KnCMiner, a Stockholm-based bitcoin mining hardware designer, has announced today the deployment of its home-designed 3D bitcoin mining 16-nanometer chip. The company said in a press release:
"Never before in history has this kind of technology seen the light of day. The move down to the 16 nanometer 3D FinFET node represents [a] true step change in processing capability."
Commenting on his company's latest achievement, KnCMiner's CEO Sam Cole, said:
"We have a great design team never standing still. We're going to continue pushing innovation within processor design. We've produced 4 consecutive all-new chip designs in only 2 years, exceeding even Moore's Law and we see no signs of this development slowing down going forward."
The 3D design improves the speed of the processors and dramatically increases energy efficiency, KnCMiner said, adding that "better efficiency results in even more environmentally friendly Bitcoin transaction processing."
By replacing their 28 nm chips with the new 16 nm chips in the mining farms, KnCMiner is looking to increase efficiency by six to eight times.
In February, the company raised US$15 million in a Series B funding round led by Accel Partners with support from VC firms Creandum, GP Bullhound, and angel investor Martin Wattin.
The funding, raised just five months after its Serie A round, was intended to fund the newly deployed 16 nm chip.
"What we like about these guys is that they’re hyper-efficient and thus have a good cost base," explained Michiel Kotting, investor at Accel Partners, suggesting that unlike some miners, KnCMiner actually does stand to make a profit on its operation.
Investors have remained confident, despite the several lawsuits filed by customers over alleged late shipments and defective equipment.
Per Widman, an attorney with Advokaterina Leman & Partners AB, representing KnCMiner in the lawsuits, told the WSJ's Venture Capital Dispatch:
"KnCMiner disputes, and will continue to dispute, all refund claims regarding the Titan miners. We believe that there are very strong legal grounds for KnCMiner’s position."
Speaking with Cointelegraph, a KnCMiner spokesperson, said that some of the complaints actually "have more to do with the price drop in cryptocurrencies in 2014 than with any quality issues regarding our hardware," adding that KnCMiner has been conducting business professionally and have delivered around 9,000 hardware miners that are "industry-leading in efficiency and reliability." Despite some accusations, KnCMiners "[is] not holding back on refunds," the spokesperson further said, concluding:
"We've refunded more than 20 million USD honoring all eligible refund requests.
"There are many rumors and unsubstantiated claims and reports in the cryptocurrency-industry, often based on some anonymous source on a forum, and we are sometimes unfairly accused."