Positron has raised a $230 million Series B round led by the Qatar Investment Authority, giving the Reno-based semiconductor startup fresh capital as it works to scale its AI-focused chip technology. The three-year-old company says the funding will accelerate deployment of its high-speed memory chips, which are designed to support demanding AI workloads.
The round brings Positron’s total funding to just over $300 million, and reflects a major investment by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund in alternative AI infrastructure. Sources familiar with the deal told TechCrunch that QIA views compute capacity as a strategic priority as Qatar builds out its broader AI ambitions.
The financing arrives as major AI labs and hyperscalers look for more options beyond Nvidia, which continues to dominate the market for AI accelerators. Reuters has reported that OpenAI has been exploring alternatives to some of Nvidia’s newest chips, underscoring growing interest in diversification across the industry.
Positron’s approach centers on efficiency and inference. The company claims its first-generation chip, Atlas — manufactured in Arizona — can deliver performance comparable to Nvidia’s H100 while using less than a third of the power. Rather than focusing on training frontier models, Positron is positioning itself around inference workloads, where companies run AI systems in real-world applications.
Qatar’s backing also fits into a broader push to invest in AI infrastructure. The country has highlighted these priorities in recent months, including a previously announced $20 billion AI infrastructure joint venture between QIA and Brookfield Asset Management.
Positron last raised $75 million from investors including Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, DFJ Growth, Flume Ventures, and Resilience Reserve. The jump from that round to a $230 million Series B in under a year reflects both the company’s momentum and the wider demand for credible alternatives in AI compute.
For Positron, the next test will be execution: proving Atlas can perform reliably at scale beyond benchmarks, and translating funding into production-ready deployments. With more capital behind it and a major sovereign investor as a backer, the company is now entering a phase where delivery will matter as much as ambition.
This analysis is based on reporting from techbuzz.
Image courtesy of Positron.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
