Bill Gates’ VC Fund Leads $110 Million Funding for Chip Upstart - Bloomberg
Bill Gates’ VC fund, Microsoft Corp.’s investment arm and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Ventures are investing $110 million in Neurophos Inc., a chip company that aims to develop a new technology capable of outperforming accelerators used to run AI models.
The funding round was led by Gates Frontier, the venture investment arm of Microsoft’s co-founder, the company told Bloomberg News. Microsoft’s venture unit, M12, also participated in the round along with Aramco Ventures, the venture arm of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil producer. Other investors included Bosch Ventures, Tectonic Ventures and Space Capital.
Austin-based Neurophos is developing what it calls an optical processing unit, or OPU. It’s a chip that’s made up of one million micron-scale optical processing elements that rely on photons or light to transmit data. The more conventional graphics processing unit, or GPU, used for training and running AI models relies on electrons, or simply electricity, to transmit data.
The market for chips that train and run AI models is dominated by Nvidia Corp., which has a market capitalization of more than $4 trillion. There are multiple companies chasing it, with technology pitched as better specifically for running the models as opposed to training them. Those include players like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. as well as Cerebras Systems Inc., which is in talks to raise fresh funds at a $22 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported last week.
Neurophos claims its technology will provide 100 times more performance and energy efficiency than current leading chips.
Thursday, 22 January 2026
Major Gulf markets track global shares higher | Reuters
Major Gulf markets track global shares higher | Reuters
Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Thursday, in line with global shares, after U.S. President Donald Trump backed away from imposing tariffs on eight European countries, lifting global investor sentiment.
Trump's tariff threats, floated as leverage to seize Greenland, had fueled tensions and kept markets jittery this week, leading investors to treat the latest turn of events with some caution even as a sense of relief was evident.
The pan-European STOXX index (.STOXX), opens new tab up over 1% in early trading after Wednesday's initial reaction spurred Wall Street's (.SPX), opens new tab best day in two months.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 1.7%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab rising 3.1% and the country's biggest lender by assets Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab up 2.4%. Oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab concluded 1% higher.
The kingdom's crude oil exports hit their highest level in more than two-and-a-half years in November, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative showed on Wednesday.
The improved external environment allowed the market to pivot its focus to the fourth-quarter earnings season, keeping optimism high and maintaining a dominant "risk-on" mood, said Joseph Dahrieh, managing director at Tickmill.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab climbed 1.5%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab gaining 2.4%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was up 1%, buoyed by a 1.2% gain in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB.AD), opens new tab following a rise in fourth-quarter profit.
According to Dahrieh, the Abu Dhabi market has the potential to continue higher, backed by solid fundamentals; oil price volatility remains a key risk factor to watch.
The Qatari index (.QSI), opens new tab rose 1.1%, led by a 3.1% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab finished 0.9% higher.
Most stock markets in the Gulf closed higher on Thursday, in line with global shares, after U.S. President Donald Trump backed away from imposing tariffs on eight European countries, lifting global investor sentiment.
Trump's tariff threats, floated as leverage to seize Greenland, had fueled tensions and kept markets jittery this week, leading investors to treat the latest turn of events with some caution even as a sense of relief was evident.
The pan-European STOXX index (.STOXX), opens new tab up over 1% in early trading after Wednesday's initial reaction spurred Wall Street's (.SPX), opens new tab best day in two months.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 1.7%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab rising 3.1% and the country's biggest lender by assets Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab up 2.4%. Oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab concluded 1% higher.
The kingdom's crude oil exports hit their highest level in more than two-and-a-half years in November, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative showed on Wednesday.
The improved external environment allowed the market to pivot its focus to the fourth-quarter earnings season, keeping optimism high and maintaining a dominant "risk-on" mood, said Joseph Dahrieh, managing director at Tickmill.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab climbed 1.5%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab gaining 2.4%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab was up 1%, buoyed by a 1.2% gain in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB.AD), opens new tab following a rise in fourth-quarter profit.
According to Dahrieh, the Abu Dhabi market has the potential to continue higher, backed by solid fundamentals; oil price volatility remains a key risk factor to watch.
The Qatari index (.QSI), opens new tab rose 1.1%, led by a 3.1% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab finished 0.9% higher.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)