US-based computing technology startup SambaNova Systems has emerged from stealth with $56m from a series A round co-led by GV, the subsidiary of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures.
Venture capital firm Walden International co-led the round, which also featured VC firm Redline Capital and growth equity fund Atlantic Bridge Ventures.
Founded in 2017, SambaNova has created a computing platform intended to provide the basis of next-generation data analytics and machine learning applications. The series A funds will be used to recruit more engineers as it looks to further develop its computing platform.
GV general partner Dave Munichiello will take a board seat at SambaNova while Lip-Bu Tan, Walden’s chairman, will also assume the chairman role at the startup.
Munichiello said: “The market for dedicated AI hardware continues to experience exponential growth, and this team uniquely understands how critical adaptability and flexibility are for ever-evolving artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches.
“Other platforms have been designed for AI and machine learning techniques that exist today. SambaNova’s software-defined infrastructure anticipates and supports a rapidly-evolving ecosystem. We firmly believe that over time this computing approach will lead the industry in distributed machine learning and data analytics infrastructure.”
SambaNova’s technology is based on technology developed by Kunle Olukotun, a cadence design professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University, and Chris Ré, an associate professor in the same university’s department of computer science.