing partner like TSMC, and hitting aggressive performance benchmarks.

A Bet on Open-Source Disruption

Rivos’ fundraising goal is part of a broader wave reshaping semiconductors. AI demand is pushing investors to pour billions into infrastructure, while geopolitical frictions and supply concerns make diversification more urgent. With heavyweight backing and a focus on open architectures, Rivos is positioning itself as a serious contender in a market that could be worth hundreds of billions by decade’s end.

Whether it can grab meaningful share from Nvidia will come down to execution—but with $500 million potentially in the war chest, the startup will have the resources to make its move.