A private equity firm is taking the lead in a fresh funding round of more than $350 million for AI chip startup SambaNova Systems, marking a notable shift from its usual focus on enterprise software.
The firm, working with a venture capital partner, is investing in the Series E round. Other backers include a major technology company that plans to invest roughly $100 million, with the possibility of increasing its commitment to $150 million.
SambaNova is seeking the capital to compete with market leader Nvidia and to meet the rising demand for inference chips that power AI applications. The exact valuation of the round has not been disclosed, and the deal is still subject to final terms.
For the private equity firm, which manages more than $100 billion in assets and typically focuses exclusively on enterprise software, this move outside its usual investment niche is unusual. The firm has previously made sizable software acquisitions, including a cloud computing company in 2022 and a software firm in 2025.
While software stocks have recently come under pressure, interest in AI hardware has surged, with several competitors raising substantial capital and securing large deals.
For example, another AI chipmaker recently raised $1 billion in a funding round that valued it at $23 billion, and a rival struck a $20 billion licensing deal with a leading chipmaker, bringing much of its team on board.
OpenAI has been exploring alternative compute supply options, engaging with multiple chip firms to meet fast‑inference needs.
The round follows earlier acquisition talks with the major technology company that stalled. The company’s CEO also serves as the executive chairman of SambaNova.
SambaNova, founded in 2017, has raised more than $1 billion since its inception and has shifted its focus to AI inference and cloud services. Despite earlier layoffs, it recently announced that it had reached its sales target for the fiscal year.
The funding round remains ongoing, and final terms could evolve.
