Tenstorrent revealed that, at a $2 billion pre-money valuation, it had closed more than $693 million in its Series D investment round. Due to high investor interest, the round, which was headed by Samsung Securities and AFW Partners, was oversubscribed. Both Samsung and AFW have a long history of investing in cutting-edge tech firms and have close ties to Tenstorrent.
XTX Markets, Corner Capital, MESH, Export Development Canada, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Bezos Expeditions, and other prominent investors joined the round in addition to the leads.
Tenstorrent uses its Tensix cores to create and market artificial intelligence computers. Tenstorrent stands apart from the competition thanks to its open-source software stacks in addition to its hardware sales. Tenstorrent offers intellectual property rights for RISC-V and AI to clients who wish to own and modify their own silicon.
Tenstorrent plans to use the Series D capital to grow its global development and design centers, hire developers, construct platforms and clouds for AI developers, and build out open-source AI software stacks.
Key Comments
“We are excited by the breadth of investors that believe in our vision,” said Keith Witek, Chief Operating Officer of Tenstorrent. “If you look at this group, you see a balance of financial investors and strategic investors, as well as some notable individuals that have conviction in our plans for AI. They respect our team, our technology, and our vision. They see the ~$150M in deals closed as a strong signal of commercial traction and opportunity in the market.”
“Our investors are great,” said Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent. “During the fundraising process I was impressed by how interested our investors were in our open-source approach to software. They realize that the way to win is to get developers on board by giving them all the tools they need to own their own technology. “
“AFW Partners is dedicated to investing in innovative and disruptive technologies that we believe will change the world, with a specific focus on mobility innovation,” said Bonil Koo, Managing Director at AFW Partners, who leads the Series D round with Samsung Securities. “Tenstorrent’s momentum in the market, its innovative roadmaps filled with cutting edge technology, and open-source software are an unbeatable combination. We are thrilled to participate in their journey and success.”
“We find Tenstorrent’s open-source driven approach refreshing, especially in the proprietary and often secretive world of AI accelerators,” said Joshua Leahy, Chief Technology Officer, XTX Markets. “We’re excited to support them as they bring their ambitious roadmap to market.”