Ethernovia Lands Over $90M to Build the Nervous System for Physical AI

SAN JOSE, CA – January 20, 2026 – By Amanda Clark

Semiconductor startup Ethernovia has secured over $90 million in a Series B funding round, a significant capital injection aimed at scaling the production of what it describes as the central nervous system for the coming era of autonomous machines. The round, led by Maverick Silicon, signals powerful investor confidence that Ethernovia’s technology can solve a critical data bottleneck hindering the progress of self-driving cars, advanced robotics, and intelligent industrial systems.

The investment brings together a formidable syndicate of new and existing backers. Maverick Silicon, a new semiconductor-focused division of the thirty-year-old Maverick Capital, is joined by Socratic Partners, Conduit Capital, and CDIB-TEN Capital. Crucially, the round also saw renewed participation from industry giants Porsche SE and Qualcomm Ventures, underscoring the strategic importance of Ethernovia's mission to the automotive and technology sectors.

This funding will accelerate the development and production of the company's next-generation packet processors, chips designed from the ground up to manage the torrent of data generated by the sensors and AI systems that allow machines to perceive and interact with the physical world.

Solving the AI Data Bottleneck

Modern intelligent systems, from advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) in cars to complex factory robots, are effectively blind and inert without a constant, reliable flow of data. The challenge is that legacy networking architectures, both in vehicles and industrial settings, were never designed for the immense workloads that AI demands.

“The industry is entering the era of physical AI—where intelligence must sense, reason and act in the real world with predictable, real-time performance,” said Ramin Shirani, Ethernovia CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “Legacy in-vehicle and industrial networks were never designed for AI-driven workloads.”

Ethernovia’s solution is a new class of high-performance packet processors built around the Ethernet standard. These chips act as a data backbone, capable of aggregating, routing, and intelligently managing massive streams of information from cameras, LiDAR, radar, and other sensors. The key differentiator is the platform's ability to move this data with deterministic latency—meaning data packets arrive precisely when they are supposed to, a non-negotiable requirement for safety-critical functions like autonomous braking or robotic surgery. This focus is reflected in the company's patent portfolio, which includes innovations in asymmetric data transmission and distributed processing in vehicle networks.

By creating a unified, high-speed data fabric, the technology enables the zonal and centralized vehicle architectures that automakers see as essential for scaling autonomous capabilities and simplifying increasingly complex vehicle electronics.

A Vote of Confidence from Industry Heavyweights

The composition of Ethernovia’s investors speaks volumes about the perceived value of its technology. Lead investor Maverick Silicon’s participation represents a focused bet from a new, highly specialized fund backed by a seasoned investment firm. For Maverick Capital, this marks a strategic push into the foundational hardware that will power the next decade of computing.

“Ethernovia has fundamentally reimagined the nervous system of intelligent machines with its packet processing platform, solving a critical networking bottleneck in automotive, robotics and industrial AI,” noted Kenneth Safar, managing director of Maverick Silicon.

Similarly, the involvement of Socratic Partners, a firm co-founded by former NXP Semiconductors CEO Rick Clemmer, provides deep industry validation. Clemmer's endorsement is particularly telling, as NXP is a dominant force in automotive semiconductors. “Ethernovia is addressing one of the most important infrastructure challenges facing physical and edge AI today,” he stated, highlighting the startup's ability to help manufacturers simplify designs while building scalable, software-defined platforms.

Perhaps most significant is the continued backing from Porsche SE and Qualcomm Ventures. Porsche SE’s investment strategy is increasingly focused on the core technologies enabling future mobility, including next-generation vehicle network architectures. For them, Ethernovia represents a key piece of the puzzle for creating adaptable, software-centric vehicles. Qualcomm, a leader in mobile and wireless technology, sees the expansion of intelligent connectivity into the automotive and robotics space as a natural and lucrative extension of its core business.

Redefining the Software-Defined Vehicle

Beyond raw performance, Ethernovia's platform promises to solve pressing practical challenges for manufacturers. The traditional approach of adding a new electronic control unit (ECU) for every new feature has led to vehicles with sprawling, complex, and heavy wiring harnesses, driving up costs and creating integration nightmares. Ethernovia’s technology supports a move away from this model toward a more streamlined, centralized architecture.

By enabling a unified Ethernet backbone, manufacturers can reduce the amount of cabling, which in turn cuts down on vehicle weight—a critical factor for electric vehicle range—and manufacturing complexity. Furthermore, the programmable nature of Ethernovia's packet processors is a cornerstone of the true software-defined vehicle. It allows automakers and robotics companies to deploy platforms that can be continuously improved and updated over the air (OTA).

This flexibility means new features, from enhanced autonomous driving capabilities to novel infotainment apps, can be deployed to existing hardware long after a vehicle has left the factory. This not only enhances the customer experience but also creates new, recurring revenue streams for manufacturers, transforming the car from a static piece of hardware into an evolving digital platform.

Navigating a Competitive and Growing Market

Ethernovia is entering a market with established giants like NXP, Marvell, and Broadcom, all of whom have extensive automotive Ethernet portfolios. However, the startup is betting that its specialized focus on purpose-built packet processors for AI workloads provides a decisive edge over more general-purpose networking solutions. While competitors offer the building blocks, Ethernovia aims to provide the intelligent, orchestrating brain for the entire network.

The market opportunity is undeniably vast. The global physical AI market is projected to surge from around $5.4 billion in 2025 to over $60 billion by 2034, while the autonomous vehicle market is on a trajectory to become a multi-trillion dollar industry. As these systems become more sophisticated, the demand for high-performance, deterministic networking will only intensify. With its fresh infusion of capital and the backing of key industry players, Ethernovia is well-positioned to carve out a critical role in the hardware foundation that will underpin the future of intelligent, autonomous machines.