FuriosaAI Lands First Major Contract After Rejecting Meta's $800M Acquisition Offer

FuriosaAI, a Seoul-based semiconductor startup, has secured its first major commercial agreement, marking a key milestone in its effort to develop AI chips competing with industry leader Nvidia. This comes after the company rejected Meta's $800M acquisition offer. The startup aims to provide AI chips capable of competing with Nvidia.

FuriosaAI Inc., a Seoul-based startup, has made significant strides in the AI chip market by securing its first major commercial agreement. The startup, which aims to compete with industry leader Nvidia Corp., has won final approval for its AI chip RNGD (pronounced “Renegade”) from LG AI Research. LG will use the RNGD chip to power its Exaone large-language models, marking a significant validation for FuriosaAI [1].

FuriosaAI's journey has been marked by both challenges and achievements. The company was founded in 2017 by June Paik, who previously worked at Samsung Electronics Co. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. FuriosaAI has been developing semiconductors for AI inferencing or services, claiming to deliver 2.25 times better inference performance per watt compared to graphics processing units [1].

The startup's first major contract with LG is a testament to its progress. Paik stated that the commercialization phase signals that their product is ready for enterprise adoption. This development is particularly notable in the context of the post-ChatGPT boom in AI infrastructure, where several Korean chip designers are aiming to capitalize on the growing demand [1].

FuriosaAI is not alone in its ambitions. Korean peers such as Rebellions Inc. and Semifive Inc. are also tapping into the same ecosystem of talent, suppliers, and government incentives that have sprung up around Samsung and SK Hynix Inc. [1]. The partnership with LG will see the deployment of RNGD servers across various industries, including electronics and finance, as well as powering LG’s in-house enterprise AI agent, ChatExaone [1].

Looking ahead, FuriosaAI is targeting the US, Middle East, and Southeast Asia markets for its next set of customers. Paik expects to secure similar agreements in the second half of this year. The startup's rejection of Meta's $800 million acquisition offer in March has been a significant factor in its pursuit of independence and growth [1].

While FuriosaAI faces stiff competition from established players like Nvidia, its innovative approach to AI chip design and its strategic partnerships are positioning it as a strong contender in the market. As the company continues to raise capital and prepare for an initial public offering, investors and financial professionals will be closely watching its progress [1].

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-22/nvidia-chip-challenger-furiosaai-scores-first-major-customer-lg