Vista Equity Partners’ rare move into AI hardware highlights a strategic shift as investors pivot from software to chips amid intensifying competition with Nvidia.
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| A new funding round for SambaNova signals a broader shift in AI investing, as capital flows toward hardware and away from vulnerable software models. Image: CH |
SAN FRANCISCO, United States — February 7, 2026:
Vista Equity Partners’ decision to lead a more than $350 million funding round in AI chip startup SambaNova Systems marks a striking departure from its long-standing focus on enterprise software, underscoring how the artificial intelligence boom is reshaping investment priorities across the technology sector.
For a firm managing more than $100 billion in assets and known for large-scale software acquisitions such as Citrix Systems and Nexthink, backing a semiconductor startup is an unusual step. Yet the move reflects a broader recalibration underway as AI shifts from a growth catalyst for software companies to a potential source of disruption, pressuring valuations and forcing investors to rethink where durable returns may lie.
SambaNova is positioning itself as a challenger to Nvidia by developing chips optimized for AI inference—the stage where trained models are deployed to run real-world applications. As enterprises race to operationalize AI, demand for faster and more energy-efficient inference has surged, turning what was once a niche segment into a strategic battleground.
Intel’s role in the round reinforces that strategic importance. The chipmaker, which plans to invest about $100 million with possible commitments rising to $150 million, has deep ties to SambaNova. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also serves as the startup’s executive chairman, and the company previously explored acquiring SambaNova before talks stalled. Continued backing suggests Intel still views the technology as a valuable complement to its broader AI ambitions, even without a takeover.
The timing of the deal is telling. Software stocks have come under sustained pressure in recent months as investors reassess whether AI-enhanced productivity will offset the risk of generative models eroding traditional business lines. A recent selloff wiped out nearly $1 trillion in global software market value, sharpening the appeal of AI hardware plays that sit closer to the core infrastructure of the technology.
At the same time, dealmaking around Nvidia challengers has accelerated. Cerebras Systems recently raised $1 billion at a $23 billion valuation, while rival Groq struck a high-profile licensing deal with Nvidia. AI labs, including OpenAI, have explored alternative compute supply arrangements as they seek to reduce dependence on Nvidia’s GPUs, particularly for inference workloads that demand speed and efficiency.
Still, SambaNova’s path has not been without setbacks. Valued at $5 billion in a 2021 funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, the company later faced operational challenges and conducted layoffs in 2024. While it has raised more than $1 billion since its founding and recently surpassed internal sales targets, the lack of a disclosed valuation in the current round suggests investors remain cautious as final terms are negotiated.
For Vista, the investment appears as much strategic as financial. By stepping into AI hardware alongside Intel, the firm is signaling that the next phase of AI value creation may reside deeper in the technology stack—where compute constraints, not software interfaces, increasingly determine winners and losers.
As the AI race intensifies, Vista’s bet on SambaNova highlights a broader shift in market thinking: in an era of software disruption and ballooning data demands, control over the chips powering AI inference may prove to be the most defensible—and lucrative—position of all.