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AI chip startup Tenstorrent lands $100M investment from Hyundai and Samsung on August 4, 2023 at 6:31 pm
The appetite for hardware to train AI models is voracious.
AI chips are forecast to account for up to 20% of the $450 billion total semiconductor market by 2025, according to McKinsey. And The Insight Partners projects that sales of AI chips will climb to $83.3 billion in 2027 from $5.7 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate 35%. (That’s close to 10 times the forecast growth rate for non-AI chips.)
Case in point, Tenstorrent, the AI hardware startup helmed by engineering luminary Jim Keller, this week announced that it raised $100 million in a convertible note funding round co-led by Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund.
Indeed, $50 million of the total came from Hyundai’s two car-making units, Hyundai Motor ($30 million) and Kia ($20 million), which plan to partner with Tenstorrent to jointly develop chips, specifically CPUs and AI co-processors, for future mobility vehicles and robots. Samsung Catalyst and other VC funds, including Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital and Maverick Capital, contributed the remaining $50 million.
Unlike equity, a convertible note is short-term debt that converts to equity upon some predetermined event. Why Tenstorrent opted for debt over equity isn’t entirely clear — nor is the company’s post-money valuation. (Tenstorrent described it as an “up-round” in a release.) Tenstorrent last raised $200 million at a valuation eclipsing $2 billion.
The convertible note tranche, which had participation from Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, Maverick Capital and more, brings Tenstorrent’s total raised to $334.5 million. Keller says it’ll be put toward product development, the design and development of AI chiplets and Tenstorrent’s machine learning software roadmap.
Toronto-based Tenstorrent sells AI processors and licenses AI software solutions and IP around RISC-V, the open source instruction set architecture used to develop custom processors for a range of applications.
A top-down view of Tenstorrent’s custom-designed hardware for AI processing. Image Credits: Tenstorrent
Founded in 2016 by Ivan Hamer (a former embedded engineer at AMD), Ljubisa Bajic (the ex-director of integrated circuit design at AMD) and Milos Trajkovic (previously an AMD firmware design engineer), Tenstorrent early on poured the bulk of its resources into developing its own in-house infrastructure. In 2020, Tenstorrent announced Grayskull, an all-in-one system designed to accelerate AI model training in data centers, public and private clouds, on-premises servers and edge servers, featuring Tenstorrent’s proprietary Tensix cores.
But in the intervening years, perhaps feeling the pressure from incumbents like Nvidia, Tenstorrent shifted its focus to licensing and services and Bajic, once at the helm, slowly transitioned to an advisory role.
In 2021, Tenstorrent launched DevCloud, a cloud-based service that lets developers run AI models without first having to purchase hardware. And, more recently, the company established partnerships with India-based server system builder Bodhi Computing and LG to build Tenstorrent’s products into the former’s servers and the latter’s automotive products and TVs. (As a part of the LG deal, Tenstorrent said it would work with LG to deliver improved video processing in Tenstorrent’s upcoming data center products.)
Tenstorrent — nothing if not ambitious — opened a Tokyo office in March to expand beyond its offices in Toronto as well as Austin and Silicon Valley.
The question is whether it compete against the other heavyweights in the AI chip race.
Google created a processor, the TPU (short for “tensor processing unit”), to train large generative AI systems like PaLM-2 and Imagen. Amazon offers proprietary chips to AWS customers both for training (Trainium) and inferencing (Inferentia). And Microsoft, reportedly, is working with AMD to develop an in-house AI chip called Athena.
Nvidia, meanwhile, briefly became a $1 trillion company this year, riding high on the demand for its GPUs for AI training. (As of Q2 2022, Nvidia retained an 80% share of the discrete GPU market.) GPUs, while not necessarily as capable as custom-designed AI chips, have the ability to perform many computations in parallel, making them well-suited to training the most sophisticated models today.
It’s been a tough environment for startups and even tech giants, unsurprisingly. Last year, AI chipmaker Graphcore, which reportedly had its valuation slashed by $1 billion after a deal with Microsoft fell through, said that it was planning job cuts due to the “extremely challenging” macroeconomic environment. Meanwhile, Habana Labs, the Intel-owned AI chip company, laid off an estimated 10% of its workforce.
Complicating matters is a shortage in the components necessary to build AI chips. Time will tell, as it always does, which vendors come out on top.
The appetite for hardware to train AI models is voracious. AI chips are forecast to account for up to 20% of the $450 billion total semiconductor market by 2025, according to McKinsey. And The Insight Partners projects that sales of AI chips will climb to $83.3 billion in 2027 from $5.7 billion in 2018, a
President Donald Trump says the United States might one day get rid of federal income tax because of money the government collects from tariffs on imported goods. Tariffs are extra taxes the U.S. puts on products that come from other countries.
What Trump Is Saying
Trump has said that tariff money could become so large that it might allow the government to cut income taxes “almost completely.” He has also talked about possibly phasing out income tax over the next few years if tariff money keeps going up.
How Taxes Work Now
Right now, the federal government gets much more money from income taxes than from tariffs. Income taxes bring in trillions of dollars each year, while tariffs bring in only a small part of that total. Because of this gap, experts say tariffs would need to grow by many times to replace income tax money.
Questions From Experts
Many economists and tax experts doubt that tariffs alone could pay for the whole federal budget. They warn that very high tariffs could make many imported goods more expensive for shoppers in the United States. This could hit lower- and middle‑income families hardest, because they spend a big share of their money on everyday items.
What Congress Must Do
The president can change some tariffs, but only Congress can change or end the federal income tax. That means any real plan to remove income tax would need new laws passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. So far, there is no detailed law or full budget plan on this idea.
What It Means Right Now
For now, Trump’s comments are a proposal, not a change in the law. People and businesses still have to pay federal income tax under the current rules. The debate over using tariffs instead of income taxes is likely to continue among lawmakers, experts, and voters.
Former President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to declassify all government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier whose death in 2019 continues to fuel controversy and speculation.
The order, signed Wednesday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, instructs the FBI, Department of Justice, and intelligence agencies to release documents detailing Epstein’s network, finances, and alleged connections to high-profile figures. Trump described the move as “a step toward transparency and public trust,” promising that no names would be shielded from scrutiny.
“This information belongs to the American people,” Trump said in a televised statement. “For too long, powerful interests have tried to bury the truth. That ends now.”
U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that preparations for the release are already underway. According to sources familiar with the process, the first batch of documents is expected to be made public within the next 30 days, with additional releases scheduled over several months.
Reactions poured in across the political spectrum. Supporters praised the decision as a bold act of accountability, while critics alleged it was politically motivated, timed to draw attention during a volatile election season. Civil rights advocates, meanwhile, emphasized caution, warning that some records could expose private victims or ongoing legal matters.
The Epstein case, which implicated figures in politics, business, and entertainment, remains one of the most talked-about scandals of the past decade. Epstein’s connections to influential individuals—including politicians, royals, and executives—have long sparked speculation about the extent of his operations and who may have been involved.
Former federal prosecutor Lauren Fields said the release could mark a turning point in public discourse surrounding government transparency. “Regardless of political stance, this declassification has the potential to reshape how Americans view power and accountability,” Fields noted.
Officials say redactions may still occur to protect sensitive intelligence or personal information, but the intent is a near-complete disclosure. For years, critics of the government’s handling of Epstein’s case have accused agencies of concealing evidence or shielding elites from exposure. Trump’s order promises to change that narrative.
As anticipation builds, journalists, legal analysts, and online commentators are preparing for what could be one of the most consequential information releases in recent history.
What Happened at the United Nations
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, defending Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza. As he spoke, more than 100 delegates from over 50 countries stood up and left the chamber—a rare and significant diplomatic walkout. Outside the UN, thousands of protesters gathered to voice opposition to Netanyahu’s policies and call for accountability, including some who labeled him a war criminal. The protest included activists from Palestinian and Jewish groups, along with international allies.
Why Did Delegates and Protesters Walk Out?
The walkouts and protests were a response to Israel’s continued offensive in Gaza, which has resulted in widespread destruction and a significant humanitarian crisis. Many countries and individuals have accused Israel of excessive use of force, and some international prosecutors have suggested Netanyahu should face investigation by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including claims that starvation was used as a weapon against civilians. At the same time, a record number of nations—over 150—recently recognized the State of Palestine, leaving the United States as the only permanent UN Security Council member not to join them.
International Reaction and Significance
The diplomatic walkouts and street protests demonstrate increasing global concern over the situation in Gaza and growing support for Palestinian statehood. Several world leaders, including Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, showed visible solidarity with protesters. Petro called for international intervention and, controversially, for US troops not to follow orders he viewed as supporting ongoing conflict. The US later revoked Petro’s visa over his role in the protests, which he argued was evidence of a declining respect for international law.
Why Is This News Important?
The Gaza conflict is one of the world’s most contentious and closely-watched issues. It has drawn strong feelings and differing opinions from governments, activists, and ordinary people worldwide. The United Nations, as an international organization focused on peace and human rights, is a key arena for these debates. The events surrounding Netanyahu’s speech show that many nations and voices are urging new action—from recognition of Palestinian rights to calls for sanctions against Israel—while discussion and disagreement over the best path forward continue.
This episode at the UN highlights how international diplomacy, public protests, and official policy are all intersecting in real time as the search for solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains urgent and unresolved.
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