AI chip startup SambaNova Systems Inc., backed by Intel Corp., is reportedly seeking between $800 million and $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation. This potential valuation is nearly five times higher than its implied valuation of $2.2 billion to $4.8 billion from a Series E round in February 2026, which raised $350 million. The company's prior all-time high valuation was $5.1 billion after a $676 million Series D round in 2021.
This rapid increase in valuation reflects intensifying demand for AI server chips that can compete with Nvidia's offerings, as cloud providers and developers seek lower-cost alternatives. SambaNova recently introduced its SN50 chip, designed to run as much as five times faster than rival processors for AI inference, the phase where trained models generate answers. SoftBank Group Corp. is preparing to use this technology in its data centers, making them a key early customer.
The company has strategically pivoted its focus towards inference chips, moving away from broader ambitions. Its SN50 chip is positioned squarely in the agentic AI inference market, targeting the hardware needed to run AI models once they are built, rather than competing on training massive AI models from scratch. If successful, this $11 billion valuation would make SambaNova one of the most valuable private AI hardware companies globally, setting a benchmark for investor pricing in the competitive inference market, which also includes startups like Groq and Cerebras.
