Chipmaker Hailo Technologies Ltd. is reportedly preparing to list its shares via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The plan, disclosed today by Calcalist, stems from regulatory filings associated with Delek Automotive, a key investor in Hailo. This move is seen as essential for enhancing the chipmaker’s financial position amidst an “urgent need for liquidity.” Earlier this year, Hailo cut nearly 10% of its workforce and secured a $9 million loan.
Founded to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips for connected devices, Hailo was valued at $1.2 billion in 2024. However, documents from Delek suggest that the upcoming public offering could lower Hailo’s valuation to under $500 million. SPACs serve as investment vehicles focused on bringing private companies public more swiftly and with fewer regulatory hurdles compared to traditional IPO processes.
Hailo’s innovative chips are utilized in a variety of applications, including cameras and industrial robots. Central to their design is a unique structure-driven dataflow architecture, which Hailo claims allows for more efficient processing of inference workloads compared to traditional methods. This architecture organizes a neural network’s artificial neurons into clusters known as layers, facilitating streamlined data movement between them, thus reducing processing latency and power consumption.
The Hailo-10H, one of the company’s most advanced chips, can execute 40 trillion calculations per second while processing INT4 data. It operates on approximately 2.5 watts of power and can endure temperatures of up to 221 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, Hailo provides several chips specifically optimized for camera applications, along with a PCIe card that can be integrated into servers.
Hailo not only supplies hardware but also offers a suite of software tools to facilitate clients’ AI projects. For example, the runtime known as HailoRT allows for the connection of up to 16 Hailo devices into an inference cluster. The company also delivers a collection of pretrained AI models designed for optimal performance on its chips.
Calcalist did not specify the particular SPAC with which Hailo intends to partner for its public listing or the target amount of funding. However, the report indicates that the company aims to make its shares available in the coming months on a U.S. stock exchange.
As Hailo navigates this pivotal moment in its growth trajectory, the move to go public amid financial constraints raises questions about the broader landscape for AI chipmakers. With increasing competition and demand for AI technologies, Hailo’s strategic decisions will be closely watched by industry observers and investors alike.
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