VentureTech Alliance, TSMC’s venture capital arm, has invested in three Silicon Valley chip startups: SiMa.ai, Ayar Labs, and Ethernovia. The trio of companies are involved in a variety of fields ranging from AI and silicon optical interconnection to auto chips. Founded by the chip manufacturer TSMC in 2001, VentureTech Alliance primarily focuses on early-stage venture investments in startups, with a capital fund of around $165 million. SiMa.ai is a machine learning company that uses AI and computer vision in the development of intelligent equipment, including industrial robots, drones, security monitors, and autonomous vehicles. Ayar Labs develops electronic-photonic optical chipsets, while Ethernovia provides advanced in-vehicle communications technology. The three startups secured financing of $13 million, $25 million, and $64 million respectively from VentureTech. [Icsmart, in Chinese]