Spanish Startup Multiverse Computing Secures $215M to Revolutionize AI Model Compression Without Performance Loss

Spanish startup Multiverse Computing raised €189 million ( approximately $215 million) in a Series B funding round, led by Bullhound Capital, with additional support from investors including HP Tech Ventures, SETT, and Toshiba. The funding will further advance the company’s technology called “CompactifAI,” aimed at making large language models (LLMs) more accessible by significantly reducing their size and cost. CompactifAI: Quantum-Inspired Compression Technology CompactifAI is a pioneering technology that compresses LLMs by up to 95%, maintaining model performance. This allows smaller models like Llama 4 Scout, Llama 3.3 70B, and Llama 3.1 8B to be efficiently run. While currently focusing on open-source models, Multiverse plans to expand its offerings with DeepSeek R1 and other reasoning models in the near future. Proprietary models from companies like OpenAI are not supported. Performance and Cost Efficiencies Multiverse’s “slim” models, available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) or for on-premises use, are reported to be 4 to 12 times faster than their uncompressed counterparts, leading to a 50% to 80% reduction in inference costs. For example, the Lama 4 Scout Slim costs 10 cents per million tokens on AWS, compared to 14 cents for the standard version. These slim models are not only faster but also highly energy-efficient, making them suitable for running on various devices, including PCs, smartphones, cars, drones, and even Raspberry Pi. This opens up exciting possibilities for applications in embedded systems and IoT devices, such as interactive, LLM-powered Talking Santas on Raspberry Pi-controlled Christmas lights. Technical Expertise Behind Multiverse Co-founded by CTO Román Orús, a professor at the Donostia International Physics Center, Multiverse leverages his expertise in tensor networks. These networks, which simulate quantum computing on classical hardware, are crucial for the development of CompactifAI. Enrique Lizaso Olmos, Multiverse’s co-founder and CEO, brings a strong background in mathematics and banking, having previously served as the deputy CEO of Unnim Bank. With this new funding, Multiverse has secured a total of around $250 million. The company already holds 160 patents and serves over 100 global customers, including Iberdrola, Bosch, and the Bank of Canada. This funding will help Multiverse continue its innovative work, making advanced AI technologies more widely available and affordable.