Venture capital firms in South Korea are increasing investment in startups specializing in Compute Express Link technology, or CXL, an interface technology that enhances the connection between central processors of computers and memory chips. Some of these startups have reached valuations of $75 million (100 billion won) after a year of being founded.
CXL technology is critical for AI applications requiring large data processing. A high-performance CXL memory, or CXL DRAM, can increase a server’s memory capacity by eight to ten times. “The CXL market is projected to grow faster than expected,” said Cha Yong-ho, an analyst at EBEST Investment & Securities. “Memory chips enhanced CXL technology is poised to surpass the capacity limitations of existing memory chips.”
New York-based semiconductor startup Primemas is seeking a Series A funding round, according to industry insiders on Feb. 5. Primemas plans to raise 670 billion won by June to begin mass production of chiplets - tiny integrated circuits - for CXL memory solutions.
Primemas was founded by former SK Hynix vice president Dr. Park Il in December 2022. The startup’s flagship product, hub chiplet SoC (System on a Chip) modules, is applied in artificial intelligence (AI) chips. “With Primemas hub chiplets, the cost and time needed to design and manufacture a custom SoC can be reduced by ten times,” said Primemas.
The startup raised 9.3 billion won in pre-seed funding last year. Timefolio Asset Management, Aju IB Investment, Shinhan Bank, A Ventures and Rainier Partners led the funding round. “Primemas shows potential in developing CXL memory solutions based on its expertise in CXL interface technology, SoC integration, and understanding of the DRAM interface,” said a leading venture capitalist who participated in the investment round. “Primemas can support at least double, and potentially up to 64 times more large-scale DRAM memory than other CXL controller SoCs.”
MetisX, a South Korean fabless semiconductor company that develops intelligent memory solutions based on CXL, is also planning on raising funding through a Series A investment round. The company aims to raise over 50 billion won to start producing chips designed for CXL 3.0-based intelligent memory.
Korean chip startup Panmnesia secured 16 billion won in September last year. The startup, which KAIST professor Jung Myung-soo founded in August 2022, is currently valued at 100 billion won. Panmnesia’s flagship product, CXL 3.0, enables multiple hosts to share memory without coherency concerns. It is considered the most advanced form of chip memory architecture.
Venture capital firms have been investing early in CXL-related companies because they see a potential AI boom in the next few years. As AI is applied across various sectors, from large language models to autonomous driving, the focus has shifted towards enhancing memory capacity and bandwidth rather than boosting computing power. DRAM memory manufacturers are responding to this trend by developing CXL memory to improve memory capacity.
Market research firm Yole Group predicts that the global CXL market will reach $15 billion by 2028, with CXL DRAM constituting $12 billion, or 80%, of this market.
