News & Analysis

The US has been investing an unprecedented amount into the semiconductor industry. With the passage of legislation to encourage design and manufacturing domestically, the US has spurred on a new race with its rivals to ensure access to the best silicon on the market.  

But it's a race that, at least from a venture capital perspective, the US is losing.  

The majority of prolific VC investors in the semiconductor vertical are Chinese firms investing in startups in their country, according to PitchBook data. Besides Intel's corporate venture capital arm Intel Capital and longstanding firm Walden International, all other entries in this top-10 ranking are based in China.   

Even so, US-based startups racing toward the next big innovation in chips. There's Lightmatter, which produces light-photonics-based chips, and SambaNova Systems, which has attracted much attention and investment for their chips made specifically for machine learning and artificial intelligence.   

The semiconductor industry as a whole is poised for growth—and more competition globally. Set against that backdrop, these are the 10 most-active global investors in the semiconductor vertical, according to PitchBook data.