According to reports from local media, Furiosaai, a Korean startup that manufactures chips for AI applications, rejected a $800 million acquisition offer from Meta and chose to instead focus on the development and production of AI chips.
The report says that negotiations have collapsed due to differences in opinion regarding post-acquisition business strategies and organizational structures rather than pricing issues.
Along with other tech companies building large language models (LLMS) for a variety of AI applications, Meta is looking to reduce its dependence on NVIDIA for chips specialized in training and building LLMS. Last year, the tech giant unveiled custom AI chips, saying in January it would invest up to $65 billion this year to support the AI initiative.
Furiosaai did not respond to requests for comment. Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comments outside of normal business hours.
Meanwhile, Furiosaai reportedly has raised about $48 million (KRW 70 billion) in negotiations with investors, aiming to raise funds this month.
Founded in 2017 by June Paik, who worked for Samsung Electronics and AMD, Furiosaai developed two AI chips called Warboy and Renegade (RNGD) to take on Nvidia, AMD and more.
The startup says it has partnered with LG AI Research and Aramco to complete the test of the RNGD chip, which has completed testing of the RNGD chip. According to a research by LG AI, the company is reportedly planning to use RNGD chips in its AI infrastructure, and the startup plans to launch the chips later this year.