MetisX Raises $44 Million in Series A Funding

MetisX Co. Ltd., a fabless startup based in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, has secured $44 million in series A funding, bringing its total funding to over $50 million.

Established in 2022, it focuses on developing intelligent memory solutions using Compute Express Link (CXL) technology, which is seen as the next-gen standard for interconnect technology. It aims to change traditional CPU-centric computing architectures by introducing a data-centric approach that promises to be smarter, faster, and more cost-effective.

“We are pleased to have successfully achieved our series A funding goal amidst a challenging market environment,” said Jin Kim, CEO and co-founder. “Our goal is to become the next NVIDIA, not by competing directly vs. them, but by creating a new market in the data-centric domain to pave the way for the AI era.”

One of the company’s primary goals is to address the ‘memory wall’ issue that many industries face, particularly those dealing with vast amounts of data such as data centers, database management, AI, and DNA analysis. By leveraging CXL technology, the firm seeks to overcome performance bottlenecks associated with frequent memory accesses in computing systems.

Despite being in the early stages of development, it has attracted attention from new investors such as SV Investment, STIC Ventures, LB Investment, and the Industrial Bank of Korea, as well as follow-on investors from the seed round including Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, IMM Investment, SBI Investment, Tony Investment, and Wonik Investment Partners. These firms have made bold bets on the company’s potential, both in terms of its innovative product offerings and the expertise of its leadership team.

Led by Kim, who boasts a distinguished career as one of the youngest VPs at SK Hynix with around 20 years of experience in data-centric solutions, MetisX is well-positioned to disrupt the semiconductor industry. Additionally, the company’s CTO, Dohun Kim, and chief product officer Harry Kim, bring valuable expertise from their backgrounds in major semiconductor companies.

MetisX has already made significant strides in product development, having completed prototypes specialized in large-scale data processing such as vector databases, big data analysis, and DNA analysis. These prototypes have demonstrated performance, being 2x as fast as conventional server CPUs. Building on this success, the company plans to manufacture its inaugural ASIC chip by early next year, targeting major data center customers including tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta. The firm plans to expand the company aggressively, establish a branch in USA, and reinforce its marketing and sales organization to penetrate its target market.