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Harrogate entrepreneur's AI company reaches £2.5bn valuation

Tuesday, 4 August 2026 12:52

James Dacombe, 25, is the founder and chief executive of London-based Olix.

A Harrogate-born entrepreneur has seen his artificial intelligence company reach a valuation of around £2.5 billion.

James Dacombe, 25, is the founder and chief executive of London-based Olix, which develops specialist AI chips designed to improve the speed and efficiency of artificial intelligence systems.

Dacombe grew up in Harrogate, attending Ashville College before studying at the St Aidan's and St John Fisher Associated Sixth Form.

Olix has raised $312 million (around £232 million) in Series B funding, tripling the company's valuation to $3.3 billion (around £2.5 billion) in just six months.

The investment round was backed by major names including Arm, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Fundomo and the UK Government's Sovereign AI Fund.

Dacombe founded brain-monitoring technology company CoMind in 2018 before launching Olix in 2024.

Olix is developing specialist AI "inference" chips, designed to run artificial intelligence models more efficiently while reducing costs and easing supply chain pressures. Its first chip platform, known as DX-1, is expected to launch next year.

James told the Financial Times:

"The velocity and culture of delivering when you say you will deliver is really key.

"We are on track to be the fastest company to go from founding to full chip tape out of any company in this space."

The latest investment will allow the company to expand its engineering teams across the UK and North America while accelerating development of its AI hardware.

According to reports, Dacombe remains one of Olix's largest shareholders through his holding company, with his stake now valued at more than $1 billion.

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