A Belgian tech start-up has raised 20 million euros to develop groundbreaking AI-optimized chips.
The spin-off from Leuven’s renowned Imec research center aims to address a major bottleneck in AI applications known as the 'memory wall'.
Traditional memory technologies like SRAM and DRAM are either costly or energy-intensive, creating inefficiencies that limit the potential of advanced AI systems.
Vertical Compute plans to overcome these challenges with an innovative 3D chiplet architecture that brings data closer to computational power. This approach could reduce energy consumption by up to 80 percent, improve AI model performance, and enhance privacy by minimizing data transmission to external servers.
The funding round, led by Imec.xpand with support from international investors such as Eurazeo, XAnge, and Vector Gestion, marks one of the largest seed rounds for a Belgian start-up.
Founded in 2023 by former Google engineer Sylvain Dubois and ex-Imec expert Sébastien Couet, Vertical Compute is headquartered in Louvain-la-Neuve, with R&D facilities in Leuven, Grenoble, and Nice.
