Kandou AI, a Swiss-headquartered fabless semiconductor company, has raised $225 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Maverick Silicon. The company develops high-speed, energy-efficient chip-to-chip connectivity solutions powered by Copper MIMO (Chord™ Signaling) technology for AI infrastructure. The capital will fund production ramp-up, customer partnerships, and advancement of its AI connectivity roadmap.
AI Interconnect Funding Surges
The raise follows a wave of investments in AI connectivity. Ayar Labs closed a $500M Series E on March 3, 2026, to scale optical interconnects. Eridu emerged from stealth with over $200M on March 10 for AI networking. Kandou AI's copper-based approach targets power and cost gaps left by optics-heavy rivals.
Memory Walls Block AI Growth
AI clusters face memory bandwidth bottlenecks that limit scaling. Current SerDes solutions consume high power and fail to extend copper reach for GPU scale-up and memory subsystems. Hyperscalers demand efficient links amid exploding data center needs. Kandou AI shipped over 20 million silicon units, proving reliability.
Copper MIMO Doubles Bandwidth
Kandou AI's Chord™ Signaling achieves path to Shannon capacity, reducing power consumption and system costs by over 10x while extending copper links for 448G+ speeds. Products like Regli™ PCIe 5.0/CXL 2.0 retimers and Glasswing™ IP enable GPU scale-out without optics. Tigerwing™ taped out on TSMC's leading-edge node in just four months. This contrasts with optical solutions from Ayar Labs, offering lower cost and integration ease.
As CEO Srujan Linga noted:
"This funding round is a clear validation of our vision to redefine how data moves across AI infrastructure — enabling higher bandwidth, lower power, and scalable AI systems."
EDA Giants Validate Pivot
Maverick Silicon led the round, joined by SoftBank Group, Synopsys, Cadence, and Alchip. Participation from EDA leaders signals design tool integration for rapid silicon ramps. The $400 million post-money valuation reflects prior $280M raised since 2011. Strategic backers position Kandou AI for hyperscaler adoption.
Manish Muthal of Maverick Silicon said:
"The performance and scalability of next-gen AI clusters will be defined by interconnect innovation."
Data Center Links Hit $65B
The data center interconnect market stands at $18.73B in 2026, projected to reach $64.96B by 2035 at 14.82% CAGR. Rivals like Astera Labs ($232M raised) focus on PCIe/CXL retimers, while Celestial AI ($589M) pursues photonic memory pooling. Copper vs. optics debate intensifies as AI capex surges. Kandou AI's rebrand to AI focus in 2025 times perfectly with chiplet trends.
CHIPS Veteran Drives Scale
CEO Srujan Linga brings expertise from the US Department of Commerce CHIPS program and AI taskforce. COO Taher Madraswala, with experience at Intel and Quest Global, oversees engineering and operations. Founder Amin Shokrollahi transitioned to CTO. These hires support a 189-employee team expanding via a new Bengaluru office.
Tapeouts Enable Hyperscaler Push
Kandou AI deployed solutions at a leading hyperscaler in 2025 and plans production scaling, India engineering growth, and AI fabric chiplets. Multiple engineering roles opened for analog/digital design. GSA nomination underscores momentum.