SambaNova Systems on Tuesday disclosed that it has raised $350 million in fresh financing and finalized a partnership with Intel aimed at meeting growing demand for inference chips used to run AI models and enable real-time decisioning. The company said the financing round was led by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners alongside Cambium Capital, with participation from Intel Capital.
The company intends to allocate the proceeds to several strategic priorities: expand production and distribution of its SN50 AI inference chip, scale its SambaCloud platform and deepen integrations between its software stack and enterprise environments. SambaNova said SoftBank Corp will be the first customer to deploy the SN50 chip within its AI data centres in Japan.
In tandem with the funding announcement, SambaNova and Intel signed a multi-year agreement to deliver cost-effective AI inference solutions tailored to AI-native firms. SambaNova described that collaboration as complementary to Intel’s existing commitments for data centre GPUs.
The transaction represents an uncommon move for Vista, which typically focuses on enterprise software investments. The deal follows earlier acquisition discussions between SambaNova and Intel that did not reach completion. Intel, whose chief executive Lip-Bu Tan also serves as SambaNova’s executive chairman, had previously discussed acquiring the startup for roughly $1.6 billion, including debt.
Inference chips, the hardware at the center of SambaNova’s strategy, are designed to run trained AI models and process real-time inferences. Investor interest in this segment has surged as companies seek faster and more energy-efficient hardware to support AI workloads.
With the new capital and the Intel partnership, SambaNova aims to accelerate commercialization of the SN50 and expand its cloud and software offerings to enterprise customers. The announcement highlights a continuing effort by chip developers and cloud vendors to offer alternatives and complements to existing data centre GPU deployments.
Summary
SambaNova raised $350 million led by Vista Equity Partners and Cambium Capital, with Intel Capital among the investors. Funds will support scaling the SN50 inference chip, SambaCloud platform growth and enterprise software ties. SoftBank Corp will be the first deployer of the SN50 in Japan. SambaNova and Intel signed a multi-year agreement to provide cost-effective inference solutions that complement Intel’s data centre GPU commitments. The financing follows stalled acquisition talks between SambaNova and Intel, which had previously discussed a purchase at about $1.6 billion, including debt.