(Yicai) Sept. 3 -- China’s Infinigence AI, co-founded just 16 months ago by a Tsinghua University academic, has secured nearly CNY500 million (USD70.2 million) in a Series A financing round, bringing its total funding to almost CNY1 billion (USD140.4 million).

The latest fundraiser was led by Social Security Fund Zhongguancun Independent Innovation Investment Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, and Hongtai Aplus, Shanghai-based Infinigence AI announced on WeChat yesterday. Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Xiaomi, and other investors also took part.

Infinigence AI aims to cut the cost of deploying AI models by almost 100 percent through “activating diverse heterogeneous computing power and optimizing the synergy between hardware and software, making them as accessible as utilities like water and electricity,” according to the company. 

“This will become a new form of productive force that benefits the whole industry and accelerates the inclusive progress of artificial general intelligence,” it said.

Set up in May 2023 and led by Wang Yu, a professor in Tsinghua’s electronic engineering department, the startup’s co-founder and Chief Executive Xia Lixue and Chief Scientist Dai Guohao are Wang’s former students.

The proceeds of the most recent fundraiser will be used for talent acquisition, research and development, and product commercialization, the company said, adding that it aims to become the preferred "computing power operator" in the era of AI models.

Infinigence AI also raised funds in May and November last year from investors such as Baidu, Zhipu AI, and Sequoia China. In April, it launched the Infini-AI platform to develop and service AI models, attracting Zhipu AI, MoonShot, Shengshu AI, and other clients utilizing heterogeneous computing power on the platform.

The new opportunities presented by the AI 2.0 wave, coupled with the imbalances in supply and demand within China's computing power ecosystem, provide a timely opportunity for Infinigence AI, Xia said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev