Lockheed's VC arm backs AI chip maker Mythic

Lockheed Martin's venture capital arm has made an investment in Mythic, a maker of computer chips for both hardware and software that incorporate artificial intelligence.

The company designed its latest line of chips to bring the same computing power of data centers to that of embedded devices and smart machines such as robots, cars, phones and drones; plus systems that have augmented and virtual reality features.

"We have entered an era in which data is a strategic asset," Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, said in a statement Tuesday. "Mythic's game-changing technology will allow us to provide our customers with the unmatched ability to obtain timely, actionable information from distributed, power constrained systems."

Launched in 2007, Lockheed Martin Ventures makes early stage investments in companies that specialize in the defense contractor's main technology priority areas with autonomous systems and artificial intelligence systems among them.

Mythic raised $40 million in total through this Series B funding round in which Lockheed Martin Ventures was one became a new investor along with other newcomer Andy Bechtolsheim.

The early stage arm of Japan-based conglomerate and Sprint's majority owner SoftBank Group led the round with participation from existing investors DFJ, Lux Capital, Data Collective, and AME Cloud Ventures.