Tenstorrent secures $100m funding from Hyundai, Kia, and Samsung

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【Summary】Tenstorrent, an AI and RISC-V chip company, has raised $100m in funding from Hyundai, Kia, and Samsung. The investment, structured as debt that will convert to stock, brings Tenstorrent's total funding to $334.5m. The company builds AI accelerators and RISC-V CPUs to compete with Nvidia's GPUs, and also licenses its designs. Hyundai plans to use Tenstorrent designs in their future vehicles, following their semiconductor development group launch.

FutureCar Staff Aug 14, 2023 5:22 PM PT

Tenstorrent secures $100m funding from Hyundai, Kia, and Samsung

Tenstorrent, an AI and RISC-V startup, has recently secured a significant investment to further its growth and development. Prior to this deal, the company had already raised $234.5 million, with a valuation of $1 billion in its last funding round. However, the investment in Tenstorrent was structured as debt that will convert to stock at a later date, meaning that the company's new valuation will not be determined until it conducts another round of equity fundraising, which is planned for next year.

Tenstorrent specializes in building scalable artificial intelligence accelerators for both cloud and Edge applications. Its aim is to compete with Nvidia's GPUs in the AI space, while also working on the development of a RISC-V CPU. Additionally, the company licenses its designs to other businesses, allowing for further collaboration and innovation in the industry.

The recent investment saw Tenstorrent raise $30 million from South Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai, as well as $20 million from Hyundai-subsidiary Kia. Samsung's Catalyst Fund contributed $50 million to the funding round, alongside other investors such as Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, and Maverick Capital.

As part of the investment deal, Hyundai announced that it intends to incorporate Tenstorrent's designs in future vehicles from Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. This comes after Hyundai established its own semiconductor development group last year, highlighting the company's commitment to technological advancements in the automotive industry. Furthermore, Tenstorrent has previously signed an agreement with LG to integrate its chips into smart TVs.

Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent, expressed his gratitude for the trust shown by Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund in leading the funding round. He also commended Hyundai Motor Group's impressive adoption of technology, which has propelled the company to become the third largest automaker in the world. Keller brings a wealth of experience to Tenstorrent, having previously held key positions at Intel, AMD, Apple, and Tesla, where he played instrumental roles in chip architecture and development.