OXMIQ Series A: Bold $35 Mn Bet on Custom AI Chips

Avinash
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Avinash
Avinash is a dedicated MBA professional with expertise in business operations, team management, and AI-driven content development. Backed by global certifications and published HR research, he...
Samsung Catalyst Fund and Fundomo co-led the round, helping Raja Koduri scale OxCore toward its first customer silicon deployments by 2027.

Quick Take

  • The OXMIQ Series A raised $35 Mn (Rs 331 Cr), lifting total capital to $60 Mn.
  • Samsung Catalyst Fund and Fundomo co-led the round; MediaTek and Intel Capital joined.
  • Funds will scale OxCore, its licensable GPU core, toward first customer chips by 2027.

The OXMIQ Series A raised $35 Mn (Rs 331 Cr) in a round co-led by Samsung Catalyst Fund and Fundomo, taking the GPU IP startup founded by Raja Koduri to $60 Mn in total capital raised.

OXMIQ builds a licensable graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture. It lets chipmakers and AI system builders create custom AI silicon without running a full, costly chip program. Koduri, a former Intel graphics chief, calls the model an “Arm for AI GPUs” (company announcement).

StartupFeed Insight

The lean raise is the real signal in the OXMIQ Series A. The company took only $35 Mn, not the hundreds of millions a chip firm usually burns, because it licenses IP instead of taping out its own silicon. That capital efficiency is what drew Samsung and MediaTek, both of whom need non-Nvidia options for their own roadmaps. Watch India closely: OXMIQ’s Hyderabad team and its 2-GW AM Intelligence Labs deal give the country a rare seat at the frontier-silicon table. StartupFeed expects OXMIQ to convert at least one licensing engagement into a taped-out customer chip before the end of 2027. By Avinash.

OXMIQ Series A: The Numbers

The OXMIQ Series A is a $35 Mn (Rs 331 Cr) equity round that closed on July 1, 2026, company announcement confirmed. The deal doubles the startup’s lifetime funding within a year of its stealth exit.

Metric Detail Notes
Total Raise $35 Mn (Rs 331 Cr) Series A, company announcement
Lead Investors Samsung Catalyst Fund, Fundomo Co-led the round
Other Investors MediaTek, Pegatron VC, CDIB-TEN, Darwin Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital, AM Intelligence Labs, Intel Capital Strategic and financial
Previous Round $20 Mn (Rs 189 Cr) seed August 2025, company announcement
Cumulative Raised $60 Mn (Rs 568 Cr) Total to date
Announcement Date July 1, 2026 Series A close

The investor mix is the standout: Samsung, MediaTek, and Intel Capital are all chip firms, not just financiers. Their money signals demand for a GPU design they can license rather than buy.

About OXMIQ

OXMIQ Labs is a GPU and AI architecture company founded by Raja Koduri in 2025. It is headquartered in Campbell, California, with a development site in Hyderabad, India. The company licenses GPU intellectual property (IP) through its flagship OxCore core and OxQuilt chiplet tools. Backers include Samsung Catalyst Fund, MediaTek, and Fundomo. Koduri previously led graphics at AMD, Apple, and Intel.

Why did Samsung back OXMIQ?

Samsung backed the OXMIQ Series A because it wants a licensable path to custom AI silicon that does not depend on Nvidia. The chip giant co-led the round through its Samsung Catalyst Fund, joining strategic peers MediaTek and Intel Capital.

“OXMIQ’s novel AI core and software platform enable heterogeneous compute for efficient, custom inference solutions serving large-scale agentic workloads,” said David Goldschmidt, Head of the Samsung Catalyst Fund.

OXMIQ’s pitch lands at a useful moment. Equipping a 100-MW data centre with current GPUs now costs close to $5 Bn, Koduri told EE Times. Buying wafers direct and building custom silicon can cut that bill sharply, which is exactly the lever OXMIQ hands its licensees.

How will OXMIQ use the funds?

OXMIQ will use the Series A funds to finish its first batch of licensable IP and turn it into shipping products. Koduri said the money also expands the stack into custom data centre hardware, including bespoke silicon (company announcement).

OxCore is running on FPGA today, executing live workloads with the company’s software stack. OXMIQ plans to grow its team from about 45 people toward 60 to 70, keeping headcount below 100. The firm has named “a couple of critical customer engagements” it aims to translate into real chips.

Who does OXMIQ compete with?

OXMIQ competes on a different axis from the dominant merchant GPU vendors, since it sells licensable IP rather than finished chips. Its closest structural peers are IP licensors, not chip sellers.

Player Model Focus
OXMIQ Licensable GPU IP Custom AI silicon, CUDA portability
Merchant GPU vendors Sell finished chips Data centre AI training and inference
Established IP licensors License CPU/GPU designs Mobile and embedded graphics

What sets OXMIQ apart is OxPython, a layer that runs existing CUDA and PyTorch code on non-Nvidia hardware without a rewrite. That portability, already demoed on Tenstorrent chips, is the company’s sharpest edge.

What’s Next

OXMIQ’s near-term milestone is converting its FPGA-proven OxCore into a customer’s taped-out chip. It is also the architecture partner for a 2-GW AM Intelligence Labs AI build in India, with a first 1-GW cluster in Noida due online in late 2027. Can a 45-person startup really become the “Arm for AI GPUs”? The next 18 months will tell.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did the OXMIQ Series A raise?
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The OXMIQ Series A raised $35 Mn (Rs 331 Cr), closed on July 1, 2026. Samsung Catalyst Fund and Fundomo co-led the deal. The raise lifted the startup’s total capital to $60 Mn (Rs 568 Cr) since its August 2025 seed round.

What does OXMIQ do?
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OXMIQ builds a licensable GPU architecture that lets chipmakers create custom AI silicon without a full chip program. Its flagship product, OxCore, packs GPU, tensor, and orchestration engines into one design. Founder Raja Koduri describes the model as an “Arm for AI GPUs”.

How will OXMIQ use the Series A funds?
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OXMIQ will use the Series A funds to finish its first licensable IP and turn it into shipping products. The money also expands the stack into custom data centre hardware and bespoke silicon. The company plans to grow its team from about 45 to 60 to 70 people.

Who are OXMIQ’s investors?
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Samsung Catalyst Fund and Fundomo co-led the OXMIQ Series A. Other backers include MediaTek, Pegatron Venture Capital, CDIB-TEN, Darwin Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital, AM Intelligence Labs, and Intel Capital. Several are chip firms seeking non-Nvidia design options for their own roadmaps.

Who founded OXMIQ and where is it based?
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OXMIQ was founded in 2025 by Raja Koduri, a former graphics chief at Intel, AMD, and Apple. The company is headquartered in Campbell, California, with engineering teams in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, India. It exited stealth in August 2025 with a $20 Mn seed round.

Last updated: July 2, 2026 at 09:30 IST

Written by Avinash. Published: July 2, 2026. Updated: July 2, 2026. Have a tip? Write to us at editorial@startupfeed.in.

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Avinash is a dedicated MBA professional with expertise in business operations, team management, and AI-driven content development. Backed by global certifications and published HR research, he leverages innovation and strategic management to drive organizational success.