Exclusive-Vista Equity Partners and Intel to lead investment in AI chip startup Samba Nova, sources say

By Milana Vinn and Krystal Hu Feb 6 (Reuters) – Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners is leading a new funding round of over $350 million in artificial intelligence chip startup SambaNova Systems, marking a rare departure from its traditional focus on enterprise software, according to people familiar with the matter.  Vista, through a partnership with early-stage venture capital firm Cambium Capital, is investing in the Series E round for the chipmaker, three sources told Reuters. Other investors in the oversubscribed round include existing backer Intel Corp, which currently plans to invest about $100 million, with potential commitments of up to $150 million, two of the sources said. The AI computing startup is seeking the funding to compete with market leader Nvidia Corp and meet growing demand for inference chips used in AI applications. Reuters could not determine the valuation of the round, and sources cautioned that fundraising is ongoing and final terms could change. Vista, SambaNova and Intel declined to comment. Cambium did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. For Vista, with over $100 billion in assets, and a firm that "invests exclusively in enterprise software companies" according to its website, funding the AI chip startup marks a rare move outside its investment focus. The firm, known for large software acquisitions, has acquired cloud computing company Citrix Systems in 2022 and software company Nexthink in 2025.  The deal comes as software stocks have come under pressure in recent months as AI has gone from a tailwind for many of these companies to a potential source of disruption. A selloff in global software shares this week wiped out nearly $1 trillion in value as investors reassess valuations. At the same time, interest in AI hardware has surged following a flurry of dealmaking around Nvidia challengers, as AI companies seek chips that can run inference quickly and efficiently. AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems said this week it raised $1 billion in a funding round that valued it at $23 billion. The round was led by Tiger Global and included Donald Trump Jr.-backed 1789 Capital. In December, another SambaNova rival, Groq, struck a deal for Nvidia to license its technology for a $20 billion in an all-cash deal and hire much of its team. OpenAI held talks with both Groq and Cerebras about compute supply deals as the AI lab seeks alternatives to Nvidia GPUs to meet fast-inference needs, Reuters reported earlier. The funding for SambaNova comes after acquisition talks with Intel stalled. Intel, whose CEO Lip-Bu Tan also serves as SambaNova's executive chairman, had previously discussed buying the startup for about $1.6 billion, including debt, Reuters reported earlier.  SambaNova was valued at $5 billion in a 2021 funding round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. The startup has since faced challenges and conducted layoffs in 2024. It has raised more than $1 billion from investors since it was founded in 2017 and has shifted its focus to AI inference and cloud services. The company last month told employees it had crossed its sales target for the fiscal year, one of the sources added.  (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Krystal Hu in San Francisco, editing by Echo Wang in New York and Chizu Nomiyama )

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