S.Korea's Rebellions secures investment from Aramco

Rebellions Inc., a South Korean artificial intelligence chip design startup, announced on Tuesday that it secured investment from Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil group Aramco, marking the first time a South Korean startup has done so.

A Rebellions source explained that it raised 20 billion won ($14.4 million) from Aramco's corporate venture capital fund, Wa'ed Ventures, and plans to enter the Middle Eastern AI semiconductor market.

In particular, as the Saudi government aims for sovereign AI by building its AI infrastructure and services, Rebellions plans to establish a local entity in Saudi Arabia.

Wa'ed Ventures, a $500 million corporate venture capital firm fully funded by Aramco, is known for investing in high-growth tech startups to support Saudi Arabia's economic diversification and new business growth.

According to Rebellions, a Series B investment of 165 billion won ($119 million) earlier this year, its cumulative investment amount has increased to 300 billion won ($217 million).

Write to Joo-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com