Edge AI chip startup SiMa.ai has raised $150 million in a Series C round that values the company at $1.45 billion. Fidelity Management & Research Company and Amplify co-led the round, with participation from Alter Venture Partners, Dell Technologies Capital, Maverick Capital, J.P. Morgan and the State of Michigan, among others.

The San Jose, California-based company will use the capital to continue developing next-generation hardware slated for release in the first half of 2028. SiMa.ai said the platform will deliver "1,000 dense TOPS of compute in purpose-built AI silicon" and will include machine learning IP, chiplets and system-on-chips (SoCs) designed to power physical AI applications such as humanoid robotics.

What does the funding change?

The round gives SiMa.ai resources to scale a platform aimed at a segment the company says larger competitors have not addressed directly. "Physical AI in humanoids, automotive, and drones is the gateway to a $50 trillion market that has remained largely untouched by modern innovation," said Krishna Rangasayee, founder and CEO of SiMa.ai.

Rangasayee framed the investment as a way to extend the company's lead. "While others are still figuring out the pieces or repurposing their cloud offerings, we've built the entire puzzle," he said. "This investment will further catapult us into a dominant position, giving us the resources to scale our purpose-built platform and secure an undeniable lead in the Physical AI race."

Who is SiMa.ai?

Rangasayee founded the company in 2018. He previously served as COO of Groq, the AI inference chipmaker. SiMa.ai targets edge devices operating in the 5W to 25W power envelope, a range that covers embedded systems where energy budgets rule out datacenter-class silicon.

The company's embedded Edge machine learning system-on-chip (MLSoC) first shipped in 2022. A second generation launched in September 2024.

What comes next?

The next-generation platform, due in H1 2028, forms the core of the company's roadmap. Its components:

• Machine learning IP
• Chiplets
• SoCs delivering 1,000 dense TOPS of compute

SiMa.ai positions these building blocks for physical AI workloads, with humanoid robotics named as a primary target alongside automotive and drone applications. The $150 million round, backed by a mix of institutional investors, corporate venture arms and a state government, funds that development through to release.