Samsung and Hyundai Invest $100M in Tenstorrent to Shape the Future of AI Chips

Tenstorrent, an artificial intelligence and machine learning technology business based in Canada, specializes in AI systems with a deep learning and adaptability focus. Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund jointly led an investment round to earn $100 million for Tenstorrent. Tenstorrent wants to work with Hyundai Motor ($30) and Kia ($20), Hyundai’s automotive divisions, to build CPUs and AI co-processors for future mobility cars and robotics as part of the fundraising round, which totals $50 million. Samsung Catalyst and other venture capital funds provide the remaining $50 million.

Along with Samsung’s Catalyst Fund, additional investors, including Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, and Maverick Capital, also contributed a part of the $50 million. McKinsey reports that by 2025, about 20% of the $450 billion global semiconductor industry is expected to be occupied by AI chips. Insight partners claim that sales of AI chips will increase annually by 35%, from $5.7 billion in 2018 to $83.3 billion in 2027. Tenstorrent was founded in 2016, and Jim Keller, a veteran of the chip business, assumed the role of CEO this year.

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The firm created a unique processing core known as the Tensix, produced the Grayskull and Wormhole products, and is now working on the first 8-wide decoding RISC-V core in the market that can handle both client and HPC workloads. Keller is now back in the automotive industry, and the firm is building chips to compete with Nvidia in data centers. Along with improved air mobility and robotics, Hyundai intends to co-develop AI chips with Tenstorrent. Tenstorrent announced its first public partnership with LG in May 2023, granting a license to use Tenstorrent’s AI and RISC-V CPU technology in upcoming TV and car products.

Keller outlined his intentions for Tenstorrent to use RISC-V architecture and chipset design to compete with NVIDIA during the RISC-V Days Tokyo 2023 Summer Conference. Tenstorrent introduced DevCloud in 2021, a cloud-based solution that enables programmers to execute AI models without initially needing to buy hardware.

Thanks to “PRNewswire“