SambaNova at a glance
As of- [1] Latest valuation: TechCrunch, July 8, 2026
- [2] Equity raised: Sum of the 1 sourced equity round in the funding history below (debt, tender offers and rumored rounds excluded), July 8, 2026
- [3] Lead investors: TechCrunch, July 8, 2026
- [4] Founded: TechCrunch (retrieved July 8, 2026)
- [5] Headquarters: TechCrunch (retrieved July 8, 2026)
What SambaNova does
SambaNova Systems designs AI chips and builds systems and cloud services for running large AI models, using an architecture it calls a Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit.[1] Rodrigo Liang co-founded the company in 2017 with Stanford University professors Kunle Olukotun and Chris Re, according to Reuters.[2] The company says it is headquartered in San Jose, California.[3]
Business model and customers
The company also names Saudi Aramco and Intel as customers, and says it will use the Series F proceeds to expand capacity and scale deployments for enterprises, neo-clouds and sovereign AI customers.[3]
Leadership
- The SN50 is due to begin shipping in the second half of 2026, with SoftBank as its first deployment partner, CEO Rodrigo Liang told TechCrunch.[4]
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Company Snapshot
SambaNova is a Semiconductors company, based in Palo Alto, California, USA, founded 2017 by Rodrigo Liang, Kunle Olukotun, Christopher Ré.
Recent changes
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026Raised $1B Series F at a $11B valuation TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026First reported valuation: $11B TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026New investor: Qatar Investment Authority TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026New investor: Intel TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026New investor: T. Rowe Price TechCrunch
Earlier changes (4)
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026New investor: BlackRock TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026New investor: Vista Equity Partners TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026New investor: General Atlantic TechCrunch
- Jul 8, 2026Jul 8, 2026SambaNova Raises $1B at $11B Valuation for AI Chips Pulse story
Funding history
1 equity event · newest first · sources dated per row| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2026 | Series F | $1B | $11Bpost-money | TechCrunch |
Equity only. “Equity raised” above sums the rounds with a dated, linked source; rumored rounds, tender offers and secondary sales are listed but not counted, and debt financing is listed separately.
How SambaNova has been funded
In April 2021 SambaNova raised $676 million in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, which the company said valued it at more than $5 billion.[2] Before that round, SambaNova had been in acquisition talks with Intel at roughly $1.6 billion, according to a Bloomberg report cited by TechCrunch.[4] On July 8, 2026, SambaNova completed the first close of a $1 billion Series F led by General Atlantic at an $11 billion post-money valuation.[5],[4] Alongside the round, JPMorganChase selected SambaNova as an inference-infrastructure partner, with SN40L and SN50 systems set to run on-premises inference at the bank.[4]
Investors
Latest Pulse
- Oct 19, 2026Tenstorrent Raises $1.5B | Valuation More Than Doubles To $6.2BTenstorrent raised $1.5 billion in a Series E led by Trace Capital and Innovation X, valuing the RISC-V AI chip startup at $6.2 billion post-money -- more than doubling its December 2024 mark.→
- Oct 8, 2026Nvidia To Invest In Chip Rival d-Matrix, Last Valued At $2BNvidia plans to invest in inference-chip startup d-Matrix, a competitor, while linking its chips to Nvidia's NVLink Fusion interconnect -- deepening Nvidia's pattern of backing rivals it also competes against.→
- Sep 25, 2026DensityAI, Founded By Ex-Tesla Dojo Leads, Nears $10BDensityAI, an AI chip and data center startup founded by former leaders of Tesla's Dojo supercomputer program, is in advanced talks for a round that would value the year-old company at $10 billion, led by Andreessen Horowitz.→
- Sep 10, 2026DOJ Probes Nvidia's $20B Groq Deal For AntitrustThe Justice Department is investigating whether Nvidia structured its nearly $20 billion licensing-and-hire deal for AI chip startup Groq specifically to dodge a formal antitrust merger review.→
- Sep 10, 2026Positron AI Raises $875M At $5B ValuationAI inference-chip startup Positron AI raised $875 million at a $5 billion valuation, more than quadrupling its value in seven months as it races to tape out its memory-heavy Asimov chip on TSMC's N3P process.→
- Sep 9, 2026Startups Are Coming Back for More Money, FasterA handful of 2026's hottest companies are raising follow-on rounds four to six months apart at 2x-plus step-ups, a pace with almost no historical precedent outside this cycle.→
- Sep 8, 2026Cerebras Jumps 15% As Wedbush Flags OpenAI Deal ProgressCerebras Systems shares jumped 15.1% after Wedbush said new evidence of its chips powering an ultrafast OpenAI model tier shows real progression in the two companies' existing $20 billion compute agreement.→
- Sep 7, 2026Filed, Retained or Just Talking: 2026's IPO TiersSeven companies dominate 2026's IPO chatter, but only two -- Oura and SB Energy -- have an actual filing on record; the rest range from retained bankers to a CEO's public comment.→
- Sep 7, 2026Labor Day Closes the Market. Then the Window OpensUS markets are shut for Labor Day and the SEC filing tape has been empty since Friday, which puts the year's most concentrated IPO stretch -- the eight weeks after the holiday -- starting tomorrow with one AI-adjacent name actually on file.→
- Sep 4, 2026One of Eight IPO Candidates Just Actually FiledCrunchbase named eight startups as 2026's clearest IPO candidates two days ago; since then, exactly one -- Oura -- has converted to an actual public S-1, while the other seven remain unfiled.→
Coverage Timeline
newest firstAll Coverage
FUNDING$8.3B-$11B neocloud marks
The Neocloud Gold Rush: Who's Really Winning the AI Compute Land Grab
Together AI's $8.3 billion valuation, SambaNova's $11 billion mark, and a wave of smaller sovereign-cloud raises show investors are pricing AI compute resellers as aggressively as the model labs they serve.
SambaNova Raises $1B at $11B Valuation for AI Chips
FUNDING$1B Series F (1st close), $11B valuation
SambaNova Raises $1B at $11B Valuation for AI Chips
SambaNova closed the first tranche of a $1 billion Series F at an $11 billion valuation, just five months after its last mega round, with General Atlantic leading and JPMorganChase signing on as an inference partner.
Value Add Research
- AI & Technology · Jul 22, 2026$11B SambaNova — $1B Series F After Rejected Intel Bid
- Market & Trends · Oct 18, 2026Q3 2026 Semiconductor Funding Rounds: SambaNova's $1B Leads
- Market & Trends · Sep 16, 2026Cerebras (CBRS): Inside the AI Chip Maker Taking On Nvidia
- AI & Technology · Sep 12, 2026Positron AI Valuation: $875M Series C at $5B, Up From $1.06B
- AI & Technology · Aug 19, 2026Cerebras Revenue 2026: $880M-$890M Guidance, 103% Growth
- AI & Technology · Aug 17, 2026Groq's $3.5B Valuation Is Half Its 2025 Peak
- AI & Technology · Aug 5, 2026750 Tokens/Sec — GPT-5.6 on Cerebras & $20B Deal
- AI & Technology · Jul 24, 2026$20B Nvidia Deal — How Groq Makes Money (2026)
Related Companies
SambaNova FAQ
What is SambaNova's valuation?
On July 8, 2026, SambaNova completed the first close of a $1 billion Series F led by General Atlantic at an $11 billion post-money valuation.[5],[4]
How much has SambaNova raised?
In April 2021 SambaNova raised $676 million in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, which the company said valued it at more than $5 billion.[2]
Where is SambaNova headquartered?
SambaNova says it is headquartered in San Jose, California.[3]
What does SambaNova do?
SambaNova Systems designs AI chips and builds systems and cloud services for running large AI models, using an architecture it calls a Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit.[1]
Who invested in SambaNova?
Lead investors in SambaNova's sourced funding rounds include General Atlantic. Per round: its July 2026 Series F was led by General Atlantic.
When was SambaNova founded and where is it based?
SambaNova was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA, according to TechCrunch.
References
researched 2026-10-23Sources & methodologyshow
Where these figures come from
- TechCrunchmajor outlet2 facts
Figures are labelled Reported (a source states it), Estimated, Derived (computed from other facts) or Rumored (in talks / unconfirmed). Rumors never replace a confirmed figure. Each figure keeps its own as-of date; history is preserved rather than overwritten.