Artificial Intelligence computing firm Blaize has raised $71 million from new and existing investors.
The firm intends to utilise the Series D funding to accelerate AI Edge Computing and Automotive/EV product roadmap. Towards this and for scaling the business, it would be expanding the engineering and customer service teams in Hyderabad over the next 12-18 months.
CEO Dinakar Munagala said there is a growing demand for higher performance, lower power, lower cost AI hardware and transformational AI software solutions in automotive, smart retail, smart city and industrial markets, something Blaize would be addressing with the funding. New investor Franklin Templeton and existing investor Temasek led the round that saw the participation from DENSO and other new and existing investors, the firm said.
Blaize in a release said there are plans to strengthen its talent base in India by hiring engineers and AI technology experts across functions including hardware design, software development, verification, research and customer services.
In 2020, the firm had released and built a multi-year pipeline for the first generation Blaize AI edge computing hardware and software products with customer opportunities in the US, Europe, Japan, and Asia. In India, expansive potential exists for Blaize to play a role in the AI-based transformational progress in agriculture, healthcare, smart city, and other initiatives, the release said.
