Amsterdam – Axelera AI, the Dutch semiconductor startup founded in Eindhoven in 2021, announced on Tuesday that it has signed multiple supply contracts for its AI‑focused chips. The company also introduced its second‑generation processor, named Europa, which is aimed at more demanding corporate server applications.

New contracts and market reach

In a phone interview with Reuters, CEO Fabrizio Del Maffeo said Axelera now serves more than 600 customers across security, defence, AI factories and enterprise environments. While he declined to disclose exact order volumes, he confirmed that the deals are collectively worth “tens of millions” of euros.

Axelera is working with Dell and systems integrator E4 as a supplier for the EU‑backed IT4LIA project in Italy and the MeluXina project in Luxembourg. These initiatives are part of the European Union’s effort to convert its supercomputing network into AI factories, a move intended to narrow the technology gap with the United States and China.

Europa chip and future roadmap

The newly launched Europa chip is positioned for heavier workloads, such as corporate server deployments, whereas Axelera’s first‑generation Metis chips were targeted at edge applications like on‑site security data analysis. Looking ahead, the company plans a “Titania” chiplet architecture that will be suitable for large‑scale data centres and supercomputers.

Del Maffeo noted that Axelera is pursuing $1.5 billion in potential sales, though he stressed that this figure reflects the size of the opportunity rather than firm orders or revenue.

Funding and European competition

Since its inception, Axelera has raised more than $450 million from private investors. The company joins a growing cohort of European chip startups competing in the AI inference market, which focuses on chips that run AI models rather than train them. Competitors include France’s VSORA, Britain’s Fractile, Spain’s Semidynamics and fellow Dutch firm Euclyd, which recently announced a €200 million funding round.

With the EU’s renewed emphasis on domestic AI computing capacity, Axelera’s expanding customer base and product lineup position it as a notable player in the continent’s push for technological self‑sufficiency.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.