SambaNova raises $1B Series F at $11B valuation
Original: AI chip maker SambaNova raises $1B at $11B valuation, 5 months after last mega round
Why This Matters
Rapid successive mega-rounds signal surging enterprise demand for on-premises AI inference infrastructure.
AI chip maker SambaNova Systems closed a $1 billion first tranche of its Series F round at an $11 billion valuation, led by General Atlantic, just five months after its $350 million Series E in February 2026. JPMorganChase was named as an inference-infrastructure partner.
Palo Alto-based AI chip company SambaNova Systems has raised $1 billion in the first close of its Series F round, at an $11 billion valuation, led by General Atlantic. CEO and co-founder Rodrigo Liang told TechCrunch that a second close is expected within weeks, with additional investors set to join. The raise comes just five months after SambaNova unveiled its SN50 chip alongside a $350 million Series E in February 2026. Founded in 2017, the company had previously been in acquisition talks with Intel at a valuation of roughly $1.6 billion, per a December Bloomberg report. Liang declined to rule out a future exit but said current momentum points toward an eventual IPO. Intel, a backer since SambaNova's Series C, participated in this latest round and has deepened its partnership with the startup through a multi-year co-development agreement centered on AI inference using Intel's Xeon chip. Separately, SambaNova announced it has been selected by JPMorganChase as an inference-infrastructure partner, with its SN40L and SN50 systems to power secure, on-premises AI inference at the bank. Liang called the JPMorgan win a signal to the broader financial industry that enterprises are moving away from exclusive cloud dependency toward private, heterogeneous infrastructure. SambaNova's next-generation SN50 chip is scheduled to begin shipping in the second half of 2026, with SoftBank as its first deployment partner.