Upper90’s financing is described as the first deal collateralized by inference-specific chips, with General Compute targeting agent AI workloads in data centers and repurposed crypto mining sites.
General Compute has obtained a $400 million loan from Upper90 backed by SambaNova chips, in what the source describes as the first financing deal collateralized by inference-specific chips. The startup uses SambaNova’s in-house ASICs for an AI inference cloud focused on agent AI workloads, with deployment possible in traditional data centers and idle crypto mining sites. The transaction highlights a potential shift in AI infrastructure finance toward hardware designed to run models, rather than the broader chip-backed lending market that has largely focused on Nvidia GPUs. For lenders, inference infrastructure can be attractive because it may support steadier, recurring revenue from serving AI workloads.