Ubitium raises $14M seed for a runtime-reconfigurable chip that does signal processing, AI and real-time control in one processor.
Cho pitched 100+ VCs in three months, got roughly 80 rejections, and still closed an oversubscribed round with no purely German investor.
Ubitium targets a $500B market and built its first 8nm test chip within a year of its July 2024 founding.
Ubitium raises $14M to replace embedded processor sprawl
Ubitium is building a runtime-reconfigurable processor for embedded systems, where the sprawl of specialized chips has become hard to manage. Its chip reallocates its own hardware while a program runs, so signal processing and AI share one processor and one open-source toolchain instead of four or five, while real-time control also runs on the same chip. A first 8-nanometre test chip landed within a year, and the $14m seed funds the step from proven architecture to product.
Takeaways
Embedded complexity has outgrown specialized chips. Modern cars carry 150 to 200 microprocessors and over 150m lines of code, and OEMs expect more than a billion lines next. Each workload needs dedicated silicon and a matching software toolchain, so supply chains multiply and one missing part can stop production.
Ubitium reconfigures its chip at runtime. The architecture reallocates its own parts while a program runs, handling signal processing and AI in one processor instead of four or five, while also running real-time control. Customers get a single open-source toolchain.
First 8nm test chip took one year. Ubitium produced its first 8-nanometre test chip within a year, a pace Cho attributes to support from Siemens and Samsung plus engineers who joined from Intel and NVIDIA.
$14M seed funds the product step. The new $14m seed round pays for the second processor, which should enter manufacturing early next year and reach first customers as development kits. Mass production will need significantly more money.
US and European VCs ask different questions. Cho spoke with over 100 VCs in three months and got around 80 rejections. European investors focused on risk and what could go wrong, while US investors asked how big the market is and how fast Ubitium can grow.
Ubitium has no purely German investor. Cho has no purely German investor. The round was oversubscribed several times over, letting Ubitium choose which VC to take money from. Florian Seibel, co-founder of Quantum Systems, sits on the board and brings the user's perspective.
Ubitium needs chip designers and customers. The company is looking for experienced chip designers, rare in Germany and Europe, and for customers building embedded and edge AI systems that mix AI with real-time control. Examples include high-resolution radar and drones.
How Ubitium started
Cho and Martin met about 23 years ago in their first semester in Karlsruhe and decided two years ago to found the company together.
Martin worked for decades in reconfigurable computing and holds over 200 patents in that field.
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On this episode 2
Show 1
Martin previously ran a company that developed FPGAs, which are flexible but hard to program.
After 15 years of research, a first prototype worked, prompting a first round of 4m US dollars.
Ubitium was founded in July 2024, with Cho coming from the application side after 20 years in a large corporation.