Canadian startup Tenstorrent, led by chip industry veteran Jim Keller, announced that it has raised $100 million in funding from investors, including Hyundai Motor Group and a Samsung investment fund. The company, which is developing artificial intelligence (AI) chips, had previously raised $234.5 million and was valued at $1 billion. Tenstorrent aims to challenge Nvidia, the market leader in supplying AI chips for products like ChatGPT.
Jim Keller, who has previously developed chips for Apple, Tesla, and Intel, became the CEO of Tenstorrent earlier this year. The recent funding includes $30 million from Hyundai and $20 million from Kia, with the remaining $50 million coming from Samsung’s Catalyst Fund and other investors such as Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, and Maverick Capital.
Tenstorrent is working on AI chips for various applications, including data centers and smart televisions. The funding round was structured as debt that will later convert to stock, and the company expects to conduct another equity fundraising round next year. Hyundai plans to use Tenstorrent’s technology in its future vehicles, strengthening its capabilities in AI technology development.
With the new investment, Tenstorrent aims to further develop its semiconductor technology and expand its offerings to customers seeking to make their own AI chips
