AI semiconductor tech startup generates $8.8 million pre-Series A

A semiconductor technology startup that’s developed a new way to print chips for artificial intelligence has raised $8.8 million in pre-Series A funding.

The raise for ANU spin-out Syenta was led by Investible, with support from existing backers Blackbird Ventures, Jelix Ventures and Brindabella Capital, as well as new investors In-Q-Tel, SGInnovate, OIF, Salus and Wollemi Capital Group.

Syenta is developing Localized Electrochemical Manufacturing (LEM) — a lithography-free process that enables scalable, high-density interconnects for advanced chip packaging.

The five-year-old deep tech startup previously raised a Blackbird-led $3.7 million Seed round in 2022 as it emerged from stealth mode to build multi-material 3D printers.

The latest cash will see Syenta commercialise a breakthrough in chip packaging that could unlock the next generation of AI and high-performance computing.

Cofounder and CEO Dr Jekaterina Viktorova said LEM enables micron-scale resolution in advanced semiconductor packaging, This new way of building the physical connections inside chips means manufacturers can create much denser and more precise wiring, so memory and processors can sit closer together and exchange data much faster and more efficiently.

“LEM is the foundation for a new generation of chip packaging,” she said.

“It offers the scale, performance and manufacturability needed to overcome the critical ‘memory wall’ throttling AI systems today.”

Last year the company  was selected for ASTRA, the flagship accelerator by Applied Materials, the world’s largest semiconductor company.

“It puts us shoulder-to-shoulder with the industry’s most disruptive innovators and gives us direct access to leaders in the electroplating world, global foundries, OSATs and materials giants,” Viktorova said.

“It validates LEM as a serious platform for global semiconductor manufacturing.”

Investible lead investor Nicholas Ooi said: “Syenta is a key technology enabler for the next generation of AI infrastructure and high-performance computing HPC chips, particularly as semiconductor chip fabrication levels are unable to keep up with current demand for generative AI infrastructure.”