SoftBank will be the first to use the new SN50 chips, while Intel is partnering with SambaNova to roll out its Intel-powered AI cloud.
Intel-backed Nvidia rival SambaNova has raised $350m in a Series E round led by Vista Equity Partners and Cambium Capital, with a strong participation from Intel Capital.
Reuters first reported on the planned increase earlier this month. While details of the investment were not disclosed, sources told the publication that Intel Capital’s contribution would be around $100m, with a potential commitment of up to $150m.
Other participants in the round include Gulf Development, Assam Ventures, Battery Ventures, Atlantic Bridge, GV and BlackRock.
According to SambaNova, the proceeds from the raise will be used to increase production of the company’s newly launched SN50 chip, which is paid to deliver “the best tokens per watt”. The upgrade will be used to scale ‘SambaCloud’ and deepen enterprise software integration.
SoftBank will be the first to use SN50 within its AI data centers in Japan powering targeting services for government and corporate clients across the Asia-Pacific.
Intel has a close relationship with SambaNova that was founded in 2017, with CEO Lip-Bu Tan serving as chairman of SambaNova’s board. In conjunction with the promotion, the two companies also jointly announced a multi-year collaboration to deliver cost-effective AI solutions for AI companies, model providers, enterprises and governments around the world.
As part of the partnership, Intel is making a strategic investment in SambaNova to accelerate the rollout of the Intel-powered AI cloud.
“AI is no longer a competition to build the biggest model,” said Rodrigo Liang, founder and CEO of SambaNova.
“With the SN50 and our deep collaboration with Intel, the real race is on who can light up every data center with AI agents that respond quickly, never stop, and do it at a cost that transforms AI from an experiment into the most profitable engine in the cloud.”
The company is positioning itself as a rising competitor that wants to take a big chunk of Nvidia’s share in the AI chips market. Liang, who previously worked as an executive at cloud provider Oracle, noted in 2024 that Nvidia has “lost its luster” and that “competitors are nipping at its heels”.
Kevork Kechichian, vice president and general manager of Intel’s data center group said: “Customers are asking for more choice and efficient ways to scale AI.”
“By combining Intel’s leadership in computing, networking, and memory with SambaNova’s full-stack AI systems and leading cloud platform, we deliver a compelling option for organizations looking for GPU alternatives to deploy advanced AI at scale.”
Other companies are also looking for ways to use Nvidia. Meta, yesterday (February 24) said it will buy AMD chips worth billions of dollars to develop AI technology and power new data centers. The deal could see Meta take up to a 10pc stake in AMD.
Earlier this month, Cerebras Systems, which also positions itself as a rival to Nvidia, raised $1bn in a Series H round led by Tiger Global with participation from AMD. Back in January, Cerebras and its backer OpenAI announced a partnership to use 750MW of Cerebras’ wafer-scale systems to make OpenAI’s chatbots faster.
Positron, another Nvidia rival that offers high-performance AI chips for consideration, raised $230m from Arm Holdings and the Qatar Investment Authority in recent weeks, taking its valuation to more than $1bn.
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