Quadric Wins as AI Relocates From Cloud to Edge Devices

Quadric is taking advantage of a growing trend away from cloud-based AI to running AI directly on devices. And a growing number of companies and governments are looking for AI tools that run locally, not on the cloud, as a way to reduce costs and retain control over their data. Quadric, a chip technology start-up founded by a team of former bitcoin mining engineers, is aiming to help drive this shift.

The move is already benefiting its business. Quadric took in between $15 million and $20 million of licensing revenue in 2025, compared with about $4 million in 2024. The company is targeting raising as much as $35 million this year, said CEO Veerbhan Kheterpal. Its valuation has also soared to between $270 million and $300 million, up from about $100 million when it raised money in 2022.

This growth has been accompanied by interest from investors. Quadric, which recently closed a $30 million Series C funding led by the ACCELERATE Fund, managed by BEENEXT Capital Management. This brings its total funding to $72 million. The funding comes at a time when an increasing number of investors and chip makers are looking for ways to shift AI work from big cloud systems to local devices and nearby servers.

Quadric initially targeted the automobile industry, in which hometown AI is used for functions like driver assistance. By 2023, as more AI models of that sort were made, the demand spread well beyond cars. Sharing files is cumbersome for people who want to share securely or can get lost if sent via personal email, Ragan says. And over the last year and a half, more businesses are looking to run AI on their own devices rather than depend on remote servers.

Unlike chip-making companies, which manufacture chips, Quadric licenses its designs for AI processors. Customers can integrate this technology into their own chips and use Quadric’s software tools to actually run AI workloads, such as image and voice processing tasks, on devices.

Its clients range from printer, vehicle and AI powered laptop makers. Partners include Kyocera and Japanese auto supplier Denso, which manufactures chips for Toyota. The first consumer products featuring Quadric’s technology are expected to reach the market this year, initially focusing on laptops.

It is also looking at new markets built on local and national AI systems. The fear of dependency on foreign tech infrastructure has led countries like India and Malaysia to seek alternatives. Quadric is present in India and Moglix CEO Rahul Garg is a strategic investor enabling its regional plans. The company has about 70 employees, around the world.

Explosive cloud costs and the difficulty of constructing massive data centers are driving interest in local AI systems. Many organizations now wish to run AI on laptops or small office servers rather than dispatch each request to the cloud. Industry groups and analysts also have observed this broader shift toward local and national AI potential.

A huge problem in the chip industry is that AI models evolve much more quickly than hardware can be updated. Quadric says it programs its chips with a flexible design that can be updated via software rather than costly hardware modifications. That leaves customers with greater flexibility, as AI technology is still progressing rapidly.

Quadric presents itself as a counterpoint to big chipmakers and traditional chip design companies. While some rivals lock in customers to their own chips or sell clunky parts, Quadric argues its approach offers developers greater control and long-term value.

Even though, the company remains in early days. Today, it has few customers and its future success depends on getting existing licensing deals to turn into millions of units in shipments and a consistent flow of royalties.