In the ever-evolving race to advance AI technology, Samsung's chip manufacturing division has joined forces with the Canadian startup Tenstorrent. Their mission? To produce cutting-edge AI chips and intellectual property tailored for data centers, ensuring they stay ahead in this competitive landscape.
Tenstorrent, a Canadian startup renowned for its expertise in AI processors and related technologies, has unveiled a groundbreaking partnership with Samsung's chip manufacturing division. This strategic alliance, announced on October 2nd, is set to revolutionize the AI chip industry, with Tenstorrent poised to introduce the "next generation of AI chiplets" to the market. The core focus of Tenstorrent's operations lies in the creation of advanced chips and intellectual property tailored explicitly for data centers.
A critical aspect of this partnership is Tenstorrent's utilization of Samsung's cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities, particularly the SF4X process and the 4nm architecture. These technological marvels will play a pivotal role in the development of Tenstorrent's next-generation chips. The collaborative effort aims to produce a chiplet designed to seamlessly integrate with other chiplets within a single package.
Jim Keller, the CEO of Tenstorrent, envisions achieving "high-performance compute" capabilities and subsequently delivering these solutions to customers worldwide. With Samsung's support, Tenstorrent is well-positioned to make this vision a reality.
In August, Tenstorrent secured an impressive $100 million in funding through a round led by Samsung and the automotive giant Hyundai. These funds are earmarked for accelerating product development, including AI chiplets, and mapping out a comprehensive roadmap for machine learning software.
The AI industry is currently witnessing a fierce competition to develop the most powerful AI chips, a prerequisite for the creation of high-level AI systems. As it stands, Nvidia holds a dominant position in the market, setting new standards in chip development and computational power. In early 2023, Nvidia briefly surpassed a market value of $1 trillion, indicative of the intense demand for AI technologies.
Despite its market leadership, Nvidia has faced scrutiny, particularly in France, where authorities initiated an antitrust investigation. Local authorities conducted a raid on Nvidia offices following a general inquiry by French antitrust authorities into the cloud computing sector. However, as of October 2nd, the European Commission confirmed that European Union antitrust regulators had not formally launched an investigation into AI chips, as reported by Reuters.
In the United States, government authorities have been actively asserting control over the industry. They implemented a ban on exporting high-level Nvidia technology to China in October 2022, with further tightening of regulations in recent months. Nvidia, being an American company, is subject to U.S. regulations and restrictions.
Notably, the United States recently entered into a multibillion-dollar agreement with Vietnam, a traditional trading partner with China and a former U.S. adversary. This agreement underscores the U.S. government's commitment to securing its position in the AI chip and technology sector on the global stage.