Photo: FuriosaAI
South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI has reportedly turned down an $800 million acquisition offer from tech giant Meta, according to local media reports. The decision stems from disagreements over post-acquisition business strategy and organizational structure, not financial terms.
Meta, seeking to diversify its chip sourcing beyond Nvidia for its artificial intelligence initiatives, had made the offer. However, FuriosaAI, founded in 2017 by June Paik, a former Samsung and AMD engineer, aims to maintain its independence and focus on developing its proprietary AI chips, Warboy and Renegade (RNGD).
FuriosaAI is currently in discussions with investors to secure approximately $48 million in funding, with the goal of finalizing the round this month. The company recently completed testing its RNGD chips, designed for reasoning models, in collaboration with LG AI Research and Aramco. LG AI Research is expected to utilize the RNGD chips in its AI infrastructure, with a planned market launch later this year.