Chip simulation startup Vinci raises $250m at a $1.5bn valuation
October 6, 2026 - 9:32 am
Credit: Vinci
Vinci, the AI software company based in Palo Alto that simulates physics for use in chip and hardware design, has raised $250M at a $1.5bn valuation, the company announced on Tuesday.
Advent, Temasek, and Xora Innovation led the round, while earlier investors Eclipse and Khosla Ventures participated again, along with Madrona.
Vinci’s software predicts the physical behavior of a design before it is constructed. The company originally focused on heat, a growing issue as AI chips increase in size and complexity, and is now aiming to simulate entire systems.
They plan to later include other areas of physics, such as vibration testing and electromagnetics. This positions the 70-person company in competition with established chip design software companies like Cadence and Synopsys, which offer their own AI-based simulation tools.
The funds will be used for computing power, hiring, and developing more simulation products, according to CEO Hardik Kabaria, who added that the focus is on growth.
“It is a foundation model that is proven to work in the field,” Kabaria told Reuters. He stated that the next stage is to increase the number of pilot deployments with customers from two to 20.
The round occurred less than a year after Vinci emerged from stealth. In December 2025, the company announced a $46M raise consisting of a seed round led by Eclipse and a Series A round led by Xora, a venture firm backed by Temasek.
Kabaria founded Vinci in 2023, and its model claims to run simulations up to 1,000 times faster than conventional tools without any loss of accuracy, though this has not been independently verified.
In February, the company introduced a second type of simulation to predict how chip packages bend and warp when they heat up.
In related news, Schneider Electric agreed this week to purchase PTC, a company that makes product design tools, for $22.6 billion.