Speedata Raises $44M to Launch Custom APU, Challenging Nvidia in Analytics Processing
Tel Aviv-based chip startup unveils high-performance data-centric processor ahead of public debut at Data & AI Summit
Purpose-Built APU Targets Analytics Bottlenecks
Israeli chip startup Speedata has secured $44 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised to $114 million. The company is developing a dedicated analytics processing unit (APU), purpose-built to outperform GPUs and general-purpose CPUs in big data and AI workloads.
- Unlike GPUs, which were retrofitted for AI and analytics, Speedata’s APU is engineered from the ground up for data processing.
- The processor is designed to replace server racks, delivering dramatic gains in speed and energy efficiency.
Backed by Tech Veterans and Strategic Investors
The round was led by existing investors, including Walden Catalyst Ventures, 83North, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Pitango First, and Viola Ventures, with participation from strategic figures like:
- Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel and managing partner at Walden Catalyst
- Eyal Waldman, co-founder and former CEO of Mellanox Technologies
Technology Born from Decades of Silicon R&D
Founded in 2019 by six chip design veterans, Speedata’s team includes early pioneers of Multi-Threaded Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architecture (CGRA).
- Their mission was to resolve the inefficiency of using general-purpose processors for analytics.
- The team moved from FPGA prototypes to fully functioning silicon in late 2024, a milestone now culminating in a commercial launch.
Competitive Edge in Real-World Workloads
Speedata’s APU is initially optimized for Apache Spark, but its roadmap includes support for all major analytics platforms, aiming to become the default processor for data analytics, much like how GPUs became standard for AI.
- CEO Adi Gelvan claims the APU can deliver performance increases of up to 280x, citing a pharmaceutical task that was cut from 90 hours to just 19 minutes.
- The company already has enterprise pilots underway, though client names have not been disclosed.
Official Debut at Data & AI Summit
Speedata will publicly unveil its APU at the Databricks Data & AI Summit in June, marking its first full product demonstration.
- The team is preparing for a commercial-scale rollout, citing a “growing pipeline” of enterprise interest.
- With the new funding, Speedata plans to scale go-to-market operations and broaden its platform integrations.
Speedata is stepping confidently into the AI and analytics infrastructure space, targeting a specific gap in computing performance for big data workloads. Backed by major investors and armed with custom silicon built for analytics from first principles, the company is poised to challenge Nvidia and redefine processing standards for data-centric enterprises.
