Custom analog silicon is a notorious bottleneck for hardware teams, and a startup backed by Maverick Silicon is betting AI can shrink the wait.
Celera Semiconductor uses machine learning to speed up the design and supply of analog ICs, promising faster turnaround than the traditional custom-design route. The approach has now drawn a $30M Series B round, with all of the fresh capital coming from Maverick Silicon, already the company’s largest shareholder.
The money will help absorb a recent acquisition: Silicon Gate, a product development and design automation team based in Portugal, which chief executive Patrick Brockett said is being expanded rapidly. Helen Song, the chief technology officer, said the new capital puts the company’s design automation roadmap on a faster track. She also credited the California team with extending its AI-driven design work into a broader portfolio of power management parts.
Analog content such as voltage regulators and signal conditioning sits in nearly every electronic system, and custom parts often blow delivery schedules. Maverick Silicon’s Kenneth Safar said Celera removes those sourcing barriers, calling the likely impact on customers substantial.
The round adds to a wave of funding for AI-infused chip design as the industry automates more of the front end. Celera’s pitch targets the long tail of analog and mixed-signal work that remains stubbornly manual.
