Ethernovia Raises $90M as Investors Rush to Fund ‘Physical AI’

As advances in artificial intelligence continue to accelerate, investors and companies are increasingly looking to apply those gains to real-world systems such as robotics and autonomous vehicles — a growing area often described as “physical AI.” As a result, a portion of the massive funding flowing into AI startups is beginning to reach companies working behind the scenes to make these technologies function at scale.

A recent example is Ethernovia, which announced on Tuesday that it has raised $90 million in a Series B funding round. Based in San Jose, the company develops Ethernet-based processors designed to gather data from distributed sensors within complex systems — such as autonomous vehicles — and rapidly transmit that information to a central computing unit.

Porsche SE and Qualcomm Ventures already backed Ethernovia before this round. The latest investment was led by Maverick Silicon, an AI-focused fund launched in 2024 by hedge fund Maverick Capital. Notably, Maverick Silicon represents the first sector-specific fund introduced by Maverick Capital in its 30-year history.

This level of attention and capital highlights a broader trend expected to continue throughout the year, as investors seek to support lesser-known companies like Ethernovia that play a critical role in enabling next-generation AI-driven technologies.