Ethernovia Raises $90 Million to Power the Nervous System of Physical AI

Ethernovia, a San Jose-based semiconductor startup, has successfully closed a Series B funding round exceeding $90 million. The investment was led by Maverick Silicon, with significant contributions from Socratic Partners, Conduit Capital, and CDIB-TEN Capital. This capital injection aims to accelerate the production of high-performance networking chips that serve as the essential nervous system for autonomous machines and vehicles.

The company intends to use the fresh capital to ramp up development and manufacturing of its next-generation packet processor family. These funds will also support expanded software capabilities and customer engagement across the global automotive, robotics, and industrial sectors. By scaling these operations, Ethernovia seeks to enable the transition toward centralized, software-defined architectures in intelligent hardware.

Central to Ethernovia's mission is the concept of Physical AI, where machines must sense and reason in the real world with predictable performance. The company's platform is designed to overcome the limitations of legacy vehicle networks, which often struggle with massive AI-driven workloads. These new packet processors move and process data at the edge, allowing for more responsive and safer autonomous systems.

Technically, the platform utilizes a unified Ethernet-based architecture to manage high-bandwidth streams from sensors like LiDAR and 4K cameras. By employing advanced 7nm process technology, the chips provide deterministic latency and industry-leading power efficiency. This combination is vital for maintaining the range of electric vehicles while processing the terabytes of data required for full autonomy.

Strategic investors such as Porsche SE and Qualcomm Ventures have rejoined this round, signaling strong confidence from the automotive and tech sectors. Their participation emphasizes the need for a seamless connection between central compute brains and peripheral sensors. This collaboration ensures that future vehicles can be updated over-the-air to improve safety and functionality throughout their lifecycle. Ramin Shirani, the CEO and co-founder of Ethernovia, noted that their platform is purpose-built to eliminate the constraints of previous generations. He highlighted that the era of physical AI requires intelligence that can act in the real world with total reliability. With this new funding, the company is well-positioned to become a foundational technology provider for the next generation of intelligent mobility.