Vista Equity and Intel Drive Major Investment in AI Chipmaker
Private equity powerhouse Vista Equity Partners is spearheading a new funding round of over $350 million in AI chip startup SambaNova Systems, marking a rare deviation from Vista’s usual focus on enterprise software. According to sources familiar with the matter, the investment is being made in collaboration with early-stage investor Cambium Capital.
In addition to Vista, tech giant Intel Corporation is participating in the Series E funding round, continuing its backing of SambaNova after previous acquisition discussions fell through. Intel is reportedly committing around $100 million, with the possibility of increasing its total contribution to $150 million.
SambaNova Gains Momentum Amid AI Hardware Surge
SambaNova, founded in 2017, develops advanced AI chips tailored for inference tasks—an essential component in running artificial intelligence applications efficiently. The company is aiming to compete with industry leader Nvidia Corp, which currently dominates the AI hardware space. The new funding round is said to be oversubscribed, indicating heightened investor interest in alternatives to Nvidia’s GPU dominance.
While the precise valuation of SambaNova in this round remains undisclosed, insiders say the deal is still in progress and subject to change. SambaNova, Vista, and Intel have all declined to comment publicly on the specifics of the investment, and Cambium Capital has yet to respond to inquiries.
Vista Steps Outside Its Comfort Zone
The investment represents an unusual move for Vista Equity Partners, which manages more than $100 billion in assets and traditionally focuses exclusively on enterprise software. The firm is known for substantial acquisitions, including Citrix Systems in 2022 and software company Nexthink in 2025.
Vista’s pivot toward AI hardware comes as software sector valuations have come under pressure. The recent downturn has seen nearly $1 trillion wiped off global software stocks, as artificial intelligence transitions from a growth catalyst to a potential disruptor for traditional software firms.
Rising Demand for AI Chips Spurs Investment
Investor interest in AI hardware is on the rise, following a surge in deal-making among Nvidia rivals. For instance, Cerebras Systems recently raised $1 billion at a valuation of $23 billion, in a round led by Tiger Global. Meanwhile, Groq, another SambaNova competitor, entered into a $20 billion all-cash licensing agreement with Nvidia and hired a significant portion of its team.
These developments indicate a broader trend of AI companies seeking faster and more efficient inference chips to support increasingly complex workloads. OpenAI has also explored partnerships with both Groq and Cerebras to secure compute resources beyond Nvidia’s offerings.
Intel’s Continued Interest Despite Stalled Acquisition
Intel’s renewed investment in SambaNova follows stalled acquisition discussions. The chipmaker had previously considered purchasing SambaNova for around $1.6 billion including debt. Notably, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also serves as SambaNova’s executive chairman, highlighting the strategic alignment between the two firms.
SambaNova was last valued at $5 billion during a 2021 funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. Since then, the startup has faced operational challenges, including layoffs in 2024. Despite these hurdles, SambaNova has pivoted toward AI inference and cloud services and recently informed employees that it had exceeded its fiscal year sales targets, according to one source.
Looking Ahead
As demand for advanced AI infrastructure continues to grow, SambaNova’s latest funding round positions it to expand its market presence and enhance its product offerings. With backing from major players like Vista and Intel, the company is poised to be a formidable competitor in the fast-evolving AI chip landscape.
While the final terms of the investment are yet to be confirmed, the move signals a significant shift in investor priorities—from traditional software to the hardware that powers next-generation AI applications.
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