South Korean AI Chip Startup Rebellions Raises $400M Ahead of IPO
Rebellions, a South Korean fabless AI chip startup, has secured $400 million in a pre-IPO funding round, reaching a valuation of approximately $2.3 billion. The round was led by Mirae Asset Financial Group and the Korea National Growth Fund, which contributed 250 billion Korean won ($166 million). This brings the company's total funding to $850 million, with $650 million raised in the last six months alone.
The funding will support Rebellions' global expansion into Asia, the Middle East, and the United States, including sales and engineering teams, product development for AI inference chips, and proof-of-concept trials targeting major labs like Meta and xAI. The company is preparing for an IPO later in 2026, potentially marking one of the year's largest AI hardware debuts.
Rebellions designs chips specifically optimized for AI inference, positioning itself as a challenger to Nvidia's dominance in the data center GPU market. The company's ATOM NPU entered mass production in 2025 using Samsung's 5nm process, and it merged with Sapeon (SK Telecom's subsidiary) last year to create a stronger domestic player for global competition.
Investors in Rebellions include Samsung, SK Hynix, Saudi Aramco, and SK Telecom. The company is part of South Korea's "K-Nvidia" initiative to develop domestic AI chips and reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor suppliers. Executive declined to specify the exact timeline or exchange for the planned IPO.