SiPearl, the European company designing high-performance, energy-efficient processors for supercomputing and AI, has officially closed its €130 million Series A with an additional €32 million in its third tranche.
The round — the largest Series A in the European fabless semiconductor sector — includes continued support from the EIC Fund and the French State via French Tech Souveraineté (part of France 2030), alongside new investor Cathay Venture from Taiwan, marking its first investment in France.
The funding comes as SiPearl completes the tape-out of Rhea1, described as the most complex processor ever designed in Europe. Featuring 80 Arm Neoverse V1 cores and over 61 billion transistors, Rhea1 has already been handed off to TSMC in Taiwan for manufacturing.
Rhea1 is set to power the CPU cluster of JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, owned by EuroHPC JU and operated by Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany. The processor is a cornerstone of Europe’s strategy to strengthen technological sovereignty and competitiveness in supercomputing and AI.
With this final Series A tranche, SiPearl will move into the industrialization phase of Rhea1. The company plans to accelerate research and development of its next-generation processors, targeting supercomputing as well as emerging markets like data centres, artificial intelligence, and enterprise computing.
The company also confirmed plans to launch its Series B in the coming weeks, aiming to sustain momentum as it expands production and explores new applications of its technology.
Founded in 2020 under the European Processor Initiative consortium and initially seed-funded by the EU, SiPearl has grown to a team of 200 employees across France, Spain, and Italy. The company has established sovereign infrastructure with dedicated data centres in France to support semiconductor design.
Its vision remains tied to Europe’s broader ambition of ensuring independence in key technologies while collaborating strategically with global partners like Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem.
Alongside new investor Cathay Venture, the round saw continued participation from the EIC Fund and French Tech Souveraineté, which operates under the France 2030 program. Their ongoing support underscores confidence in SiPearl’s role in Europe’s supercomputing future.
