Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, ETR:INL) is in preliminary discussions to acquire SambaNova Systems, an AI chip startup focused on custom processors, systems, and clouds optimized for AI inference workloads, according to Bloomberg News, which cited sources familiar with the matter.
SambaNova, founded in 2017 in California, has shifted its focus from training large AI models to inference optimization, a move that aligns with Intel’s growing AI strategy.
The company has engaged bankers to gauge potential buyer interest, with any transaction expected to value SambaNova below its $5 billion valuation from a 2021 funding round.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over leading the company in 2024, has a long-standing relationship with SambaNova.
Tan serves as SambaNova’s executive chairman, and his venture firm, Walden International, was one of the company’s founding investors. Intel Capital and SoftBank’s Vision Fund have also invested in the startup.
While acquisition discussions are ongoing, no agreement has been finalized, and a deal is not guaranteed, the sources told Bloomberg.
Wedbush analysts see SambaNova fitting in with Graphcore, Cerebras and Groq, “capturing the same big COVID-era raise that propelled its peers.”
“However, unlike the latter two, SambaNova never garnered the partnerships or large deals that both validated Groq's and Cerebras' technology, while providing a next leg of growth,” they wrote.
They noted that Intel should know SambaNova “extremely well,” given Lip-Bu Tan’s position as chairman and Walden’s status as one of the founding investors.
“At the same time, we always worry about acquisitions of struggling companies that seemingly involve fixing technologies, as this path tends to lead to disappointment versus buying emerging market leaders and using better size/funding to more rapidly scale their sales and product efforts,” they wrote.
Shares of Intel traded up 0.4% at $40 on Friday morning, up more than 100% in the year to date.