AI Chip Maker SambaNova Rakes $676M At $5B Valuation In SoftBank Led Fundraise: Reuters

Silicon Valley’s artificial intelligence (AI) start-up SambaNova Systems raked $676 million in a SoftBank Group Corp’s SFTBY SFTBF Vision Fund 2 led funding round, Reuters reports.
The chipmaker reached a total funding of $1 billion at a valuation of over $5 billion, making it the third biggest venture capital chip deal in the last twenty years.
The recent technology-focused investment, including semiconductors, marks a pronounced shift from Silicon Valley’s decade-long focus on software, social media, and the internet. The global venture capitalists have invested $7.4 billion in technology, including semiconductors, in 2020.
SambaNova utilized chips manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd TSM for server and AI software building, leased out to companies for a subscription fee.
Interestingly, SambaNova developed its chip architecture. The company had formed a production capacity arrangement with TSM last year to protect itself from the global chip crisis.
Rodrigo Liang and Stanford University professors Kunle Olukotun and Chris Ré co-founded SambaNova in 2017.
The latest funding round also involved new investors Temasek and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. The existing investors included BlackRock BLK, Intel Capital INTC, Google Ventures GOOGL GOOGL, and Walden International.
Price action: SFTBY shares traded higher by 0.06% at $46.475 on the last check Tuesday.