Europe

James Dacombe Becomes Europe’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

Shivangi

Aug 18, 2026 2:14 PM IST

Category Europe

“

Synopsis

British entrepreneur James Dacombe became Europe’s youngest self-made billionaire after Olix raised $312 million at a $3.3 billion valuation.

Key Highlights

• At 25, James Dacombe has become Europe’s youngest self-made billionaire.
• His semiconductor company, Olix, raised $312 million at a $3.3 billion valuation.
• Dacombe is estimated to own 30% of Olix and 12% of CoMind.
• Olix is developing specialised AI chips aimed at reducing power consumption and latency.

From School Dropout to Billionaire

James Dacombe started brain-monitoring company CoMind after leaving high school in 2017. Four years later, he received a Thiel Fellowship and decided against attending college so he could concentrate on building his startup. Now 25, Dacombe continues to run CoMind while also developing his newer venture, Olix.

Olix Reaches a $3.3 Billion Valuation

Dacombe founded London-based Olix in 2024. In August, the company raised $312 million, tripling its valuation over six months to $3.3 billion.

The round attracted investment from NYC-based firm Fundomo, chip designer Arm, US trading firm Hudson River Trading, Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings and the UK government’s Sovereign AI fund.

Dacombe is estimated to hold around 30% of Olix, pushing his personal wealth into billionaire territory. He also owns approximately 12% of CoMind, which raised $102.5 million in August 2025 without revealing its valuation. 

One of Europe’s Youngest Billionaires

Dacombe is one of just 11 self-made billionaires worldwide under the age of 30, with only four based outside the US.

The next-youngest self-made European billionaire is 26-year-old Swedish entrepreneur Arvid Lunnemark, co-founder of AI coding company Cursor. Lunnemark and his three cofounders nearly doubled their fortunes to an estimated $2.4 billion after SpaceX acquired Cursor for $60 billion.

Another 26-year-old Swedish billionaire, Lovable cofounder Fabian Hedin, has also seen his wealth surge. Lovable raised $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation, nearly doubling Hedin’s estimated fortune to $3.1 billion.

In the US, 23-year-old Surya Midha is currently the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. He cofounded AI recruiting company Mercor, which raised funding at a $10 billion valuation in October. His cofounders, Brendan Foody and Adarsh Hiremath, are also 23.

Olix’s Bet on Specialised AI Chips

Dacombe argues that not every AI workload requires Nvidia’s most powerful chips. Olix is instead developing chips designed for specific functions within AI systems, particularly the stage where those systems generate an answer.

The company’s technology uses light rather than electricity to move data, potentially reducing both latency and energy consumption. Olix is also looking to avoid relying on expensive high-performance memory, which is currently in limited supply. Olix expects its first chips to reach customers in the second half of 2027.

Growing Competition

Olix is entering an increasingly competitive market that includes companies such as d-Matrix, MatX, Etched and London-based Fractile.

Nvidia is also moving into the space. In December, the chip giant signed a $20 billion licensing agreement with Groq, a chip company co-founded by Jonathan Ross, who was involved in some of Google’s early TPU chip deals. Dacombe had no prior experience in the semiconductor industry when he launched Olix. However, he believes the photonics expertise he gained through CoMind could give the company an advantage.

With substantial amounts of capital flowing into competing approaches, the biggest rewards are likely to go to companies whose technology ultimately proves successful. Dacombe believes the rising demand for faster and more affordable AI systems will make specialised chips increasingly important, particularly as different AI workloads require different hardware solutions.

Source: Forbes