Ricursive Raises $300M, Valued at $4B for AI Chip Design

• Ricursive secured a $300 million Series A at a $4 billion valuation.
• The funding round was led by Lightspeed.
• The company has raised a total of $335 million since its seed launch.
• Why it matters: Ricursive’s AI-driven chip design platform could accelerate the development of next-generation AI hardware.

Ricursive’s announcement on January 26, 2026 marks a rapid ascent for a startup that began with a seed round two months earlier. The company’s Series A, led by Lightspeed, brings the total capital raised to $335 million, positioning it among the most highly valued AI hardware firms this year.

Funding Details

The $300 million Series A was announced Monday and is the largest single investment in Ricursive to date. Lightspeed, a well-known venture firm, led the round alongside several other investors.

The funding round followed a seed investment led by Sequoia, which launched the company in November 2025. With the Series A, Ricursive’s valuation reached $4 billion, matching that of its similarly named competitor, Recursive.

Technology Overview

Ricursive’s core offering is an AI system that designs and iteratively improves AI chips. The platform can generate a silicon substrate layer and then refine it through repeated cycles, a process the founders say is a path toward AGI.

The company’s founders, former Google researchers, developed a reinforcement-learning method called AlphaChip. AlphaChip has already been employed in four generations of Google’s TPU chip, giving Ricursive a proven track record in chip-layout design.

Key Features

• Automated substrate creation – the system generates initial silicon layers.
• Self-improvement loop – each iteration refines the design for higher performance.
• Scalable to AGI – the founders envision the approach accelerating AI capabilities.

Founders and Background

Ricursive was founded by Anna Goldie, CEO, and Azalia Mirhoseini, CTO. Both were part of Google’s hardware research teams before leaving to launch the startup. Their expertise in reinforcement learning and chip design underpins the company’s technology.

Goldie and Mirhoseini’s previous work on AlphaChip, which powers Google’s TPU chips, provides a strong foundation for Ricursive’s ambitions.

Investor Landscape

Beyond Lightspeed, the Series A includes several notable investors:

• DST Global – a major fund with a history of backing technology companies.
• Nvidia’s NVentures – the venture arm of a leading AI chip manufacturer.
• Felicis Ventures – known for investing in AI and deep-tech startups.
• 49 Palms Ventures – a firm that focuses on early-stage AI companies.
• Radical AI – an investor dedicated to AI research and development.

The mix of investors reflects confidence from both traditional venture capital and industry insiders with deep expertise in AI hardware.

Industry Context

Ricursive is not the only startup pursuing AI-driven chip design. A similarly named company, Recursive, is also in talks for a large round at a $4 billion valuation. Additionally, Naveen Rao’s Unconventional AI raised $475 million in a seed round at a $4.5 billion valuation earlier this year.

These developments underscore a growing trend toward AI systems that can design and optimize their own hardware, potentially reducing the time and cost of bringing new AI chips to market.

Key Takeaways

• Ricursive’s Series A of $300 million brings its valuation to $4 billion.
• The company’s AI platform can automatically design and improve AI chips, leveraging AlphaChip technology.
• Founders Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini bring experience from Google’s TPU research.
• The investor mix includes Lightspeed, DST Global, Nvidia’s NVentures, and others.
• Ricursive is part of a broader wave of startups aiming to create self-optimizing AI hardware.

The funding round positions Ricursive as a leading player in the AI chip design space, potentially accelerating the development of next-generation AI hardware and bringing us closer to the era of AGI.

Timeline of Events

These milestones illustrate the company’s rapid growth and the industry’s appetite for AI-driven hardware innovation.

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Ricursive’s trajectory shows how AI can be leveraged to design its own infrastructure, a concept that could reshape the future of AI development.