Nvidia-backed SiFive hits $3.65 billion valuation

SiFive, a company founded in 2015 by the UC Berkeley engineers who created RISC-V—an open-source chip architecture—has secured $400 million in an oversubscribed funding round. The investment values the company at $3.65 billion. The 11-year-old startup is using the capital to expand its designs into central processing units (CPUs) for artificial intelligence data centers. SiFive’s RISC-V open chip design is based on the RISC processor, rather than Intel’s x86 or Arm’s architecture, which are the two major types of CPUs that currently feed Nvidia’s GPU systems. SiFive’s designs will work with Nvidia’s CUDA, which is Nvidia’s software platform for parallel computing, and NVLink Fusion, Nvidia’s rack server system that allows different CPUs to connect to its computing infrastructure. This integration positions SiFive as an alternative to designs from competitors like Intel and AMD, especially as those rivals seek to compete with Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs).

The funding round was led by Atreides Management, an investment firm that also participated in a $1 billion round for Cerebras Systems. The round saw participation from a group of institutional investors, including:

• Apollo Global Management
• D1 Capital Partners
• Point72 Turion
• T. Rowe Price
• Sutter Hill Ventures
• Nvidia

According to estimates from PitchBook, this is SiFive’s first capital raise since March 2022. In that previous March 2022 round, the company raised $175 million at a pre-money valuation of $2.33 billion. That earlier round was led by Coatue Management, with participation from Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, and Aramco Ventures.

SiFive’s business model involves licensing its chip designs to customers who modify them for their own needs, rather than manufacturing and selling physical chips. This approach mirrors the historical business model of competitor Arm. However, Arm recently altered its model; in March, Arm launched its first-ever manufactured chip, an AI chip developed with Meta, with customers including OpenAI, Cerebras, and Cloudflare. SiFive remains focused on providing open, not proprietary, designs that do not rely on specific customers.

Why it matters

SiFive is positioning its open-source RISC-V architecture as a viable alternative to proprietary x86 and Arm designs, specifically targeting the AI data center market by integrating with Nvidia’s compute ecosystem.