A new rival to challenge Intel in the server chip industry was revealed after a multi-million-dollar investment from its backers.
Nuvia is planning a new range of data center processors, with the Nuvia Phoenix aiming to be faster, more efficient, and more secure than its competitors, claims the company.
The company's founders, backers, and plans had not been previously revealed, until Nuvia on Friday announced that it raised $53m from Dell Technologies Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, Mayfield, and WRVI Capital, with additional participation from Nepenthe LLC.
Chip on their shoulders
Santa Clarita-based Nuvia was founded by ex-Apple engineers John Bruno, Manu Gulati, and Gerard Williams III. The three led initiatives including Apple’s A-series of chips that power the iPhone and iPad.
According to Nuvia, the founders have worked on a combined 20 chips across their careers and have received more than 100 patents.
Williams is the CEO of Nuvia. Prior to co-founding the start-up, he was a senior director at Apple and chief CPU architect for nearly a decade. Before that, Williams spent over 10 years at ARM, as an ARM Fellow, and serving on the ARM Architectural Review and Technical Advisory Boards.
Manu Gulati is the SVP of Silicon Engineering at Nuvia. Prior to co-founding Nuvia, Manu was the lead SoC Architect for consumer hardware at Google. He also spent eight years at Apple as the lead SoC architect responsible for numerous Apple mobile SoCs.
John Bruno is the SVP of System Engineering at Nuvia and has over 23 years of industry experience. Prior to co-founding Nuvia, he was a system architect at Google, and before that spent five years at Apple. He began his career in 1996 as an ASIC designer at ATI Technologies Inc., where he became ASIC team leader responsible for multiple mobile GPUs and integrated chipsets.
Silicon renaissance
Gerard Williams III, CEO of Nuvia said: “The world is creating more data than it can process as we become increasingly dependent on high-speed information access, always-on rich media experiences and ubiquitous connectivity.
“A step-function increase in compute performance and power efficiency is needed to feed these growing user needs. The timing couldn’t be better to create a new model for high-performance silicon design with the support of a world-class group of investors.”
Scott Darling, president of Dell Technologies Capital said: “The formation of Nuvia is a prime example of remarkable innovation born in Silicon Valley.
“The best companies start when founders with outstanding track records of performance come together to identify a big problem and line up the best investment team to help them succeed. As part of that team, we’re focused on providing Nuvia with DTC’s unique value and market leverage.”
