UK chip startup OLIX raises $312m at $3.3bn valuation, backed by UK gov’t Sovereign AI venture fund; funding to scale frontier inference

OLIX, founded in 2024 by James Dacombe, has raised $312 million in Series B funding, tripling its valuation to $3.3 billion. The round included investments from Arm, Fundomo, and the UK government’s Sovereign AI venture fund, aimed at scaling its frontier AI inference technology.¹

OLIX specializes in developing infrastructure for AI inference, designing systems that integrate chips, lasers, and networks. Its first chip, the DX-1, is engineered for large AI models, delivering over 10,000 tokens per second per user. The company’s innovative “slow and wide” optical interconnect allows for low-latency data transfer, enhancing performance and energy efficiency.³⁴

The funding will support the completion of the DX-1 and the expansion of OLIX’s custom silicon platform, with initial customer access expected in H2 2027. OLIX is also expanding its team across multiple locations, including London and San Francisco.

Professor Nick McKeown has joined OLIX’s board, bringing expertise in software-defined networking, while Matt Briers has been appointed CFO. The UK’s AI Minister, Kanishka Narayan, emphasized the importance of chip development for the future of AI, stating, “Countries that build chips will build leverage.” OLIX aims to position itself as a leader in this critical sector, leveraging its unique technology to shape the future of AI.