SambaNova raises $1B at $11B valuation, shattering records in the AI chip race

Introduction: A Billion-Dollar Round in Five Months

The AI hardware sector witnessed yet another historic milestone. SambaNova Systems, the Palo Alto-based AI chip maker, raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation in the first close of its Series F round. This round is particularly noteworthy given that it comes just five months after their previous mega-round, indicating unprecedented investor confidence in the company's trajectory.

The round is led by General Atlantic, with several additional investors expected to join in the coming weeks. "A few more investors will come in the next few weeks, and the second close probably will finish," said Rodrigo Liang, co-founder and CEO of SambaNova, in an interview with TechCrunch.

Who Is SambaNova Systems and What Do They Do?

Founded in 2017 by Rodrigo Liang, Kunle Olukotun (CTO), and Chris Re, SambaNova Systems is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company specializes in developing AI accelerators and integrated hardware-software systems designed for enterprise AI workloads.

SambaNova's flagship products include the SN40L and next-generation SN50 — high-performance AI chips designed to accelerate inference for large language models (LLMs). The company's key competitive advantage is its ability to fit multi-trillion parameter models on a single rack, significantly reducing latency and increasing throughput for the most demanding AI workloads.

Intel Acquisition Talks and the Path to Independence

Interestingly, SambaNova had been in active acquisition talks with Intel not long ago, with sources estimating a potential deal at approximately $1.6 billion. However, the $11 billion valuation in this Series F round makes clear that the company has chosen the path of independence — at least for now.

Rodrigo Liang remains non-committal on the subject. "We get approached all the time," he said. The door is open for such an exit in the dynamic AI market, noted the CEO, but the momentum and growth will likely lead the company to "become public at some point."

Worth noting, the relationship with Intel didn't sour. Both companies signed a multi-year partnership to support AI inference development on Intel's Xeon chip. "It gives us a great relationship with them that allows us to leverage Intel's scale with the technology we have," Liang explained.

JPMorganChase — A Watershed Moment for Banking AI

Alongside the new funding, SambaNova announced that JPMorganChase has selected them as its "inference infrastructure partner." The bank will deploy SambaNova's SN40L and SN50 systems for secure, on-premises AI inference.

"The fact that JPMorgan Chase has chosen SambaNova for their inference solution is hugely significant," said Liang. "It sends a message across banking that it's time to not just rely on cloud services anymore."

SN50: The Next-Generation AI Chip

SambaNova's next-generation processor, the SN50, unveiled in February 2026, will begin shipping to customers in the second half of 2026. SoftBank is the first deployment partner. The SN50 is a "premium inference" solution capable of running the largest models at high speed.

Three Customer Categories

SambaNova segments its customers into three categories: sovereign clouds (governments funding local partners), neoclouds (next-gen cloud providers), and enterprises (companies building their own infrastructure). Beyond JPMorgan, SambaNova's customers include Saudi Aramco, Intel, and Japanese companies.

Investors and Use of Funds

The round includes Seligman Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates, Capital Group, A&E Investment, Assam Ventures, Battery Ventures, Cambium Capital, BlackRock, Kabila Capital, QFO Capital, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Vista Equity Partners, and Volantis. Funds will expand manufacturing capacity, hire engineering talent, and accelerate SN50 development.