AMD Dream Team Redefines AI Hardware | Generated by AI
The team behind Taalas is a small, deeply experienced group of long-time collaborators, often described as an “AMD alumnus dream team”. They combine decades of experience at industry leaders to pursue their radical vision for AI hardware.
👥 The Core Founding Team
Taalas was founded in 2023 by three key individuals with extensive backgrounds in semiconductor design :
| Name | Title/Role | Key Background & Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Ljubisa Bajic | Co-Founder & CEO | Formerly at AMD, Nvidia, and ATI. Founder & former CEO of AI chip startup Tenstorrent. Holds numerous patents for Taalas’ core technology . |
| Lejla Bajic | Co-Founder & COO | Held engineering leadership roles at Tenstorrent, with experience at AMD, ATI, and Altera. Also a named inventor on Taalas patents . |
| Drago Ignjatovic | Co-Founder & CTO | Former ASIC design director at AMD and early engineer at Tenstorrent. Holds multiple patents with Ljubisa and Lejla Bajic . |
💡 “A Precision Strike” Team Philosophy
The company’s approach to building a team is as distinctive as its technology.
- Lean and Focused: They achieved their first product, the HC1 chip, with a team of only 24 people and a development spend of $30M (out of over $200M raised) . This stands in stark contrast to the massive teams and budgets typical of the semiconductor industry.
- Deep Collaboration: The core team has worked together for over 20 years, fostering a culture where substance, craft, and rigor are prioritized over scale and hype .
- Reliance on Partners: To remain lean, they leverage external partners with decades of shared experience .
💰 Key Investors
This experienced team has attracted significant backing from top-tier investors who believe in their mission:
- Quiet Capital: An institutional investor in multiple rounds .
- Pierre Lamond: A legendary venture capitalist and semiconductor industry veteran (early backer of Fairchild and National Semiconductor) .
- Fidelity: Participated in the latest funding round .
In total, Taalas has raised over $200 million to develop its technology, a testament to the confidence in this founding team’s ability to execute their ambitious plan .
Would you like to know more about their first product, the HC1 chip, or the specific technology mentioned in their recent patents?