SK Hynix

SK Hynix is a prominent global semiconductor supplier, specializing in the production of DRAM and NAND flash memory, as well as System ICs, including CMOS Image Sensors. Established in 1984 with the pilot production of Korea's first 16Kb SRAM, the company has consistently led the industry by developing smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient semiconductor technologies. Approximately 65%-70% of its revenue is generated from DRAM, where it holds a significant market share of around 28%, making it the second-largest supplier worldwide. Additionally, SK Hynix ranks as the fifth-largest supplier of NAND flash memory, contributing about 25%-30% of its revenue and capturing approximately 19% of the global market. In 2012, SK Telecom, South Korea's largest telecom carrier, became the largest shareholder, owning 20% of SK Hynix's shares.

Heejin Chung

Head of Venture Investment

24 past transactions

Eliyan

Series B in 2024
Eliyan specializes in the development of advanced semiconductor technologies, focusing on chiplet interconnect systems designed to enhance artificial intelligence performance. The company's team of PHY designers and chip architects has extensive experience in creating enterprise and server-class semiconductors, enabling them to tackle the challenges of scaling performance, size, power consumption, and cost. Eliyan's innovative interconnect technology, which utilizes standard organic chip packaging, delivers performance comparable to that of more advanced packaging methods, significantly reducing total ownership costs. This technology effectively addresses the memory wall issue, allowing for the creation of super large System-in-Package (SiP) solutions that improve computing performance, test coverage, and yield across a range of high-performance computing applications, from desktops to data centers.

Pliops

Series D in 2022
Pliops Ltd., established in 2017 and headquartered in Ramat Gan, Israel, specializes in developing innovative cloud storage solutions. The company's flagship product is the Extreme Data Processor (XDP), a breakthrough technology delivered on a low-profile PCIe card. The XDP overcomes storage inefficiencies by radically simplifying data processing and flash storage management, leading to exponential improvements in performance, reliability, capacity, and efficiency. This enables organizations to access data faster with minimal computational load and power consumption, addressing the scalability challenges posed by cloud data explosion and increasing data requirements of AI/ML applications.

NeuReality

Series A in 2022
NeuReality is a semiconductor start-up that specializes in designing AI-as-a-service infrastructure to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding AI landscape across cloud, edge, and fog systems. The company develops purpose-built AI-centric architecture, focusing on server-on-chip solutions that reconfigure inference technologies, including computer vision, natural language processing, and recommendation engines. This innovative approach simplifies the implementation of advanced AI functionalities for organizations with limited technical expertise, allowing clients to reduce costs and energy consumption by moving away from traditional CPU-centric models. NeuReality aims to facilitate the adoption of AI technologies across various sectors, making them more accessible and efficient.

d-Matrix

Series A in 2022
D-Matrix is a computing platform dedicated to enhancing artificial intelligence inferencing workloads within data centers. The company aims to create and implement the world's first brain-inspired AI compute engine, catering to a diverse range of inferencing tasks in the expansive cloud and infrastructure edge markets. D-Matrix's innovative approach leverages in-memory computing techniques and addresses the challenges of memory-compute integration through a combination of mixed-signal and digital signal processing methods. This focus on efficiency enables clients to optimize their computing capabilities, particularly in the realms of generative artificial intelligence and large language models.

Elastics.cloud

Corporate Round in 2022
Elastics.cloud, Inc. is a Smart Interconnect technology company focused on enabling efficient and performant architectures to create flexible, scalable, low latency composable systems. The company provides silicon, hardware, and software which leverages the Compute Express Link (CXL) interconnect standard to provide high-performance connectivity to a broad ecosystem of components.

Movellus

Series B in 2022
Movellus, Inc. is a semiconductor company that specializes in designing, developing, fabricating, testing, and manufacturing mixed-signal semiconductors. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Jose, California, with additional offices in Silicon Valley, California; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Toronto, Canada, the company offers a range of products including clock generators, phase-locked loops (PLLs), delay-locked loops (DLLs), programmable oscillators, and low-dropout regulators (LDOs). Movellus is focused on creating process-portable and ultra-low power analog intellectual property (IP), aiming to enhance system-on-chip (SoC) performance while lowering power consumption. Its technology addresses the challenges of clock distribution in high-performance and low-power chips, ultimately enabling improved energy efficiency and maintaining clock speeds for applications in artificial intelligence, networking, and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Key Foundry

Acquisition in 2021
Key Foundry is the only dedicated semiconductor foundry company in South Korea established by the foundry business division.

GigaIO

Series B in 2021
GigaIO Networks, Inc. is a company that specializes in developing advanced data center interconnect memory fabric solutions designed to enhance computing clusters. Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, GigaIO offers a range of products, including GigaIO Link Express and GigaIO LEX, which improve performance, functionality, and energy efficiency while allowing data centers to maximize their investment in PCIe devices. The company's innovative infrastructure fabric, called FabreX, leverages industry-standard PCI Express and future CXL technology to facilitate scalability and adaptability, enabling data centers to respond effectively to changing workloads over time. GigaIO's technology integrates computing and storage into a cohesive single-system cluster fabric, providing a cost-effective solution that democratizes AI and high-performance computing (HPC) architectures.

The Ferroelectric Memory Company

Series B in 2020
The Ferroelectric Memory Company (FMC), based in Dresden, Germany, specializes in providing embedded nonvolatile memory solutions to the semiconductor industry. FMC's core technology is based on ferroelectric hafnium oxide (FE-HfO2), enabling ultra-low-power, high-performance, and dense non-volatile storage. This technology, known as FeFET, transforms classical high-k metal-gate transistors into nonvolatile ferroelectric field effect transistors, allowing for easy scaling of microcontrollers from 65nm down to 5nm and beyond. FMC's solutions offer significant advantages, including a 80% reduction in system-on-chip (SoC) cost, a 1000x reduction in write energy per bit, and a 70% overall performance gain. The company's technology is designed to be compatible with cutting-edge technology nodes, making it a future-proof solution for the semiconductor industry.

Intel NAND Memory Business

Acquisition in 2020
Intel NAND Memory Business handles manufacturing and design patents of flash-memory products. Intel NAND Memory Business includes the NAND SSD, the NAND component, and wafer business, and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China. Intel NAND Memory Business was acquired by SK hynix for US $9 billion.

Gauss Labs

Corporate Round in 2020
Gauss Labs is a company focused on transforming the manufacturing sector through the development of advanced industrial artificial intelligence systems. By leveraging extensive machine-generated data, Gauss Labs creates software products that enhance intelligence in manufacturing and related fields. Their offerings include AI-based process monitoring solutions designed to monitor and analyze activities within manufacturing lines. The company's emphasis on semiconductor manufacturing allows it to provide advanced process control, statistical process control, and recipe management systems tailored for effective manufacturing process monitoring. Gauss Labs aims to assist industries such as semiconductor, automotive, battery, electronics, and pharmaceuticals in creating smarter factories that optimize operations and improve efficiency.

SiFive

Series E in 2020
SiFive, Inc. is a semiconductor company that specializes in designing and manufacturing chips, particularly focusing on RISC-V architecture. Established in 2015 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, with additional offices in locations such as Oregon, Texas, India, Taiwan, and France, SiFive provides a range of products including multi-core application processors, embedded microcontrollers, and system-on-chip solutions tailored for various applications such as IoT and wearables. The company emphasizes the use of open-source technology to enable faster and more cost-effective hardware development. By offering software development kits, toolchains, and customized silicon products, SiFive aims to democratize access to advanced semiconductor solutions, accelerating innovation for businesses of all sizes.

MemVerge

Series B in 2020
MemVerge is a technology company that specializes in Memory-Converged Infrastructure (MCI), utilizing its proprietary Distributed Memory Objects (DMO) technology. This innovative approach eliminates the traditional boundaries between memory and storage, allowing data-centric workloads to operate at memory speed. By leveraging Intel's Optane DC persistent memory, MemVerge enables seamless execution of data-intensive applications, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, IoT, and data warehousing. The company’s software ensures data consistency across multiple systems, empowering enterprises to efficiently process and gain insights from both small and large files.

Inpria

Series C in 2020
Inpria Corporation is a specialized manufacturer based in Corvallis, Oregon, focusing on the design, development, and production of EUV metal oxide photoresists for the semiconductor industry. Founded in 2007, Inpria has established itself as a pioneer in the use of inorganic photoresists and thin films for nanoscale patterning. The company's patented photo-condensed molecular oxides allow for the direct deposition of atomically smooth, dense, and photopatternable metal oxide films from solution. This innovation enhances performance while simplifying processing. Inpria's products are meticulously optimized to meet industry specifications related to resolution, sensitivity, and line width roughness, offering a comprehensive solution that includes photoresists, developers, and ancillary materials to support advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Horizon Robotics

Series B in 2019
Horizon Robotics is a prominent provider of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving solutions specifically designed for passenger vehicles. The company develops proprietary software and hardware that integrate advanced algorithms and specialized processing capabilities. These technologies form the foundation for enhanced driving automation, aiming to improve both safety and the overall experience for drivers and passengers. By focusing on innovative solutions, Horizon Robotics plays a key role in the evolution of assisted and autonomous driving.

ZettaStone

Angel Round in 2018
ZettaStone specializes in solid-state storage technology utilizing flash memory chips. The company caters to a diverse range of industries, including PC manufacturing, financial services, industrial control fields, data centers, industrial automation, transportation, medical treatment, and telecommunications. ZettaStone's solutions are designed to provide efficient and high-speed storage options for various applications, enhancing performance across different sectors.

TidalScale

Series B in 2018
TidalScale, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in software for in-memory applications, enabling the binding of multiple commodity hardware servers into a unified software virtual machine. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Campbell, California, with additional offices in Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, TidalScale offers software-defined servers designed to optimize the pooling and deployment of computing resources. Its innovative solutions provide in-memory performance for large-scale data workloads and are compatible with a variety of applications and operating systems, allowing organizations to configure virtual servers of different sizes without necessitating software changes. The company's technology is particularly beneficial for analytics, cloud infrastructure, and data mining, supporting applications such as Oracle database and SAP HANA.

Starblaze

Series C in 2018
Starblaze is a manufacturer of advanced solid-state drive (SSD) master chips, catering to both consumer and enterprise markets. The company has independently developed a high-performance, low-power NVMe SSD master controller, which is mass-produced and shipped alongside its firmware solutions. Starblaze's products support various well-known brands that offer high-performance NVMe SSDs. The company provides four distinct solutions: STAR1200C, a high-performance and low-power NVMe option; OC SSD, a customized Open-Channel interface solution for data centers; STAR1200E, an enterprise-level NVMe solution focused on low power and high performance; and DeepSSD, which incorporates AI storage master control to facilitate key-value storage applications in the monitoring sector. Starblaze's technology is designed for data processing-intensive applications, including AI data analysis, enabling the creation of more powerful computer systems.

Reno Sub Systems

Series C in 2017
Reno Sub-Systems, to our longtime semiconductor friends, colleagues and customers around the world. The founding of Reno has been a very gratifying challenge which has brought together many of the best and brightest minds in the field of Semiconductor Process Equipment Instrumentation. At a time when industry consolidation and the tightening of venture capital poses a serious threat to new business formation, the founders of Reno have demonstrated the incredible power of inventing world-class technologies to enable next generation processes. With three brand new and highly disruptive technologies, we are creating a paradigm shift in the industry. At Reno, we believe there is unlimited potential for new discoveries and innovative thinking. As we move forward into the 450mm era, Reno stands at the summit of semiconductor process control equipment technology, ready to set the standards for product performance, worldwide customer support and customer satisfaction.

Exnodes

Seed Round in 2016
Exnodes Inc., established in 2014 and headquartered in Fremont, California, specializes in designing and developing advanced computational imaging and machine learning technologies for the semiconductor industry. The company focuses on rapid detection, identification, and root-cause analysis of nanoscale defects in semiconductor fabrication processes. Exnodes' technology enables increased fabrication yields and resource preservation by leveraging modern sensors, electronics, optics, mechanics, and high-speed digital processing. Its innovative computational parallel inspection (CPI) method uses visible light to achieve an 8.9 nanometer sensitivity breakthrough, allowing for unpatterned wafer inspection without the need for deep ultraviolet (DUV) systems. Exnodes' technology is licensed to semiconductor companies aiming to enhance their product yields and efficiency.

NetSpeed Systems

Series C in 2016
NetSpeed Systems is a company that specializes in providing scalable and coherent Network-on-Chip (NoC) intellectual property (IP) for System-on-Chip (SoC) designers across various markets, including mobile, high-performance computing, and networking. Founded in 2011, the company offers NoC IPs that facilitate significant time-to-market advantages through a system-level approach, extensive user-driven automation, and advanced algorithms. Its technology simplifies the integration of internet protocols, allowing architects and designers to optimize power, performance, and area in application-specific integrated circuits. NetSpeed Systems is led by experienced executives from the semiconductor and networking industries, positioning the company as a key player in the evolving landscape of chip design.

Stratio

Series A in 2015
Stratio, Inc. is a technology company based in Palo Alto, California, that specializes in infrared sensing solutions. Founded in 2013, Stratio has developed groundbreaking products, including LinkSquare, a compact spectrometer, and BeyonSense, the first smartphone-compatible shortwave infrared camera. The company created the world's first germanium-based shortwave infrared sensor, which facilitates the development of portable and affordable infrared devices. Stratio's products are utilized globally by various partners and customers to enhance process efficiency, combat counterfeiting, ensure food safety, and support precision agriculture. The company is also focused on advancing its technology and aims to develop hyper-spectral imaging solutions in the near future.

Link_A_ Media

Acquisition in 2012
Link_A_Media Devices (LAMD) is the new leader in developing and manufacturing custom System-on-Chip (SOC) solutions for peripheral data storage devices, which include hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state-drives (SSDs). The SoC solution integrates the Read/Write Channel, disk controller functions, microprocessor(s) and memories, and servo processing for HDD application on a single chip.

Avicena

Avicena Tech specializes in manufacturing advanced optical chip interconnects, operating at ultra-low power and ultra-high speeds (petabit per second). Their innovative technology, based on silicon photonics and other high-volume commercial technologies, enables ultra-dense, low-latency, and low-cost connections between chips. This significantly enhances system performance and efficiency, addressing critical inter-chip communication needs, particularly in applications constrained by traditional electrical interconnects.
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