Frore Systems reaches $1.64B valuation, joins unicorn club in deep tech chip space

Semiconductor startup Frore Systems, now eight years old, has raised $143 million in a Series D funding round led by MVP Ventures, bringing its valuation to $1.64 billion, the company announced on Monday.

With this latest round, Frore has secured a total of $340 million in funding to date. Rather than manufacturing chips directly, the company specialises in developing liquid-cooling systems designed to support them. Founded by two former Qualcomm engineers, Frore initially focused on air-cooling solutions for smartphones and other compact, fanless electronic devices.

The company’s shift toward chip-focused cooling solutions was influenced in part by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who saw a demonstration of Frore’s technology about two years ago, according to a Bloomberg report. Huang encouraged the company to explore liquid-cooling technologies, which have become increasingly critical for high-performance AI chips and computing systems. Frore responded by developing products compatible with various Nvidia chips and boards, and has since expanded to support hardware from Qualcomm and AMD as well.

Investment in AI-related semiconductor technologies has been surging. Other startups in the space have also achieved significant valuations, including Nvidia competitor Positron, which reached $1 billion in February, and Recursive Intelligence, which debuted at $4 billion. Meanwhile, Eridu recently launched with a $200 million Series A round to develop next-generation AI networking chips, though it did not disclose its valuation.

Frore’s latest funding round also drew participation from investors including Fidelity, Mayfield, Addition, Qualcomm Ventures, and Alumni Ventures.