China's EVAS Intelligence raises $300M for AI chips

What's the deal? EVAS Intelligence, a Chinese startup building specialised computing chips for artificial intelligence, has raised a late-stage round of US$275M (roughly $300 million). The round drew more than 20 investors, including Huatai Innovation, Zhongding CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, SMIC Capital, Andon HealthDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Renai CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Tongfu MicroelectronicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.

What's the endgame? The company designs next-generation AI accelerator chips built around the open RISC-V instruction set and a self-developed, TPU-like computing architecture. It pairs that hardware with its own software toolchain, aiming to offer clients efficient, flexible, and scalable AI computing at a competitive total cost of ownership.

Why now? The raise values EVAS at an estimated US$2.06B post-money, a mark that signals investor conviction in domestic chip alternatives as China pushes to reduce reliance on foreign AI hardware.

The signal: This is among the largest bets of its kind — the round ranks in the 97th percentile for late-stage venture deals in China's internet-of-things sector over the past four years, across a sample of 184 rounds. The breadth of backers, spanning industrial funds, chip-industry players, and financial firms, underscores how much capital is flowing toward homegrown AI silicon.

Image credit: Sangitiana