SambaNova Systems

SambaNova Systems designs reconfigurable dataflow unit (RDU) chips and full systems and cloud services for running AI models, now focused on inference for enterprises and governments. Stanford professors Kunle Olukotun and Chris Re founded it in November 2017 with Rodrigo Liang, a former Oracle and Sun executive who is chief executive. The company is based in Palo Alto, California. Its SN40L chip launched in 2023 and the SN50 in February 2026.

GV and Walden International led a $56 million Series A in March 2018, with Redline Capital and Atlantic Bridge Ventures. Intel Capital led a $150 million Series B in April 2019 with GV, Walden, Atlantic Bridge and Redline. BlackRock led a $250 million Series C in February 2020, joined by GV, Intel Capital, Walden, WRVI Capital and Redline. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a $676 million Series D in April 2021 at a valuation above $5 billion, with new investors Temasek and GIC, taking funding past $1 billion. Vista Equity Partners and Cambium Capital led a Series E of more than $350 million in February 2026, with Intel Capital, Battery Ventures, Mayfield, T. Rowe Price advised accounts and others. General Atlantic led the first close of a $1 billion Series F in July 2026 at an $11 billion post-money valuation, joined by Qatar Investment Authority, Vista, Intel Capital, BlackRock funds and T. Rowe Price.

The company is private and independent. Its value fell after 2021, with BlackRock reported to have marked down its shares, and Intel, whose chief executive Lip-Bu Tan was SambaNova's executive chairman, signed a nonbinding term sheet to acquire it in December 2025, in talks reported by Bloomberg to value it at about $1.6 billion. SambaNova instead took a multi-year partnership and strategic investment from Intel alongside the Series E. In July 2026 JPMorganChase picked SambaNova as an inference infrastructure partner for on-premises SN40L and SN50 systems.

SambaNova shows how sharply a hardware company's prospects can swing within one fund cycle. Early backers GV, Walden and Intel Capital entered at the Series A in 2018, and the price set by SoftBank in 2021 looked at risk four years later when a sale near $1.6 billion was on the table. The shift of AI demand toward inference reopened the market, and the 2026 rounds more than doubled the 2021 valuation, though no investor has yet realized a return through a sale or listing.