CTalk
“AI lives in the hardware”: Essentia VC bets on Deeptech and energy
Noy Rimer, Associate at Essentia VC, speaks to CTech at Calcalist and Bank Leumi’s Mind The Tech conference in London.
Noy Rimer
(LONDON FILMED)
While much of the venture capital world is focused on software and AI applications, Essentia VC is betting big on the infrastructure powering them.
“AI lives in the hardware,” said Noy Rimer, Associate at Essentia VC. “You need the GPUs, you need the semiconductors, you need the chips, you need the data centers. When we’re looking into AI, we’re looking into the AI economy—it’s everything from fabs to semiconductors to data centers to real estate to new forms of energy.”
The relatively new $200 million Israel-based VC is targeting post-Series A companies with a generalist approach, but Rimer highlighted deep tech and hardware as particularly promising. Recent portfolio investments include quantum computing firm Classiq and Magnus Metal, a 3D printing company for metals.
Looking ahead, Rimer sees energy and data infrastructure as crucial sectors. “A lot of data is going to be consumed. We’re looking into cooling technologies, water use technologies, even geothermal and nuclear energy,” she explained.
While AI applications remain buzzy, Rimer believes the real long-term value lies beneath the surface. “There’s a really interesting combo of AI with robotics and humanoids,” she added.
You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.
