Jeff Bezos Joins Samsung and LG in Backing AI Chipmaker Tenstorrent at $2.6 Billion Valuation
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has participated in a $700 million funding round for AI chipmaker Tenstorrent, which was led by Samsung Securities and South Korea’s AFW Partners. The round values the Santa Clara-based company at approximately $2.6 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Tenstorrent, founded by semiconductor expert Jim Keller, develops AI chips and systems with a focus on cost efficiency and compatibility. Other investors in this round include LG Electronics, Fidelity, and Bezos Expeditions.
The funds will support Tenstorrent’s plans to expand its engineering team, strengthen its supply chain, and build AI training servers to showcase its technology. The company is designing chips to compete with Nvidia’s offerings by using open-source components and avoiding expensive high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
“You can’t beat Nvidia if you use HBM because Nvidia buys the most HBM and has a cost advantage,” said Keller. “But they’ll never be able to bring the price down the way HBM is built into their products and their sockets.”
Unlike Nvidia’s integrated proprietary ecosystem, Tenstorrent focuses on open and interoperable solutions, which aim to provide developers with greater flexibility and cost efficiency.
Tenstorrent supports the RISC-V open-standard processor architecture, positioning itself as an alternative to proprietary designs such as those from Arm Holdings. Keller emphasised the advantages of open-source technology in attracting engineers and building collaborative platforms.
“In the past, I worked with proprietary tech, and it was really tough,” Keller said. “Open source helps you build a bigger platform. It attracts engineers. And yes, it’s a little bit of a passion project.”
The company has reported contracts worth $150 million to date, which is significantly smaller than Nvidia’s data center revenues. Tenstorrent plans to release new AI processors every two years, contrasting Nvidia’s annual updates.
Tenstorrent’s initial chips were produced by GlobalFoundries, with future designs to be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics. The company is exploring advanced 2-nanometer fabrication, with discussions underway with TSMC, Samsung, and Japan’s Rapidus, which aims for 2nm production by 2027.
AFW Partners invested in the company after feedback from Korean collaborators, including LG. “We were impressed by the synergy Tenstorrent has with its partners,” said Bonil Koo, Managing Director at AFW Partners.
The funding round included a wide range of participants, such as the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Export Development Canada, Hyundai Motor Group, and investment firm Baillie Gifford.
