Successfully secured €130 Million in Series A funding for energy-efficient processor development, aiming at supercomputing applications.
**SiPearl's Rhea1 Processor: A Leap Towards European Technological Sovereignty**
SiPearl, a European company specialising in high-performance, energy-efficient processors, has secured €32 million in its Series A funding, completing a total of €130 million. This substantial investment will be used to industrialise the Rhea1 processor and advance research and development activities for next-generation processors.
The completion of the tape-out of the Rhea1 processor marks a significant milestone for SiPearl. This means that the chip design has been finalised and handed over to TSMC for manufacturing. The Rhea1 processor, one of the most complex ever created in Europe, features 80 Arm Neoverse V1 cores, each with two 256-bit Scalable Vector Extension (SVE) units. It is manufactured using TSMC's 6nm N6 process and includes 64 GB of high-performance HBM2E memory stacked on the chip.
The first sample silicon of the Rhea1 processor is expected to be available in early 2026. This processor will be a key component of the JUPITER exascale supercomputer, operated by the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany and a pivotal project for promoting European technological sovereignty.
Beyond the Rhea1 processor, SiPearl's efforts are focused on supporting the next generation of European exascale supercomputers and promoting European leadership in HPC and AI innovation. The company's strategy is part of a broader initiative to enhance Europe's technological sovereignty and competitiveness in the semiconductor industry, aiming to reduce dependence on foreign technologies and foster innovation within Europe.
The funds from this latest Series A round came from two existing investors: EIC Fund and French Tech Souveraineté, part of France 2030 led by the General Secretariat for Investment. A new investor, the Taiwanese private equity firm Cathay Venture, also participated in the round, making it the largest in the European fabless semiconductor industry.
SiPearl has assembled a world-class processor team of 200 employees across France, Spain, and Italy. With the successful completion of the Rhea1 processor, the company is now preparing for the design and development of its next-generation processors, which will meet the demands of supercomputing and emerging markets such as data centres, AI, and enterprise applications.
The European Processor Initiative consortium, of which SiPearl is a part, aims to promote the return of high-performance, energy-efficient processor technologies to Europe. The consortium's vision aligns with SiPearl's mission to contribute to Europe's technological sovereignty and competitiveness in the global semiconductor industry.
The private equity firm, Cathay Venture, has invested in SiPearl during its latest Series A round, demonstrating an interest in the European company's technological advancements in the semiconductor industry, particularly the development of its next-generation processors using technology such as the Rhea1 processor. The Rajah1 processor, coupled with the next-generation processors, will likely attract attention from sectors like data centers, AI, and enterprise applications, further propelling SiPearl's efforts towards supporting European technological sovereignty and promoting European leadership in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.
