SambaNova Raises $1 Billion at $11 Billion Valuation

What happened

SambaNova Systems completed a $1 billion Series F funding round at an $11 billion valuation, led by General Atlantic with participation from Seligman Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates, Capital Group, and existing investors including Intel Capital, BlackRock, and the Qatar Investment Authority. The round closed roughly five months after the company unveiled its SN50 chip and raised $350 million in Series E funding in February. JPMorgan Chase selected SambaNova as an inference infrastructure partner, deploying its SN40L and SN50 systems for secure on-premises AI inference. Additionally, Vector Core Compute, a new distributed cloud provider backed by Vista Equity Partners and Cambium Capital, placed a $3.5 billion order with SambaNova to be deployed over the next three years. CEO Rodrigo Liang said the company expects to be profitable next year and is considering IPO options, though the fundraise provides ample runway. SambaNova previously held acquisition talks with Intel at a $1.6 billion valuation in December, but opted to remain independent.

Why it matters

The funding round and valuation surge demonstrate growing investor appetite for alternatives to Nvidia in the AI chip market, particularly for inference workloads. SambaNova's ability to secure JPMorgan Chase as a customer signals that large enterprises are prioritising on-premises AI infrastructure for data privacy and security over reliance on third-party cloud providers. The company's approach addresses key enterprise concerns: its systems fit multi-trillion-parameter models onto a single rack, use air cooling and standard Ethernet, and can be deployed in existing data centres without gigawatt-scale power requirements. The $3.5 billion order from Vector Core Compute represents substantial committed revenue and validates SambaNova's disaggregated inference architecture, which combines SambaNova chips for decode acceleration with Nvidia GPUs for prefill, delivering 2× to 3× performance improvement per chip. SambaNova's deepening partnership with Intel, including co-development of products based on Intel's Xeon 6+ Clearwater Forest chip, provides manufacturing scale and enterprise credibility. The company's focus on premium inference for the largest models positions it to capture what Liang calls a huge amount of revenue as enterprises and governments begin their AI journeys beyond the initial wave of tech companies and frontier labs.

Bigger picture

SambaNova's valuation jump reflects broader momentum in the private AI chip market as investors seek exposure to Nvidia challengers. South Korean startup Rebellions announced plans for a 2027 IPO, while Nvidia itself signed a licensing deal with inference chip startup Groq last year. Public semiconductor stocks have surged, with the PHLX semiconductor index up around 80% this year, but private market activity suggests investors believe there is room for specialised competitors focused on inference rather than training. The banking sector's move toward on-premises AI infrastructure, led by JPMorgan Chase, could trigger similar adoption across regulated industries including healthcare and government. SambaNova's sovereign cloud strategy targets governments funding local partners to build private clouds, addressing geopolitical concerns about AI infrastructure dependence. The disaggregated inference approach, combining different chip architectures for optimal performance and cost, represents an architectural shift in how AI workloads are deployed at scale. Vector Core Compute's model of deploying clusters in existing urban data centres rather than building gigawatt-scale facilities suggests a new deployment pattern for inference workloads that prioritise proximity to end users and faster time to market over raw scale.

What to watch

Monitor SambaNova's SN50 chip shipments in the second half of 2026, with SoftBank as the first deployment partner. Watch for additional investors joining the Series F second close in the coming weeks and whether the round size increases beyond $1 billion. Track enterprise adoption beyond JPMorgan Chase, particularly in banking, healthcare, and government sectors where data privacy and on-premises deployment are priorities. Observe progress on the $3.5 billion Vector Core Compute order and whether SambaNova secures supply chain capacity to fulfil demand over the next 12 months. Look for announcements on SambaNova's IPO timeline, with the CEO stating the company is excited for what the next 12 months will bring. Monitor the rollout of disaggregated inference architectures combining SambaNova chips with Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and Intel Xeon 6 CPUs, especially among cloud service providers. Watch for sovereign cloud deals as governments build local AI infrastructure. Track profitability achievement expected next year and whether SambaNova maintains its low burn rate without building data centres. Finally, observe competitive responses from Nvidia and other chip makers to SambaNova's enterprise traction and whether more large banks follow JPMorgan Chase in deploying on-premises inference infrastructure.