AI chip startup SambaNova raises $1 billion at $11 billion valuation to expand AI inference infrastructure

Daniel Levi Posted On July 8, 2026

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SambaNova Systems has secured $1 billion in fresh funding, marking one of the largest AI infrastructure investments of the year and pushing the company’s valuation to $11 billion. The financing gives the AI chip startup new firepower to grow its inference business at a time when demand for running large language models is surging, and competition with Nvidia is intensifying.

The Series F round was led by General Atlantic, with significant participation from Seligman Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates, and Capital Group. Existing and new backers included A&E Investment, Assam Ventures, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Intel Capital, and the Qatar Investment Authority.

From Sale Rumors to an $11 Billion Valuation

The raise marks a sharp shift in momentum for the Palo Alto, California-based company. Late last year, The Information reported that SambaNova was exploring a potential sale after struggling to complete a fundraising round and grow sales against dominant AI chip rivals such as Nvidia. The new financing signals that investors continue to see room for another major player in AI infrastructure, particularly in the fast-growing inference market.

Founded in 2017 by Rodrigo Liang, Kunle Olukotun, and Christopher Ré, SambaNova develops custom AI chips, hardware systems, software, and cloud services focused on inference. Inference is the stage where trained AI models generate responses to user prompts, a workload that has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the AI market as enterprises deploy generative AI applications at scale.

The company said the new capital will fund additional computing capacity, support global deployments, and advance development across its chips, systems, software, and full-stack AI infrastructure platform.

Why Investors Just Bet $1 Billion on SambaNova

SambaNova paired the funding announcement with a major customer win. The company said JPMorgan Chase has selected SambaNova as an inference infrastructure partner and is deploying its SN40 and SN50 systems to support AI inference workloads. Landing one of the world’s largest financial institutions adds a high-profile enterprise customer as banks continue investing heavily in generative AI.

The latest round builds on a busy year for the startup. In February, SambaNova raised $350 million to accelerate the deployment of its SN50 AI chip and announced a partnership with Intel to deliver lower-cost inference solutions for AI-native companies. That agreement included a $35 million investment from Intel, which received U.S. antitrust clearance in May after acquisition discussions between the two companies ended without a deal.

“SambaNova’s platform is differentiated, built for a market where inference has become foundational to enterprise and industry transformation,” said Martín Escobari, Co-President and Head of Global Growth Equity at General Atlantic. “Rodrigo and the team are driving deep technical innovation to achieve growing commercial momentum while demand for inference is accelerating well ahead of supply. We are pleased to lead this round to support SambaNova in shaping the next generation of AI infrastructure.”

Image Credit: SambaNova

A Reuters review of corporate filings published in April showed Intel had planned another $15 million investment that would increase its ownership stake in SambaNova to roughly 9%. SambaNova did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Intel’s current ownership position or its participation in the latest financing round.

How SambaNova Plans to Challenge Nvidia in AI Inference

SambaNova has attracted deep-pocketed investors for years. In 2021, the company raised $676 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuing it at over $5 billion, Reuters reported. Five years later, the startup has more than doubled that figure as investor interest shifts from training massive AI models to building the infrastructure needed to run them efficiently in production.

The new funding arrives during a pivotal period for the AI semiconductor market. Nvidia remains the clear leader, though enterprises are increasingly evaluating alternatives built for inference, where cost, performance, and energy efficiency carry growing weight. SambaNova is betting that demand for specialized AI infrastructure will continue to rise as more organizations move generative AI from experimentation into everyday business operations.