AI chip maker Tenstorrent raises $100 million from Hyundai, Samsung in a bid to rival Nvidia's chip dominance

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Bard. The startup, led by former Tesla employee Jim Keller, has raised $234.5 million to date and is currently valued at around $1 billion.

In the latest round of funding, Tenstorrent raised $30 million from Hyundai, $20 million from Kia and $50 million from Samsung's Catalyst Fund along with other investors like Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital and Maverick Capital etc, reported Reuters. The recently secured funding is structured in the form of debt that would later be converted into equity.

Essentially, this means that the chipmaker will have to hold another round of equity funding to get the new valuation. In a statement about the new investment, Hyundai said, “Hyundai Motor Group today announced a strategic investment in Tenstorrent, an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company based in Toronto, Canada, which will allow the Group to integrate AI into future Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles, and other future mobilities, including robotics and advanced air mobility (AAM)." Tenstorrent, which was founded in 2016, makes its own AI chips while also selling its intellectual property and other technology to help customers build their own AI chips.

In addition to challenging Nvidia in the data center, Tenstorrent is also working on other uses for AI chips, such as the deal announced in May where the company will make chips that could be used in smart TVs. Meanwhile, Keller, who took the reins of the AI chipmaker earlier this year, has previously made chips for companies like Apple, Tesla, and Intel.

His reign at Tenstorrent marks a return to the car technology sector. (With inputs from Reuters)