iHW
Category: AI Chips / Semiconductors
South Korean fabless startup developing INFERTRON, an ultra-low-power AI chip using analog compute-in-memory (ACiM) / neuromorphic computing for edge AI applications. iHW was founded in 2021. The company is led by 김태훈 (Kim Tae-hoon). Based in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $46M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include Kolon Investment (lead), Woori Venture Partners, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, DSC Investment, HB Investment, Korea Development Bank (KDB), LIG Defense & Aerospace + IBK Capital consortium, BA Partners.
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $46M
Value proposition
Ultra-low-power AI inference chip (INFERTRON) that performs compute-in-memory directly where weights are stored, eliminating data movement to slash power consumption and latency for edge AI — targeting performance comparable to Nvidia/Hailo using mature 28-40nm process nodes without external DRAM, flash, or cooling.
Products and solutions
INFERTRON — ultra-low-power AI system-on-chip (SoC) using ACiM (Analog Compute-in-Memory) architecture, single-chip operation without external DRAM/flash or cooling, targeting edge inference for vision AI and LLM chip prototypes.
Unique value
Analog compute-in-memory (ACiM) neuromorphic architecture that performs computation at the weight-storage location, eliminating data movement overhead — enabling ultra-low power, low heat, and operation on mature (legacy) process nodes without separate memory or cooling hardware.
Target customer
Edge AI device makers in smart city, industrial vision, robotics (joints/actuators), on-device AI, and mobile/edge device OEMs.
Industries served
Smart city, industrial vision, robotics, edge/on-device AI, mobile devices.
Technology advantage
ACiM (Analog Compute-in-Memory) neuromorphic computing applied directly to the compute architecture; single-chip operation without external DRAM/flash; works on mature 28-40nm legacy nodes; low heat (no heatsink/cooling needed); large-scale parallel compute for low power and latency.
How they differentiate
Unlike digital NPUs that fetch weights from memory into separate compute circuits, iHW's ACiM architecture computes in-place at the weight-storage location, cutting data movement energy/latency and enabling single-chip ultra-low-power operation on mature process nodes without cooling — targeting edge scenarios (smart city, industrial vision, robot joints) where battery/heat limits block digital NPUs.
Main competitors
Rebellions, DeepX, FuriosaAI (Korean AI semiconductor startups), edge AI chip players such as Hailo, THE VC also lists Artcron, Pebble Square, CIT, Ratel Semiconductor as similar companies.
Key partnerships
KETI (Korea Electronics Technology Institute) Intelligent Semiconductor Device Research Center — joint humanoid low-power SoC development, Mesacure Company business agreement (Aug 2025), government R&D with MSIT (Ministry of Science and ICT) and MOTIE (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy), Microchip Technology / SST — analog compute / memBrain neuromorphic memory partnership for edge AI SoC (announced 2023; confirmed ongoing 2025)
Major milestones
2021 founded in US, 2022 Seed (₩3B, BA Partners), 2024 Korean entity established (June), end-2024 Pre-Series A ₩12B, 2025 won multiple MSIT/MOTIE AI semiconductor national R&D projects ($10M+ government funding) and Scale-up TIPS, 2025 KETI joint humanoid low-power SoC development, Aug 2026 Series A ₩52B (~$38M) led by Kolon Investment.
Growth metrics
~40 employees (June 2026); cumulative funding ₩64B (~$46M); Series A valuation ~₩300B (~$220M); 10 patents; 4 national R&D projects (2026).
Market positioning
Early-stage Korean fabless AI semiconductor startup in the analog/neuromorphic compute-in-memory niche, positioned against digital NPU players (Rebellions, DeepX, FuriosaAI) and global edge AI chips (Hailo, Nvidia Jetson).
Geographic focus
South Korea (domestic) with edge AI applications targeting global smart city, industrial vision, and robotics markets.
Patents and IP
10 patents registered (per THE VC, 2026); analog AI chip / ACiM NPU IP.
About 김태훈 (Kim Tae-hoon)
PhD in Engineering, Arizona State University. Ex-Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology (memory semiconductor development); SK Hynix ~10 years reaching Vice President.
Latest news about iHW
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Official website: https://ihw-ai.com
