James Dacombe, founder of AI chip firm Olix, has joined Britain’s billionaire ranks after the startup reached a £2.5 billion (US$3.3 billion) valuation in a funding round that tripled its value in six months.
Olix raised £232 million in a financing round led by New York-based Fundomo, with backing from British chip designer Arm, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and Sovereign AI, the U.K. government’s artificial intelligence investment vehicle, according to British newspaper The Times.
Before the fundraising, Dacombe owned a 38.6% stake in Olix through his holding company, Bletchley Industries, according to an analysis of Companies House filings.
Based on Olix’s new valuation, that stake would be worth about £946 million ($1.27 billion). His exact ownership following the funding round has not been publicly disclosed.
James Dacombe, founder of AI chip firm Olix. Photo from Dacombes LinkedIn
James Dacombe, founder of AI chip firm Olix. Photo from Dacombe’s LinkedIn
Founded in 2024, Olix develops AI inference chips, specialized semiconductors designed to run trained artificial intelligence models more efficiently than conventional chips, according to The Sun.
The company plans to finalize the design of its DX-1 chip this year before ramping up production in late 2027.Dacombe grew up in Harrogate, northern England, and taught himself computer programming at 13 by building websites and apps.
After leaving Ashville College, he enrolled at St Aidan’s and St John Fisher sixth form college in 2017 but dropped out after just two days.
The following year, he founded CoMind, a medical technology company developing non-invasive brain-monitoring devices that aim to help doctors monitor brain activity without surgery.
In 2022, Dacombe joined the Thiel Fellowship, a program established by PayPal billionaire co-founder Peter Thiel that provides $100,000 in funding, later increased to $250,000 for new participants, along with mentorship for young entrepreneurs pursuing businesses instead of higher education.
He founded Olix two years later, initially under the name Flux, through his holding company Bletchley Industries, which also owns CoMind.
Olix is among a growing group of semiconductor startups seeking to challenge Nvidia, whose graphics processing units dominate the market for training and running advanced AI models.
The company says its chips do not rely on some memory components that remain in short supply, allowing AI systems to operate at lower cost while improving performance.
Joséphine Kant, head of ventures at Sovereign AI, described Dacombe as “one of the most important founders of his generation.”
She added: “James not only wants to win globally, but he’s also proud of where he’s from.”
