Snowcap Compute, a startup founded in 2024, has successfully closed a $23 million seed funding round led by Playground Global, with participation from Cambium Capital and Vsquared Ventures.
The company, backed by former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger who also chairs its board, is developing superconducting AI chips designed to offer significantly improved energy efficiency and performance. Snowcap claims its architecture will deliver 25 times better performance per watt compared to existing AI systems, directly addressing the escalating power demands of modern AI and quantum computing.
CEO Michael Lafferty emphasizes that the performance gains justify the cryogenic cooling required. With plans to release a basic chip by late 2026, Snowcap aims to disrupt the semiconductor industry's reliance on power-hungry chips, positioning itself as a key player in the "post-CMOS era" by offering a commercially viable superconducting compute platform for AI inference, training, and hybrid quantum workloads.
The team comprises veterans from Intel, Nvidia, and Google, bolstering its technical credibility.
Originally reported as: “A Tiny Silicon Valley Startup Envisions Computing Beyond the Semiconductor”
