AI company Syenta secures $8.8m funding to address a significant impediment in its field
In a significant breakthrough for the tech industry, Australian startup Syenta has developed a proprietary chip packaging technology that could revolutionise the next generation of AI and quantum computing.
The company's Localised Electrochemical Manufacturing (LEM) innovation, led by CEO Dr Jekaterina Viktorova, addresses the memory bandwidth bottleneck in semiconductor packaging. This groundbreaking technology creates extremely dense, high-speed interconnects between chips, enabling data to flow far faster than current technologies allow.
Dr Viktorova, a Latvian-born chemist who studied in Germany and specialised in printed electronics in 2016, started building Syenta half a year into her PhD at ANU in 2019. The name Syenta was inspired by the intersection of semiconductors and science.
The LEM technology allows for scale down, scale out, and scale up. Sub-micron interconnects (≤1 µm redistribution layers) increase bandwidth density between chips, while packaging on large-area panels (up to 510/600 mm panels) allows expanded package sizes. High-volume, cost-effective production with 3x higher throughput compared to current manufacturing methods is also achievable.
This innovative manufacturing technique dramatically increases the density and speed of chip-to-chip interconnects, reducing latency and enhancing the computational efficiency of AI and quantum chips. The technology can be integrated into advanced packaging production lines and licensed to major foundries such as TSMC for large-scale chip manufacturing.
Syenta's LEM technology overcomes the data transfer bottleneck limiting AI and quantum chip performance by enabling ultra-dense, high-bandwidth interconnects through a scalable, high-throughput electrochemical manufacturing process.
The technology's potential applications extend beyond AI and quantum computing. Syenta's unique solution overcomes a bottleneck in semiconductor packaging and has the potential to make these chips more efficient.
Dr Viktorova's unrelenting ambition convinced neuroscientist and fellow ANU alumni Dowse to join Syenta. The startup was incorporated by Dr Viktorova and her co-founders in 2022, including neuroscientist Dowse, Professor Luke Connal, and Ben Wilkinson.
Syenta's work was disrupted by COVID-19 in 2020, but the company has since recovered and grown. Today, it boasts a team of 30 people spread across Europe, Arizona, and Australia. The startup has drawn attention from an impressive roster of Australian and international VCs, including Investible, Blackbird Ventures, Jelix Ventures, Brindabella Capital, OIF Ventures, Robyn Denholm's Wollemi Capital Group, Singapore's SGInnovate, and Arlington, Virginia-based intelligence VC In-Q-Tel.
Australia has positioned itself as a quantum thought leader in the world, and one of the ways quantum is expected to realize its potential in Australia is by being supported through advanced packaging, such as what Syenta is developing.
[1] Source: Syenta's official website [2] Source: Nature Electronics [3] Source: Semiconductor Today
In a world where data is becoming increasingly valuable, Syenta's LEM technology could unlock the next generation of AI and quantum computing, paving the way for a future where these technologies are more efficient and capable than ever before.
- The innovative LEM technology developed by Syenta, which has the potential to revolutionize AI and quantum computing, could significantly impact the financing and investing landscape in the technology and business sectors.
- With the potential to increase the efficiency of AI and quantum chips, Syenta's LEM technology could also lead to substantial advancements in data-and-cloud-computing, further enhancing the capabilities of businesses that heavily rely on technology for their operations.
