Raymond Chik is the Co-Founder and Board Chair of Hepzibah.

Hepzibah is a 'full-stack' AI compute architecture startup; full-stack as in "From Models to Metals".

Raymond's other work includes:

• Co-Founder and Board Chair of Kapik Integration which has spun out Star IC , Hepzibah, Untether AI and other companies
• Co-Founder of Untether AI which has raised $150M+ from Intel Capital, Radical Ventures and Tracker Capital
• Active angel and advisor
• Champion and supporter of Canadian hardware/hardtech

Takeaways

• Genesis of Kapik and spinout companies.
• Seismic shift towards AI computing in the semiconductor industry.
• Should we build a semiconductor fab in Canada? What is the best option.
• Canada's under-recognized semiconductor industry includes ATI (acquired by AMD), Untether AI, Star IC, Tenstorrent, Taalas, Astrus and many more.
• Geopolitical trends in the chip space.
• Fostering homegrown talent and keeping it in Canada.
• Energy efficiency is becoming a key focus in AI chip development.
• Emerging trends beyond AI in chips.
• Edge computing is an emerging area with significant potential.
• Lack of investment in hardware in Canada.
• Investment landscape for chip companies.
• Raymond's new venture.

Chapters

00:00 The Genesis of Kapik Integration

03:33 The Shift to AI Computing

07:45 Spinning Off New Ventures

12:08 Lessons in Entrepreneurship

15:06 The Debate on Semiconductor Fabs in Canada

20:11 The Semiconductor Landscape in Canada

25:21 Fostering Homegrown Talent and Companies

29:21 The Influence of Borders on the Semiconductor Industry

32:17 Emerging Trends Beyond AI

38:55 Investment Landscape in Semiconductor

42:08 Introducing Habsaba: A New Venture

Keywords

Kapik, AI computing, semiconductor industry, Canada, entrepreneurship, investment, edge computing, energy efficiency, technology trends, innovation