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Tenstorrent hits $6.2B valuation to scale open-weight AI chips
Chips1 min read
Tenstorrent, a chip startup that builds AI chips for running AI models, raised $1.5 billion at a $6.2 billion valuation. It chose to stay independent instead of selling itself.
What happened
Tenstorrent raised $1.5 billion. The company is now valued at $6.2 billion. Five months earlier, it reportedly had talks with Intel and Qualcomm about buying it, at values up to $5 billion. Tenstorrent chose to stay independent and raise money instead.
Key numbers
- New funding: $1.5 billion
- New valuation: $6.2 billion (up from $2.6 billion in late 2024)
- Possible buyer offers: up to $5 billion from Intel and Qualcomm
- Company age: 10 years old
Why the company matters
Nvidia makes most of the chips used for AI today. Tenstorrent is one of several startups trying to win a share of this market. The money will help it build chips for running open-weight AI models, which are AI models whose trained settings are shared publicly, and for making AI videos.
Why it matters
The deal shows that investors still believe new chip makers can compete with Nvidia. If Tenstorrent succeeds, customers may have more choices than one company's chips. Another AI chip startup, Etched, was also reportedly getting investment offers at $40 billion or more.
What to watch
- Whether Tenstorrent's new chips for open-weight models and video work well
- How Tenstorrent's Galaxy servers perform with models like DeepSeek
- Whether other AI chip startups, such as Etched, raise money at high values
Glossary
- Tenstorrent
- A chip company that designs AI chips for running AI models.
- Nvidia
- The largest maker of chips used to build and run AI.
- Etched
- An AI chip maker that was reportedly getting investment offers at $40 billion or more.