Meta in Talks to Acquire South Korean AI Chip Startup FuriosaAI

Meta is in talks to acquire FuriosaAI, a South Korean AI chip startup, to strengthen its custom chip efforts amid an NVIDIA GPU shortage. According to reports, the deal could be finalised this month, but other buyers are also in discussions.

Founded in 2017, FuriosaAI developed RNGD, an AI chip optimised for Llama 2 and Llama 3. The chip is said to consume less power than NVIDIA’s H100 GPUs. 

FuriosaAI has raised 170 billion won ($115 million) from investors, including Naver and DSC Investment. CEO June Paik, formerly of Samsung and AMD, holds an 18.4% stake.

The talks come as South Korean rival Rebellions merged with SK Hynix-backed Sapeon, forming the country’s first AI chip unicorn. 

South Korea is ramping up AI investments, positioning startups like FuriosaAI as key players. If Meta proceeds with the acquisition, it could reduce the reliance on NVIDIA’s high-cost GPUs.

Meanwhile, even OpenAI is building its custom chip.

The company plans to finalise the design soon and send it to TSMC for production, with mass production expected in 2026. A team of 40 engineers, led by former Google employee Richard Ho, is developing the chip in partnership with Broadcom. The chip will be used for training AI models and improved over time.

Tech giants Microsoft and Meta have faced challenges in producing AI chips. OpenAI’s move aligns with industry efforts to reduce dependence on NVIDIA, which controls 80% of the AI chip market. Microsoft and Meta plan to invest $80 billion and $60 billion in AI infrastructure next year, respectively.

The chip will use 3-nm technology with features similar to NVIDIA’s, including fast memory and networking.