On August 3, Tenstorrent, an artificial intelligence (AI) chip developer, revealed the successful closure of a $100 million funding round, with major manufacturing companies such as Samsung and Hyundai leading the investment consortium.
The funding round saw $30 million contributed by Hyundai Motor, $20 million from automaker Kia, and a substantial $50 million from Samsung. Other participants in the funding included Catalyst Funds like Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, and Maverick Capital.
Tenstorrent's CEO, Jim Keller, formerly associated with tech giants like Apple, Intel, and Tesla in the realm of AI chip development, is at the helm of the company. Hyundai Motor Group's Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Strategy Office, Heung- Soo Kim, emphasized the investment's significance, indicating the group's aspirations for optimized semiconductor technologies to shape future mobility and bolster in-house AI technology capabilities.
The raised capital is earmarked for the acceleration of the company's product development and the design of AI chiplets, as well as advancing its machine learning software roadmap. With Nvidia being a dominant force in AI chip development, companies like Tenstorrent are gearing up for competition. The global demand for high-performance semiconductor chips in AI applications remains high, with Nvidia previously even exceeding a market value of one trillion US dollars.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) joined the AI chip race by unveiling details about their forthcoming AI chip on June 13, potentially offering an alternative to Nvidia's market dominance. It's important to note that companies like AMD, Nvidia, and Tenstorrent are all based in the US, subject to ongoing chip export restrictions designed to impact their presence in the Chinese market.
The US government initially introduced AI chip restrictions on China in October 2022, aimed at curbing the rapid development of the semiconductor industry in the country. Following this, the US government contemplated tightening these restrictions in July. In response, China announced its intentions to enhance export controls on critical materials required for chip manufacturing.
