Fractile, the London AI inference chip developer, has issued £577.4m of new Series C preferred shares since September, according to Companies House filings, with the top tranche priced at £1,452.35 a share. That price is 5.2 times what Series B investors paid five months ago and implies a value of about £3.84bn on the shares already in issue.
Founded in 2022 by Walter Goodwin, Fractile designs chips for AI inference, the stage where a trained model produces answers. Its approach relies on static random-access memory (SRAM) placed close to the compute, which is meant to cut the time and energy spent moving data. The company runs hardware engineering teams in London and Bristol.
The round had been trailed for months. Fractile was previously reported to be in talks to raise $600m at a $6.5bn valuation after winning a $250m chip supply contract. Sifted reported on 29 October that filings showed a £540m Series C. The Cap Table's own count of the allotment statements comes to a slightly higher £577.4m.
The numbers in the filings
A resolution filed on 12 October created three new classes: Series C-1, C-2 and C-3 preferred shares. Nine SH01 allotment statements followed, filed on 15 and 28 October.
- C-3 preferred: 270,045 shares at £1,452.35 each, issued in several tranches between 9 September and 23 October. Total: £392.2m.
- C-1 preferred: 184,412 shares at £801.54 each, issued on 11 September. Total: £147.8m.
- C-2 preferred: 52,877 shares at £707.25 each, also issued on 11 September. Total: £37.4m.
Because the C-1 and C-2 shares were priced well below C-3, some investors came in on better terms. Fractile has not explained the tiers, and the filings do not name the investors behind any of them. The company has not publicly confirmed the round.
Valuation and dilution
The step-up is the clearest signal of how far the price has moved. On 15 May 2026, Series B-1 shares were issued at £278.37 each, as part of a round reported at $220m. The C-3 price is 5.2 times that figure.
After the latest allotment, Fractile had 2,644,736 shares in issue. At the C-3 price, those shares are worth about £3.84bn. That figure leaves out unissued options and any shares still to be allotted, so the fully diluted valuation is likely to be higher.
The three Series C classes now make up 19.2% of the shares in issue. Ordinary shares, which typically include founder and employee holdings, account for 16.9%. Earlier preferred classes make up most of the rest: Seed, Seed A and the four Series B classes.
What comes next
The new money arrives as Fractile moves from design towards supplying chips in volume. That will require more spending on engineering, testing and manufacturing partners. For a UK chip company, a round of this size is rare, and it puts Fractile among the best-funded hardware start-ups in Europe.
Fractile has not said whether more Series C shares will be issued. Further SH01 filings, and the confirmation statement that will name its shareholders, should show who backed the round and who now controls the cap table.
Original source: Sifted — https://sifted.eu/articles/exclusive-fractile-series-c/ (allotment data: Companies House filing history for Fractile Ltd, company number 14143636)
