TLDR
- Intel participates in SambaNova Systems’ $350M Series E funding round for the AI chip developer.
- A multiyear commercial partnership will integrate Intel server processors and graphics cards with SambaNova’s technology.
- Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan serves as SambaNova’s chairman since 2017 and led earlier unsuccessful acquisition efforts worth $1.6B.
- The newly launched SN50 processor reportedly delivers superior performance compared to Nvidia’s B200 GPU lineup while reducing costs.
- SoftBank plans initial SN50 deployment across its Japanese AI data center operations.
Intel has committed capital to AI chip developer SambaNova Systems through a $350 million Series E investment round — simultaneously establishing a commercial alliance between both organizations.
Under the commercial agreement, SambaNova will integrate Intel’s server processors and graphics processing units into its infrastructure through a multiyear commitment, creating a pathway for Intel to expand its presence in AI infrastructure markets.
The investment arrives after unsuccessful merger negotiations. Intel previously pursued acquiring SambaNova at approximately $1.6 billion including outstanding debt, though these talks ultimately collapsed, per January reports from Bloomberg and Reuters.
Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan has served on SambaNova’s board as chairman since 2017, following an early-stage investment from his venture capital firm Walden International alongside Google Ventures. An Intel representative confirmed Tan stepped aside from partnership negotiations to avoid conflicts of interest.
SN50 Challenges Nvidia’s Dominance
SambaNova has unveiled the SN50 processor, which the company claims provides five times greater computational power per accelerator unit and quadruple the network bandwidth versus earlier generations.
CEO Rodrigo Liang stated to CNBC that the SN50 surpasses Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell GPU systems in performance metrics while delivering superior price-to-performance economics. The architecture supports interconnecting up to 256 processing units.
SoftBank, already a SambaNova client, will serve as the initial deployment partner for SN50 technology within its next-generation Japanese AI data center facilities.
Intel’s AI Market Strategy
Intel’s annual revenue has contracted across four consecutive fiscal years while Nvidia ascended to become the planet’s highest-valued public company through AI accelerator sales.
Intel shares have surged 75% during the trailing twelve months, propelled primarily by federal government contracts and arrangements involving Nvidia. The chipmaker continues developing proprietary graphics card technology, which Tan discussed at a recent Cisco conference.
Additional Series E participants include Vista Equity Partners, Cambium Capital, Battery Ventures, and investment accounts managed by T. Rowe Price Associates.
SambaNova’s customer roster features Hugging Face, Meta, and prominent AI research organizations, while simultaneously building out its cloud platform for AI model deployment.
Liang addressed realistic expectations regarding execution: “We’re not doing all this overnight. It’s something that we are doing some good planning work to make sure that we’re actually working this out.”
Intel Capital appears among the strategic investors participating in this funding round.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
