Ondine Capital hits first close on Fund III to back AI and chips
What's the deal? Ondine CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has reached a first close on Fund III, its third US dollar-denominated venture fund, the Taipei-based firm said on November 3. The fund secured commitments from institutional and strategic limited partners, including several leading Taiwanese semiconductor companies. Ondine did not disclose the fund's size.
What's the endgame? Fund III will invest across what Ondine calls the full AI value chain — foundation models, next-generation semiconductors, AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and physical AI applications. The firm is building on its existing focus in semiconductors and deep technology.
Early bets: The fund's portfolio already includes Recursive Superintelligence, founded by former Salesforce chief scientist Richard Socher, which recently raised $650 million at a $4 billion pre-money valuation led by Google Ventures. Other holdings are Bot Auto, a Houston autonomous-freight startup, and Salience Labs, a silicon-photonics company that closed a $125 million round backed by AMD VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Intel Capital.
A new partner: Alongside the close, Ondine named Brian Yen as partner. He previously ran Headline Asia's Taipei office as principal, building a network across Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, with investments including respond.io and iMotorbike. At Ondine, Yen will back early-stage founders in intelligent software and physical AI, widening the firm's reach beyond chips.
Why now? "The convergence of AI and semiconductors is unleashing unprecedented opportunities across global tech," Yen said. The participation of Taiwanese chip firms could give Fund III industry connections alongside capital.
The signal: The close fits a broader push to channel money into Taiwan's semiconductor and deep-tech ecosystem, mirrored by a separate National Tsing Hua University and Top Taiwan Venture CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → fund targeting about US$28.9M (roughly $34 million) for AI and chips. Without a disclosed target or deployment plan, though, the scale of Ondine's ambition remains hard to gauge.
Read more: markets.financialcontent.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
