Swiss startup Corintis raises $24M to cool AI chips from within

Corintis, a Swiss startup developing advanced liquid chip-cooling technology, has raised $24 million in Series A funding and added Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to its board. The investment reflects growing demand for better heat management solutions as AI chips consume unprecedented amounts of power, with Microsoft testing showing Corintis’s system is up to three times more efficient than standard cooling methods.

What you should know: Corintis channels liquid directly through tiny channels etched inside chips rather than just cooling the surface, addressing critical overheating issues in AI hardware.

• The company was valued at around $400 million after the funding round, according to a source familiar with the matter.
• Tests by Microsoft, a Corintis customer, demonstrated the system’s superior efficiency compared to traditional cooling approaches.
• The technology can be used as a drop-in upgrade for existing liquid cooling systems or built directly into chips.

Why this matters: AI chips from companies like Nvidia are consuming unprecedented amounts of power, creating heat that slows performance and strains power grids.

• Traditional cooling systems that pump cold air through data centers are increasingly inadequate for modern AI workloads.
• Most liquid cooling only pulls heat from chip surfaces, leaving hot spots, while Corintis’s approach cools more efficiently throughout the entire chip.

The funding details: BlueYard Capital led the Series A round, bringing total funding to $33.4 million including previous pre-seed investment.

• Other investors include Founderful, Acequia Capital, Celsius Industries, and XTX Ventures.
• Tan joined the board before his appointment as Intel CEO in March and also chairs Walden International, a venture capital firm.
• Geoff Lyon, founder and former CEO of liquid-cooling firm CoolIT, also joined the board.

Scaling plans: The company will use the funds to expand operations and manufacturing capacity significantly.

• Corintis currently produces around 100,000 cold plates per year and plans to ramp up to 1 million annually next year.
• The team will grow from 55 to 70 employees by year-end.
• New U.S. offices will open to serve the customer base, while manufacturing remains in Europe.

What they’re saying: “Right now we are able to produce around 100,000 cold plates per year. Next year we are ramping up to around 1 million cold plates per year,” co-founder and CEO Remco van Erp told Reuters.

Company background: Van Erp founded the startup in 2022 with two others, including Chief Operating Officer Sam Harrison, spinning it off from the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.

• The company uses software to automate cooling system design and manufactures cold plates—metal blocks that transfer heat into circulating liquid.
• Corintis is based in Lausanne and focuses on reducing both power consumption and water usage compared to traditional cooling methods.