Vertical Compute, a deep-tech spin-off from research institute imec, has raised 20 million euros in seed funding to develop cutting-edge semiconductor technology aimed at solving a major bottleneck in AI computing.
The round was led by imec.xpand and supported by Eurazeo, XAnge, Vector Gestion, and imec.
Founded by former Google executive Sylvain Dubois (CEO) and ex-imec researcher Sébastien Couet (CTO), Vertical Compute is developing a novel chiplet-based architecture that vertically integrates memory and computation. The aim is to drastically reduce energy use and data transfer times in AI applications, enabling faster, more private, and energy-efficient AI processing on edge devices like smartphones and PCs.
"Overcoming the memory wall is essential for the next wave of AI innovation”, says Couet. “Our vertical approach could offer up to 100x performance improvements.”
With operations in Belgium and France, the company is actively recruiting top engineering talent across Europe. Backers see Vertical Compute’s technology as a potential game-changer for bringing large-scale AI to the edge while reducing reliance on energy-hungry cloud infrastructure.
