Core Viewpoint - FuriosaAI, a South Korean AI application chip startup, has rejected an $800 million acquisition offer from Meta, opting to focus on the development and production of its AI chips [1][2]. Group 1: Acquisition and Strategic Decisions - The breakdown of negotiations was attributed to differences in post-acquisition business strategy and organizational structure, rather than price issues [2]. - Meta is working to reduce its reliance on Nvidia's chips specifically designed for training and building large language models (LLMs) [2]. Group 2: Company Developments and Future Plans - FuriosaAI is in discussions with investors to raise approximately $48 million (70 billion KRW) and aims to complete this financing within the month [4]. - Founded in 2017 by June Paik, who has experience at Samsung Electronics and AMD, FuriosaAI has developed two AI chips named Warboy and Renegade (RNGD) to compete with companies like Nvidia and AMD [4]. - The startup has collaborated with LG AI Research and Aramco to complete testing of the RNGD chip, which is reportedly well-suited for inference models [4]. - LG AI Research plans to utilize the RNGD chip in its AI infrastructure, with FuriosaAI set to launch these chips later this year [4].

Core Viewpoint - TSMC is seeking to make a strategic investment in the South Korean chip design startup FuriosaAI, which specializes in AI inference chips and aims to enhance South Korea's AI chip design capabilities [2][3]. Group 1: Investment and Financials - FuriosaAI has been in discussions with TSMC Global since Q4 of the previous year regarding investment terms, which are still undetermined [2]. - The company has raised $115 million from investors including Naver and DSC Investment, but has faced challenges in securing sufficient funding for mass production of its next-generation RNGD chip [3]. - In 2023, FuriosaAI reported an operating loss of 60 billion KRW (approximately $41.6 million) [3]. Group 2: Product Development - FuriosaAI's first product, Warboy, was launched in 2021 using Samsung's 14nm process, while the second product, RNGD, is set for mass production using TSMC's 5nm process in August 2024 [2]. - The performance of RNGD is reported to be similar to Nvidia's L40S inference chip, but with significantly lower power consumption of 150W compared to 350W for Nvidia's chip [3]. Group 3: Market Context and Future Plans - Due to slow economic recovery in South Korea, there are speculations that FuriosaAI may pivot towards being acquired by a larger company, as domestic investment has not met expectations [4]. - FuriosaAI is striving to go public on a major exchange in South Korea within the first half of the year, with Mirae Asset Securities and NH Investment & Securities as lead underwriters [3].