Evangelos Eleftheriou, Axelera AI: From Scientific Excellence to Europe’s Most Advanced AI Chip Platform

Perseverance - to have ideas, and to never let any obstacle stop you from bringing what you envision to life.

In this episode of the Outliers Podcast, Evangelos Eleftheriou, Co-Founder & CTO of Axelera AI and one of Europe’s most distinguished deep-tech researchers, shares how a lifetime of scientific exploration led to one of the continent’s most advanced AI hardware companies - and why edge intelligence will shape the next era of computing.

Evangelos’ journey began in Greece, where early curiosity for physics and engineering set the foundation for a career defined by both scientific rigor and bold innovation. This path led him to IBM Research Zurich, where he spent more than 30 years exploring the frontiers of data storage, neuromorphic computing, and AI systems - work that earned him the title of IBM Fellow, the highest technical honor at IBM, as well as Fellow of the IEEE.

At IBM, he experienced a research culture built on depth and exploration:

• long-term scientific thinking

• multidisciplinary collaboration

• a commitment to solving problems at global scale

But the question that kept returning was this: How can AI move beyond the cloud - and into the real world, onto the devices where decisions actually happen?

This question eventually led him to co-found Axelera AI in Eindhoven. Axelera builds next-generation AI chips that process data directly at the edge - in factories, retail stores, cameras, logistics systems, robots, and industrial environments. The goal? Real-time intelligence, stronger data privacy, and dramatically lower energy consumption.

Today, Axelera AI is shaping one of the most advanced and efficient AI platforms in Europe, proving that deep scientific expertise can evolve into transformational technology.

But the challenges are significant:

• the complexity of real-world intelligence

• the engineering demands of efficient on-device AI

• the global race to build hardware that keeps up with modern AI models

For Evangelos, one principle has guided the journey:

“Perseverance - to have ideas, and never let any obstacle stop you from bringing what you envision to life.”

His message to the next generation of engineers and scientists? Stay persistent. Follow the ideas that excite you. And don’t be afraid to build where others hesitate - that’s where breakthrough innovation begins.

Greek researchers are shaping the global deep-tech landscape, and Evangelos Eleftheriou is one of the most powerful examples of what is possible.

Curious to hear the full conversation?