FuriosaAI Rejects $800M Meta Acquisition Offer - AI Chip News

FuriosaAI Declines $800 Million Acquisition by Meta

FuriosaAI, a South Korean firm specializing in AI chip development, has turned down an acquisition offer valued at $800 million from Meta. The company has chosen to prioritize independent development and production of its artificial intelligence chips, as reported by local news sources.

Negotiation Breakdown

The discussions between the two companies were halted not due to disagreements concerning the financial terms, but rather differing visions regarding post-acquisition business direction and organizational framework. This divergence in strategy ultimately led to the collapse of the potential deal.

Meta's Pursuit of Chip Independence

Meta is actively seeking to lessen its dependence on Nvidia for specialized chips crucial for the training and construction of large language models (LLMs). This effort is shared by numerous other technology companies involved in LLM development for diverse AI applications.

Last year, Meta revealed its own custom-designed AI chips. Furthermore, the company announced a planned investment of up to $65 billion this year to bolster its AI-related projects.

FuriosaAI's Current Funding Efforts

FuriosaAI is currently engaged in negotiations with investors to secure approximately $48 million (KRW 70 billion) in funding. The company anticipates finalizing this fundraising round within the current month.

Company Background and Chip Development

Established in 2017 by June Paik, a former employee of both Samsung Electronics and AMD, FuriosaAI has created two AI chips: Warboy and Renegade (RNGD). These chips are designed to compete directly with offerings from Nvidia and AMD.

RNGD Chip Testing and Future Plans

The startup has successfully completed testing of the RNGD chips, which are particularly well-suited for reasoning models. This testing was conducted in collaboration with LG AI Research and Aramco.

LG AI Research intends to integrate RNGD chips into its AI infrastructure. FuriosaAI is planning to officially launch these chips later in the year.

This article was updated to reflect a statement from FuriosaAI.