JERUSALEM- Hailo, an artificial intelligence-focused, Israel-based chipmaker, said on Tuesday it raised $136 million in a private funding round led by Poalim Equity and Gil Agmon.

A source closed to the company said the financing was done at a valuation of $1 billion, making Hailo a unicorn.

Existing investors including Israeli entrepreneur and Hailo Chairman Zohar Zisapel, Swiss-based ABB Technology Ventures (ATV), London’s Latitude Ventures, Israel’s OurCrowd, and new investors, including Carasso Motors, Comasco, Shlomo Group, Talcar Corporation Ltd., and Automotive Equipment (AEV) also participated in the round, Hailo said.

Hailo’s total funding has reached $224 million.

The funds, it said, will be used to address growing interest in its AI Processor for Edge Devices, allowing the company to further develop its next-generation products and expand into both new and existing global markets.

Hailo said Mooly Eden, a former senior vice president at Intel Corp, will join its board of directors while Eyal Waldman, co-Founder and former CEO of Mellanox Technologies, will join its advisory board.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer) ((steven.scheer@thomsonreuters.com; +972 2 632 2210; Reuters Messaging: steven.scheer.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: @StevenMScheer))