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The Hailo-8 AI Processor for Edge Devices.

Israeli chipmaker Hailo raised $136 million in Series C funding today. The funding will be used to continue the development of its Hailo-8 processor. It also aims to expand into new and existing markets.

The Series C round was led by Poalim Equity and Gil Agmon. The round was joined by existing investors, including prominent Israeli entrepreneur and Hailo Chairman Zohar Zisapel, ABB Technology Ventures, Latitude Ventures, OurCrowd, and new investors, including Carasso Motors, Comasco, Shlomo Group, Talcar Corporation Ltd., and Automotive Equipment.

The round raised Hailo’s total funding to $224 million. According to Reuters, a source closed to the company said the financing was done at a valuation of $1 billion, which makes it a unicorn.

The Hailo-8 processor features up to 26 tera-operations per second (TOPS), and it is smaller than a penny. The company claimed its Hailo-8 processor can perform deep learning tasks such as object detection and segmentation in real time with minimal power consumption, size, and cost.

“We are honored by this milestone round for an edge AI chip company and will use these significant resources to accelerate our aggressive plan to make advanced AI edge solutions more accessible to industries across the globe,” said Orr Danon, CEO and co-founder of Hailo. “This tremendous support is a testament to our unparalleled edge AI product line, and we look forward to empowering even smarter and swifter devices, and thus, a more robust future powered by AI.”

Hailo recently launched both its M.2 and Mini PCIe high-performance AI acceleration modules for empowering edge devices. It also recently partnered with MicroSys Electronics to launch the miriac AIP-LX2160A embedded platform that can host up to five integrated Hailo-8 AI accelerator modules. The company’s claimed this solution offers processing performance and deep learning capabilities of up to 130 TOPS. Typical markets for this new application-ready bundle include collaborative robotics.

Hailo said it doubled its customer base to more than 100 clients over the last two fiscal quarters of 2021 as more enterprises seek out AI solutions that empower sensors and smart devices at lower costs, lower energy, and greater power. The company has expanded its presence globally over the last year, opening offices in Tokyo, Taipei, Munich, and Silicon Valley. In addition, the company recently announced a partnership with Macnica, a leading global semiconductor distributor in Japan.