Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL) shares moved higher on Wednesday following reports that the company has shown early-stage interest in acquiring AI-chip startup Tenstorrent.
According to Bloomberg, Tenstorrent has been working with investment banks to evaluate strategic options and has held separate conversations with Intel and Qualcomm.
Those discussions are said to be part of a broader review of potential financing and acquisition pathways, though the company has not committed to any transaction.
Tenstorrent, founded by semiconductor veteran Jim Keller, develops AI-focused processors and IP built around a RISC-V-based architecture. Its design approach targets efficient performance for AI training and inference workloads, positioning it in a competitive segment of the rapidly expanding AI hardware market.
According to the reporting, Tenstorrent could be valued above $5 billion in a potential deal, though it has also been linked to earlier fundraising discussions at a lower pre-money valuation of around $3.2 billion.
The company reportedly continues to engage with investors, raising the possibility that a funding round and a potential sale process could be considered in parallel.
For Intel, a potential acquisition of Tenstorrent would align with its broader push into AI accelerators and high-performance computing, an area where it has been working to close the gap with competitors.
No deal has been announced, and sources caution that discussions may not lead to a transaction. The companies involved have not publicly commented on the reported talks.
Shares of Intel shares were up 6.4% following the report.