Israel’s AI chipmaker startup Hailo raises $120 million in funding at $1.2 billion valuation

Israeli AI chipmaker Hailo is making waves again, securing a hefty $120 million in fresh funding. This latest round pushes the company’s valuation to $1.2 billion, reaffirming its position as a formidable player in the tech landscape. Alongside the funding, the company has unveiled its latest high-performance generative AI chip.

This funding round saw participation from both existing backers and new investors, with heavyweights like the Zisapel family, construction tools titan Comasco, and the online venture platform OurCrowd leading the charge. This injection of capital propels Hailo’s total investment tally beyond the $340 million mark since its inception in 2017.

Those who’ve been following Hailo’s journey will recall our coverage back in 2020 when the Tel Aviv-based startup raised eyebrows with a $60 million Series B round, aimed at bolstering the global rollout of its game-changing Hailo-8 Deep Learning chip.

Founded in 2017 by Avi Baum and Orr Danon, Hailo aims to drive artificial intelligence to the edge. Imagine intelligent devices that are empowered with the performance of a data center class computer, operating in real-time at reduced power consumption, size, and cost. Hailo processors enable edge devices to go beyond handling sensors and streaming volumes of data for remote processing–they can do the processing themselves.​

“We are hoping to use the new funds to accelerate our growth and execute faster on our roadmap. Based on this and given the right market conditions, our aim is to become a publicly traded company,” Hailo CEO and Co-Founder Orr Danon said in an interview with Reuters without providing a specific timeline.

The meteoric rise of AI startups has been hard to ignore, particularly since the emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, enticing investors with promises of disruptive innovation and industry upheaval. With a client base boasting over 300 global players including Schneider Electric, Dell Technologies, and ABB, Hailo is a prime example of this trend.

Now, onto the star of the show: Hailo’s newest creation, the Hailo-10 high-performance generative AI accelerator. Set to revolutionize the landscape, this chip empowers users to run GenAI applications directly on their local systems, sidestepping the need for cloud-based services. Shipping of samples is slated to commence in the second quarter of this year.

“Whether users employ GenAI to automate real-time translation, generate software code, or craft images and videos from text prompts, Hailo-10 enables seamless execution on their PCs or other edge systems, without burdening the CPU,” remarked Danon in a press statement.

Early applications of the Hailo-10 are poised to target personal computers and automotive infotainment systems, poised to elevate the processing prowess of central processing units (CPUs), according to Hailo’s announcement.

Hailo Team