SambaNova Systems raises $1 billion at $11 billion valuation

SambaNova Systems has raised $1 billion in a Series F funding round led by General Atlantic at an $11 billion post-money valuation, extending investor support for AI chip startups focused on inference. The company said it will use the proceeds to expand capacity, scale deployments globally and keep investing across chips, systems, software and full-stack AI infrastructure. The round included significant investment from Seligman Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates and Capital Group. New and existing investors also included A&E Investment, Assam Ventures, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Intel Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority. SambaNova makes custom chips, hardware systems and cloud services tailored for inference, the process by which AI models respond to user queries. JPMorgan Chase has selected SambaNova as an inference infrastructure partner and is deploying its SN40 and SN50 systems for AI inference. The financing follows a $350 million raise in February to expand the SN50 AI chip, alongside a partnership with Intel to deliver lower-cost inference solutions for AI-native companies. That partnership included a $35 million Intel investment that received U.S. antitrust clearance in May after acquisition talks between the companies stalled. A Reuters review of corporate records later showed Intel had planned to invest another $15 million, which would increase its ownership stake in SambaNova to 9%, though SambaNova did not comment on Intel’s current stake or its contribution to the Series F round. In April 2021, SambaNova raised $676 million in a round led by SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of more than $5 billion.