Intel Eyes $5 Billion SambaNova Acquisition to Revitalize AI Strategy

Intel's Potential Acquisition of SambaNova Could 'Catalyze' the Company's AI Comeback -- But It May Cost At Least a Hefty $5 Billion

Intel is reportedly eyeing a major acquisition under its new leadership, with a potential takeover of the AI startup SambaNova, which could prove massive for the firm's AI ambitions. Well, for those unaware, Intel is in talks to acquire the AI firm SambaNova, and it has contacted bankers to arrange the financial means for the transaction, according to a report by Bloomberg. The selection of SambaNova here tells us a lot about what to expect from Intel and AI moving forward. However, it has been revealed that this acquisition could cost Intel at least $5 billion, which is the valuation of SambaNova following its most recent funding round in 2021. The purchase of an AI firm could spearhead Intel's comeback in the AI markets, and we'll discuss how next. SambaNova specializes in AI hardware and software stack, and it employs its native RDU (Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit) custom chips, which are entirely different from the computing standards set by NVIDIA. Instead of focusing on workload parallelization, RDUs are optimized for mapping entire neural network graphs directly into hardware, which prevents overhead caused by memory movement and improves efficiency, especially for transformer AI models. The architecture is claimed to be ideal for large-scale inference workloads, which is one of the reasons behind Intel's attraction. More importantly, SambaNova already has an entire ecosystem around RDUs in place, which includes a rack-scale configuration called DataScale Systems, and a compiler and runtime software called SambaFlow; hence, the firm has an end-to-end solution in place. Intel has invested in the inference markets for quite some time now, and based on what Team Blue has been doing in recent days with announcements like 'Crescent Island', it seems like the firm is going all in on inferencing capabilities, which is why SambaNova is an attractive venture. Well, Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan has 'indirectly' been a part of SambaNova since the firm's early stages, and his investment firm, Walden International, has invested in the AI firm early on. Interestingly, we also know that Intel has been in talks to acquire an AI startup since Tan took over the office, and conflicts with the board of directors initially hindered him. However, it seems like things are now panning out the right way. SambaNova's acquisition could defintely speed up Intel's AI efforts, but the venture could prove to be a strain for the firm's struggling balance sheet.

Intel Looking To Acquire Startup AI Chip Developer SambaNova: Report

Should the acquisition take place, Intel would gain a developer of chips, systems, and clouds aimed squarely at AI inference and give more direction to Intel's AI strategy which has seen several ups and downs. Intel is exploring beefing up its AI capabilities by acquiring SambaNova Systems, a developer of custom-designed chips and hardware, software, and pre-trained models for AI, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the move, said that SambaNova would likely be valued well below its peak valuation of over $5 billion. Intel declined to respond to a CRN request for more information. SambaNova did not respond to a CRN request for more information by press time. [Related: As Intel Creates New AI Group, Data Center Division To 'Refocus' On CPUs: Memos] Palo Alto, Calif.-based SambaNova develops a number of product lines related to AI infrastructure, including: News of the possible acquisition comes just a few days after The Information reported that SambaNova is exploring a sale after struggling to complete a fundraising round. SambaNova has raised a total of $1.14 billion in funding and had a valuation of $5.1 billion as of 2021, according to PitchBook. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is well connected with SambaNova. Tan has served as executive chairman of SambaNova since May 2024. In addition, Tan is the chairman of Walden International, one of SambaNova's investors. Intel Capital is also an investor in SambaNova, as well as SoftBank's Vision Fund, which is also an investor in Intel. Nvidia is also a SambaNova investor. Intel has struggled with the AI market. The company in January canceled plans to sell its next-generation Falcon Shores AI accelerator chip, which it had hoped to release sometime this year. The company at the time said it wanted to focus on developing a "system-level solution at rack scale" with a successor chip it's calling Jaguar Shores. Intel this month unveiled a 160-GB energy-efficient GPU code-named "Crescent Island" for use in inference workloads running on air-cooled enterprise servers. Crescent Island is slated to start shipping in the second half of 2026. At the same time, the company did not provide an update for its Jaguar Shores next-generation GPU.

Intel in talks to acquire AI chip startup SambaNova, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -Chipmaker Intel is in talks to acquire artificial intelligence processor maker SambaNova, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Any deal would likely value SambaNova at below the $5 billion it fetched in a 2021 funding round, and deliberations are in the early stages and there's no certainty the companies will reach an agreement, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. SambaNova designs custom AI chips. Intel's chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, was also appointed as SambaNova's executive chairman and his investment firm Walden International was among the company's early investors. (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Alan Barona)