Vista Equity & Intel Lead $350M Series E Investment in SambaNova AI Chip Startup

Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, through partnership with Cambium Capital, is leading a Series E funding of over $350 million in AI chip startup SambaNova Systems, sources said. Intel Corp is expected to invest about $100 million, with potential commitments of up to $150 million, as the oversubscribed round seeks to strengthen its position in AI inference chips amid competition with Nvidia Corp. The investment follows stalled acquisition talks valued at about $1.6 billion and comes as Vista, which typically invests in enterprise software, makes a rare foray into hardware. SambaNova, valued at $5 billion in 2021, has shifted focus to AI inference and cloud services, recently crossing its fiscal year sales target. Final terms and valuation are pending completion of the fundraising.