SambaNova Raises $1B at $11B Valuation Led by General Atlantic
AI chip maker SambaNova Systems has closed a $1 billion Series F first close at an $11 billion post-money valuation, led by General Atlantic. The raise roughly doubles the company's worth in five months. SambaNova also named JPMorgan Chase as an inference-infrastructure partner, deploying its SN40 and SN50 systems for secure, on-premises AI.
Dr. Watson specializes in Health, AI chips, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, gaming technology, and smart farming innovations. Technical expert in emerging tech sectors.
LONDON, Wednesday, July 8, 2026 — SambaNova Systems has raised $1 billion in the first close of its Series F round, led by General Atlantic, at an $11 billion post-money valuation. The company confirmed that the raise lands roughly five months after its last mega-round. The valuation is roughly double where SambaNova stood earlier this year, according to reporting on the round. Separately, JPMorgan Chase named the startup an inference-infrastructure partner.
Funding Snapshot
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead Investors | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series F (first close) | July 8, 2026 | $1 billion | General Atlantic | $11 billion post-money |
| Series E | February 2026 | $350 million+ | Intel (strategic investor) | — |
Key Takeaways
- General Atlantic led the round, with participation from Seligman Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates and Capital Group.
- JPMorgan Chase will deploy SambaNova's SN40 and SN50 systems for on-premises inference behind its own firewalls.
- SambaNova said a second close is expected in the coming weeks, with more investors joining.
- The company will use proceeds to expand capacity, secure supply and scale deployments for enterprise, sovereign and neocloud customers.
Related: How Custom Silicon Is Reshaping the AI Chip Market in 2026
Investor Context
The syndicate spans growth equity, mutual funds and sovereign capital. New and existing backers include BlackRock, Intel Capital, the Qatar Investment Authority, Battery Ventures, Vista Equity Partners and Volantis. Reuters reported that A&E Investment and Assam Ventures also joined alongside funds managed by BlackRock.
Martín Escobari, co-president and head of global growth equity at General Atlantic, said the platform is built for a market where inference has become foundational to enterprise transformation. Intel remains closely tied to the company; its CEO Lip-Bu Tan chairs SambaNova's board, per Silicon Republic.
Competitive Landscape
The inference-silicon field has consolidated sharply. Rivals are chasing the same shift from training to production compute.
Related: Databricks Discusses GPU Reliability Engineering for Large-Scale AI
| Company | Funding / Valuation | Key Investors | Market Focus | Latest Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SambaNova | $11B post-money | General Atlantic, Intel Capital | On-prem, sovereign, neocloud inference | Series F, July 2026 |
| Cerebras | Public (Nasdaq: CBRS); raised $5.55B in May 2026 IPO | Tiger Global, AMD, Fidelity | Wafer-scale inference | IPO, May 2026 |
| Groq | ~$20B Nvidia licensing/asset deal | Nvidia | LPU low-latency decode | Dec 2025 licensing deal (Groq remains independent) |
Investing.com reported that Nvidia agreed to a roughly $20 billion non-exclusive licensing and asset deal with inference startup Groq in December 2025, under which Groq continues to operate as an independent company. Cerebras filed its Form S-1 in April 2026 following a $1 billion Series H led by Tiger Global at a roughly $23 billion valuation, and completed its Nasdaq IPO in May 2026, raising $5.55 billion at a $185 share price. That gives SambaNova a clear public-market reference point as it weighs its own listing.
Related: AWS Pushes Trainium AI Chips to External Buyers in 2026
For deeper context, see our AI Chips analysis: "How AI in AI Chips Will Create New Innovations in 2026".
What SambaNova Does
SambaNova was founded in 2017 by Rodrigo Liang, Kunle Olukotun and Chris Ré. The company builds custom chips, hardware systems and cloud services tuned for inference — the process of generating responses from a trained model.
Its chips are designed to work alongside Nvidia products rather than replace them. Liang told Bloomberg the SN40 and SN50 chips can run the decode portion of inference five to 10 times faster, freeing Nvidia chips for other tasks. The fifth-generation SN50 can scale up to 256 chips across racks and run models up to 10 trillion parameters, per the company's product page.
Additional coverage: MLPerf December Scores Reorder AI Silicon: Nvidia H200 Leads as AMD MI300X, Google Trillium Tighten Race
Related: Intel: Alphabet Orders 3M Custom AI Chips, Stock Jumps 11%
Why It Matters
The JPMorgan win may matter more than the funding figure. Darrin Alves, chief information officer of infrastructure platforms at JPMorganChase, said the bank's AI infrastructure must meet a high bar for performance, control and reliability. Liang argued the deal signals that regulated industries want private, on-prem inference under their own control.
Related: AI chip startups surge: funding spikes, new architectures, and a supply chain squeeze
The bet rests on where AI spend is going. According to Grand View Research (as cited by Tech Funding News), the AI inference market was valued at $97.24 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $253.75 billion by 2030. Enterprises are shifting the cost centre from training models to running them.
Related: Databricks Discusses GPU Reliability Engineering for Large-Scale AI
For deeper context, see our AI analysis: "Kalshi $22B Valuation 2026: $1B Series F Reshapes Prediction Markets".
Forward Outlook
Liang told CNBC the company is strongly considering an IPO in 2027, most likely in the U.S. He said the fresh capital lets SambaNova accelerate rack deployments customers want. The SN50 begins shipping in the second half of 2026, with SoftBank as first deployment partner.
Related: Ferc Grants AI Data Centers Grid Interconnection Priority in 2026
BUSINESS 2.0 has no commercial relationship with companies mentioned.
Sources include company disclosures, regulatory filings, analyst reports, and industry briefings.
Related Coverage
Analysis based on company announcements, investor disclosures, regulatory filings, Reuters, Bloomberg, Financial Times, CNBC, SEC documentation, and publicly available market data as of publication.
About the Author
Dr. Emily Watson
AI Platforms, Hardware & Security Analyst
Dr. Watson specializes in Health, AI chips, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, gaming technology, and smart farming innovations. Technical expert in emerging tech sectors.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did SambaNova raise and at what valuation?
SambaNova raised $1 billion in the first close of its Series F round, led by General Atlantic, at an $11 billion post-money valuation. The company said a second close is expected in the coming weeks, with additional investors joining.
Who led the Series F round?
General Atlantic led the round, with significant participation from Seligman Ventures, T. Rowe Price Associates and Capital Group. New and existing backers include BlackRock, Intel Capital, the Qatar Investment Authority, Battery Ventures, Vista Equity Partners and Volantis.
What is the JPMorgan Chase partnership?
JPMorgan Chase selected SambaNova as an inference-infrastructure partner, deploying its SN40 and SN50 systems for secure, on-premises AI inference behind the bank's own firewalls rather than through a third-party cloud provider.
How does SambaNova compare to Cerebras and Groq?
Cerebras filed an S-1 in April 2026 targeting a roughly $23 billion Nasdaq valuation after a $1 billion Series H, while Nvidia acquired assets from Groq for about $20 billion in December 2025. All three focus on inference, with SambaNova emphasising on-premises, sovereign and neocloud deployments.
Will SambaNova go public?
CEO Rodrigo Liang told CNBC the company is strongly considering an IPO in 2027, most likely in the U.S., adding that the new capital gives SambaNova flexibility with a larger balance sheet.