Tenstorrent
Tenstorrent, founded in 2016 in Toronto by Ljubisa Bajic, Ivan Hamer, and Milos Trajkovic, designs AI acceleration hardware and software using the open-source RISC-V instruction set.
Profile
Design and sell AI accelerator chips and open-source software for developers and data centers.
Tenstorrent, founded in 2016 in Toronto by Ljubisa Bajic, Ivan Hamer, and Milos Trajkovic, designs AI acceleration hardware and software using the open-source RISC-V instruction set. The company positions itself as an alternative to Nvidia-centric AI infrastructure, offering chips (Grayskull, Wormhole, and the newer Blackhole line) alongside open-source compiler software and developer tools. Jim Keller, a legendary semiconductor architect from Intel, Tesla, Apple, and AMD, joined as president and CTO in 2021 and became CEO in 2023, lending the startup significant credibility.
Tenstorrent has raised $1.18 billion across multiple rounds: a Series C in August 2023 raised $200 million, and a headline Series D in December 2024 brought in $693 million at a $2 billion pre-money valuation led by Samsung Securities and AFW Partners, with participation from Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, Fidelity, LG Electronics, and Export Development Canada. As of November 2025, Tenstorrent was in talks to raise $800 million more at a $3.2 billion pre-money valuation led by Fidelity. The company has signed customer contracts worth approximately $150 million, including manufacturing agreements with Samsung and automotive AI commitments with Hyundai and Kia.
In 2025, Tenstorrent completed the acquisition of Blue Cheetah Analog Design and partnered with Razer to launch a Thunderbolt-based external AI accelerator at CES 2026 targeting individual developers. Recent leadership changes include co-founder Ljubisa Bajic transitioning to an advisory role, while Raja Koduri (former Intel EVP and Chief Architect) joined the board. The company cut 7.5% of its headcount (approximately 75 employees from a ~1,000-person base) in late 2025 while pivoting away from enterprise sales toward individual developers. Tenstorrent faces acquisition interest from both Intel and Qualcomm, even as it pursues independent fundraising.
Who buys this
- Individual AI developers and researchers running LLMs and image generation models
- Automotive manufacturers (Hyundai, Kia) building AI co-processors for next-generation vehicles
- Cloud infrastructure providers and data centers seeking alternatives to Nvidia
- Edge computing and edge inference applications
Publicly disclosed clients
- Samsung (manufacturing partnership and foundry production)
- Hyundai Motor / Kia (automotive AI and mobility chips)
- LG Electronics (investor and strategic partner)
- Razer (co-design of Thunderbolt AI accelerator)
Strengths and what to watch
Strengths
- Leadership team anchored by Jim Keller, a top-tier semiconductor architect with proven track record at Intel, Tesla, Apple, and AMD
- Open-source RISC-V architecture reduces licensing dependencies and appeals to developers seeking IP freedom and transparency
- Publicly disclosed customer contracts worth ~$150 million including major tier-1 partners like Samsung and Hyundai automotive divisions
Watch for
- Acquisition discussions ongoing with Intel and Qualcomm; outcome unclear whether company remains independent or gets acquired
- Recent 7.5% headcount reduction and strategic pivot away from enterprise sales to developers; watch for execution risk and whether developer-first strategy delivers near-term revenue
- Product availability constraints: low stock reported by users, fewer software libraries and optimizations compared to Nvidia ecosystem; adoption velocity depends on developer ecosystem maturity
Recent moves
- 7mo ago Tenstorrent unveils first-generation compact AI accelerator device with Razer at CES 2026 featuring Wormhole n150 chipset and Thunderbolt connectivity
- 7mo ago Tenstorrent selected by Republic of Cyprus for AI innovation initiative
- 8mo ago Tenstorrent lays off 7.5% of staff (~75 employees) as company pivots toward developer sales
- 8mo ago Tenstorrent completes Series D with $693 million at $2.6B valuation, led by Samsung Securities and AFW Partners
- 9mo ago Tenstorrent in talks to raise $800 million at $3.2B pre-money valuation led by Fidelity
- 1y ago Tenstorrent acquires Blue Cheetah Analog Design to expand semiconductor design capabilities
Key Information
- Industry
- AI Hardware
- Founded
- 2016
- Employees
- 1227
- Headquarters
- Toronto
- Country
- United States
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tenstorrent?
Tenstorrent designs and sells AI accelerator chips and open-source software built on RISC-V architecture, providing an alternative to Nvidia-dominated AI infrastructure. Founded in Toronto in 2016, it serves individual developers, data centers, cloud providers, and automotive manufacturers seeking alternatives to proprietary GPU systems.
Who leads Tenstorrent?
Jim Keller, a legendary semiconductor architect from Intel, Tesla, Apple, and AMD, joined as president and CTO in 2021 and became CEO in 2023. Co-founder Ljubisa Bajic transitioned to an advisory role, while Raja Koduri, former Intel EVP and Chief Architect, joined the board.
How much funding has Tenstorrent raised?
Tenstorrent has raised $1.18 billion across multiple rounds. Its December 2024 Series D brought $693 million at a $2 billion pre-money valuation led by Samsung Securities and AFW Partners, with participation from Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, Fidelity, and LG Electronics.
What AI accelerator products does Tenstorrent offer?
Tenstorrent's chip lineup includes Grayskull, Wormhole, and the newer Blackhole. In January 2026, it unveiled a compact AI accelerator with Razer featuring Wormhole n150 chipset and Thunderbolt connectivity. The company also acquired Blue Cheetah Analog Design to expand semiconductor design capabilities.
Who are Tenstorrent's customers and partners?
Notable customers include Samsung (manufacturing partnership), Hyundai and Kia (automotive AI), and LG Electronics (strategic partner). Tenstorrent has publicly disclosed customer contracts worth approximately $150 million. It recently partnered with Razer to develop and market compact AI accelerator devices specifically targeting individual developers and researchers.
Why did Tenstorrent lay off employees in 2025?
In December 2025, Tenstorrent cut 7.5% of its headcount (approximately 75 employees) while pivoting away from enterprise sales toward individual developers. The company repositioned to focus on developer-first adoption, reflecting a strategic shift in how it pursues market growth and revenue generation.
How Tenstorrent compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Tenstorrent
- Positioning
- Design and sell AI accelerator chips and open-source software for developers and data centers.
- Customer segments
- Individual AI developers and researchers running LLMs and image generation models
- Strengths
- Leadership team anchored by Jim Keller, a top-tier semiconductor architect with proven track record at Intel, Tesla, Apple, and AMD
- Watch for
- Acquisition discussions ongoing with Intel and Qualcomm; outcome unclear whether company remains independent or gets acquired
- Recent moves
- Tenstorrent selected by Republic of Cyprus for AI innovation initiative
Cerebras Systems
- Positioning
- Wafer-scale processor company selling single-chip inference and large-model training as an alternative to GPU clusters for data centers.
- Customer segments
- Hyperscalers including OpenAI and AWS, UAE sovereign AI entities G42 and MBZUAI, government agencies, enterprise data centers.
- Strengths
- WSE-3 wafer-scale single-die chip delivers inference roughly 20x faster than GPU systems. Only architecture fitting full large models on one die.
- Watch for
- 86% of pre-IPO revenue tied to UAE-linked entities G42 and MBZUAI. US export control restrictions could eliminate the majority of current revenue.
- Recent moves
- Completed IPO in May 2026, raising $5.55B. $1B Series H at $23B valuation closed February 2026, led by Tiger Global.
Groq
- Positioning
- LPU-based inference cloud, pivoted from hardware product sales to cloud inference service and IP licensing after December 2025 Nvidia deal.
- Customer segments
- Developer community (2 million registered users), 75% of Fortune 100 enterprises, Saudi Arabia national AI infrastructure program.
- Strengths
- LPU architecture delivers highest measured token-per-second throughput in independent inference benchmarks across leading open-weight model families.
- Watch for
- December 2025 Nvidia licensing deal transferred key LPU IP for $20B. Founding CEO and president departed to join Nvidia. Hardware roadmap unclear.
- Recent moves
- December 2025 non-exclusive technology licensing agreement with Nvidia valued at $20B. Founding team departed to Nvidia.
SambaNova Systems
- Positioning
- Full-stack AI accelerator company pairing custom reconfigurable chips with software and services for enterprise and government inference deployments.
- Customer segments
- Government agencies, national labs, sovereign AI programs in Gulf states and Europe, enterprises deploying custom foundation models on-premises.
- Strengths
- SN50 chip (February 2026) delivers 5x faster agentic AI inference than competing chips with 3x lower total cost of ownership per vendor claims.
- Watch for
- Valuation declined from $5.1B peak to $2.2B at February 2026 Series E. Intel acquisition talks collapsed in late 2025, signaling weakened exit position.
- Recent moves
- $350M Series E at $2.2B valuation closed February 2026. SN50 chip launched February 2026 alongside Intel multi-year strategic collaboration.
Sources
- news.crunchbase.com — Series D funding of $693 million at $2B pre-money valuation, Jim Keller's role as CEO, investor names Samsung Securities and AFW Partners
- tenstorrent.com — Company mission, product portfolio (Cards, Workstations, Servers), TT-Forge compiler, pricing tiers, developer community
- techcrunch.com — Series C funding, Hyundai and Samsung investments, automotive partnership details
- www.prnewswire.com — Leadership transition: Raja Koduri joining board, Ljubisa Bajic scaling to advisory role, company founding year 2016, founders' names
- thenextweb.com — Acquisition interest from Intel and Qualcomm, customer contracts worth $150 million with Samsung and Hyundai
- www.eetimes.com — 7.5% headcount reduction, strategic pivot to developer sales, Jim Keller's statements on layoffs reasoning
- www.prnewswire.com — CES 2026 announcement of Razer partnership, Thunderbolt 5/4 compact AI accelerator, Wormhole n150 specifications
- news.ycombinator.com — Community discussion of layoffs and strategy shift, technical concerns about chip efficiency and programmability