The tech company was founded less than two years ago by then-23-year-old entrepreneur James Dacombe
An aerial view of Bristol city centre (Image: Getty Images)
A UK AI chip start-up has raised $220m in a Series A funding round and is planning to expand its presence in Bristol, it has confirmed. London-based Olix was founded by 25-year-old James Dacombe in 2024 and is targeting the development of technology that it claims will be faster and cheaper than Nvidia’s.
The company was valued at £1bn following the raise, with Hummingbird Ventures – a backer of Revolut and Deliveroo – leading the round. Other investors include Plural, Vertex Ventures, LocalGlobe, Entrepreneurs First, Fundomo and Transition.
The round brings total capital raised by Olix – formerly known as Flux Computing – to $250m.
Jonathan Heiliger, general partner at investor Vertex Ventures, and former Facebook infrastructure executive, said: “One of the biggest constraints in AI today is the compute required to run these models at scale.
“Today’s GPU-based approach forces a compromise between speed and cost. Olix is taking a radically different approach designed to deliver a step change in both and it has huge promise.”
Mr Dacombe dropped out of school at age 16 to work as a software engineer at a start-up and then left that to build his brain healthcare company CoMind. In 2022, he secured a $200,000 grant from the Thiel Foundation – a two-year programme established by technology entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel for young people who want to build new things.
Mr Dacombe launched his semiconductor business Olix in March 2024. That same year he was named by the Sunday Times as one of the most inspiring people under the age of 30 in the UK.
Following the latest funding round, Olix is currently hiring for a number of roles – in the US, Canada, London and Bristol. According to a statement on its website, Olix is “an in-person” company and claims to employ “some of the best minds” in photonics, systems, and compute.
“It is difficult to overstate the impact a step change will have, not just for AI, but for society as a whole,” a statement on its website reads.
“Life at Olix is high-velocity and high-stakes. We don’t believe in ‘grinding’ for the sake of it, but we do believe in dedication to the mission.
“This isn’t work you leave at the door; it’s work that matters enough to command a space in your life. You’ll be making a tangible impact alongside people just as excited as you are.”
The company is offering visa sponsorship, including for dependents and a £24,000 annual top-up for living near the office. The Bristol role advertised on the site is for a senior/staff digital design engineer, with a pay packet of between £125,000-£180,000.
The announcement comes just a day after UK chip start-up Fractile confirmed it would invest £100m in its UK operations, in London and Bristol, and the government urged British tech entrepreneurs to “take bold risks” with the development of AI.
“By investing in British tech innovation, just as Fractile is doing today, we can reinforce our leadership in AI and boost our influence on the global stage,” the AI minister said on Tuesday.