Quick Facts
- Cognichip raised $60 million in Series A funding led by Seligman Ventures, bringing total funding to $93 million
- The company claims its AI technology can reduce chip development costs by more than 75% and cut timelines by over half
- Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan joined as an investor and board member through Walden Catalyst Ventures
Cognichip closed a $60 million Series A funding round to accelerate development of its AI-powered chip design platform. Seligman Ventures led the round, with participation from SBI Investment and semiconductor-focused investors.
The startup claims its Artificial Chip Intelligence (ACI) technology can reduce semiconductor development costs by more than 75% and cut design timelines by over half. The company is currently working with more than 30 semiconductor companies, including many of the top 20 industry leaders.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan invested through his venture firm Walden Catalyst Ventures and joined Cognichip’s board. Tan previously served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems before leading Intel.
“The semiconductor industry is at a critical juncture; an AI framework for innovation and efficiency will unlock massive global opportunity,” Tan said. “Cognichip’s groundbreaking, physics-informed foundation model technology and proven leadership team position it to become a generational company.”
Founded in 2024 by CEO Faraj Aalaei, Cognichip developed a physics-informed foundation model that combines logic and physics-based reasoning for chip design. The technology transforms traditional serial workflows into concurrent, adaptive, and automated design processes.
Aalaei previously founded and took public two semiconductor companies – Centillium and Aquantia. Marvell Semiconductor acquired Aquantia, where Aalaei led a billion-dollar networking and automotive division.
The challenge for AI-powered chip design lies in data availability. Unlike software development, chip designers guard their intellectual property closely, limiting training data for AI models. Cognichip developed proprietary datasets and procedures that allow chipmakers to train models on their data without exposing it.
“These systems have now become intelligent enough that by just guiding them and telling them what the result is that you want, it can actually produce beautiful code,” Aalaei said.
The global semiconductor design market is projected to grow from $90 billion in 2024 to $150 billion by 2033. Cognichip faces competition from traditional players like Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems, plus AI-powered startup ChipAgents, which raised $50 million in February 2026.
All seed investors, including Mayfield, Lux Capital, FPV, and Candou Ventures, participated above their pro rata allocations in the Series A round.
Read more: Cognichip raises $60M to reinvent chip design with physics-inspired AI models