AI startup Blaize raises $71 million - sources

By Echo Wang

NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence computing company Blaize Inc has raised $71 million from investors including Temasek and Franklin Templeton, according to people familiar with the matter.

The El Dorado Hills, California-based company is also in early-stage talks with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) about a potential deal that would take it public, the sources added.

Blaize previously raised $65 million in 2018, at a valuation of about $370 million from investors including Denso, Temasek, GGV Capital, and Daimler. The new series D round of funding will be primarily used to scale out the business and products development. Details on Blaize's latest valuation were not immediately available.

Blaize offers computing solutions in automotive, mobility, smart retail, security, industrial and metro market sectors. The company is looking to grow along with the transformation of electrification in the automotive industry, and the consolidation of many processes into a larger computer at the center. (Reporting by Echo Wang; Editing by Lincoln Feast)