SambaNova raises $1bn to supply on-premises AI chips to banks
Silicon Valley chipmaker SambaNova has secured $1 billion in funding, signalling a broader enterprise shift away from big tech cloud services toward private, secure AI infrastructure.
AI chip company SambaNova Systems has raised $1 billion in a first close of its Series F round, reaching an $11 billion valuation. The round was led by General Atlantic, with a second close expected in the coming weeks as additional investors join.
The funding coincides with a major commercial win that carries implications for European financial institutions. JPMorgan Chase has selected SambaNova as an "inference-infrastructure partner," deploying its SN40L and SN50 systems for secure, on-premises AI processing. “Having JPMorgan Chase decide they’re going to use SambaNova for their inference solution is a big deal,” CEO Rodrigo Liang said. “It sends a message to the banking industry that it’s time not to completely depend on cloud services. These banks want heterogeneous [infrastructure].”
European banks and governments facing strict data regulations have been grappling with how to adopt advanced AI without routing sensitive information through US-based cloud providers. Liang noted that enterprises and governments are “just starting their AI journey,” leaving what he described as “a huge amount of revenue” still available for private infrastructure providers. Beyond banking, SambaNova is targeting sovereign clouds—where states fund local partners to build private networks—alongside neoclouds and large enterprises like Saudi Aramco.
The capital injection comes just five months after a $350 million Series E in February, when the company unveiled its SN50 chip. SambaNova’s ties to Intel, an investor since its Series C and a participant in the latest round, have also deepened into a multi-year partnership. The two companies are now co-developing and selling AI inference products based on Intel’s Xeon chip. “That gives us a great relationship with them that lets us leverage the scale of Intel with the technology we have,” Liang said.
SambaNova plans to use the new capital to scale operations and secure its supply chain against surging demand. “We’re using that capital to secure the supply chain,” Liang said, noting it is essential for buying materials to fulfil orders over the next 12 months. Despite ongoing acquisition interest—Bloomberg reported Intel explored a $1.6 billion buyout in December—Liang indicated an initial public offering is the probable trajectory. “We’re always being approached,” he said, but momentum will most likely drive the company toward “being public at some point.”
The roster of backers includes a mix of global asset managers and sovereign wealth funds. Alongside General Atlantic and Intel, participants include the Qatar Investment Authority, T. Rowe Price Associates, BlackRock, Vista Equity Partners, and Battery Ventures.
