SambaNova Systems
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Artificial intelligence |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder | Kunle Olukotun, Christopher Ré, and Rodrigo Liang |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Products | Artificial intelligence hardware, AI inference systems, cloud AI platforms, and AI software |
| Website | https://www.sambanova.ai |
SambaNova Systems, Inc. is an American artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor hardware company. The company designs and manufactures hardware accelerators termed Reconfigurable Dataflow Units (RDUs) adjusted for deep learning models and generative AI applications.[1] [2][3]
History
[edit]SambaNova was co-founded in November 2017 by Kunle Olukotun, Christopher Ré, and Rodrigo Liang. The technical foundation of the entity was derived from microprocessing array research for machine learning systems that received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).[1][4]
Between 2018 and 2021, SambaNova raised about $1.1 billion, reaching $5.1 billion by April 2021.[5][6][7]
In the early 2020s, the company also started cloud-based AI services and inference platforms.[3] In 2023, it introduced the SN40L reconfigurable dataflow unit (RDU), a processor for AI models and inference workloads.[8][9]
In 2024, Time listed SambaNova Suite on its annual Best Inventions list[10] and in 2026, it was included in the Forbes AI 50.[11]
Technology
[edit]SambaNova develops AI computing systems based on a reconfigurable dataflow architecture intended for machine learning and generative AI applications.[3] Its hardware platform is built around the Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU), a processor architecture intended to improve data movement and computation for AI workloads.[2] The company offers cloud and on-premises systems used for AI inference and model deployment.[12]
SambaNova computing hardware platforms have been used in public research labs and supercomputing complexes to test alternative acceleration models for scientific calculations. The United States Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory integrated the SambaNova computing framework within its specialized AI Testbed located at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF).[13] In Japan, the Riken Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) deployed SambaNova systems to operate alongside the Fugaku supercomputer.[14] SambaNova's technology is also used in newer AI inference projects, including Vector Core Compute and OVHcloud to power their AI Endpoints platform.[15][16]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "AI chip maker SambaNova raises $676 mln, valued at over $5 bln". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07.
- 1 2 Ward-Foxton, Sally (2023-09-19). "SambaNova Adds HBM for LLM Inference Chip". EE Times.
- 1 2 3 Cherney, Max A. (19 September 2023). "AI startup SambaNova launches new chip designed for higher-quality AI". Reuters.
- ↑ Lynley, Matthew (2018-03-15). "The red-hot AI hardware space gets even hotter with $56M for a startup called SambaNova Systems". TechCrunch.
- ↑ Wiggers, Kyle. "SambaNova Systems Raises $250 Million for Software-Defined AI Hardware". VentureBeat.
- ↑ Lee, Jane (April 13, 2021). "AI chip maker SambaNova raises $676 million, valued at over $5 billion". Reuters.
- ↑ Pau, Valida. "AI Chip Startup SambaNova Explores Sale After Stalled Fundraising". The Information.
- ↑ Vinn, Milana; Hu, Krystal (6 February 2026). "Vista Equity Partners, Intel lead investment in AI chip startup SambaNova,". Reuters.
- ↑ Goode, Lauren. "Intel Takes Major Step in Plan to Acquire Chip Startup SambaNova". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028.
- ↑ "TIME Best Inventions 2024". TIME. Oct 30, 2024.
- ↑ Shrivastava, Rashi. "Forbes 2026 AI 50 List | Top Artificial Intelligence Companies". Forbes.
- ↑ Morgan, Timothy Prickett. "SambaNova Tackles Generative AI With New Chip and New Approach". The Next Platform.
- ↑ Lee, Jane. "U.S. Argonne National Lab scales up startup SambaNova's latest AI system". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-02-19.
- ↑ Robinson, Dan. "SambaNova's AI System Gets Paired With Fugaku Supercomputer". The Register.
- ↑ say, Sebastian Moss Have your (2026-05-21). "Vista Equity Partners launches Vector Core Compute, an inference 'agentic neocloud' with SambaNova and Intel compute". www.datacenterdynamics.com.
- ↑ say, Georgia Butler Have your (2026-05-21). "OVHcloud launches new availability zone for Germany cloud region". www.datacenterdynamics.com.