By Jeffrey Dastin and Max A. Cherney
SAN FRANCISCO, April 1 (Reuters) – Chipmaker Intel has planned to invest another $15 million in SambaNova, a chip startup chaired by Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, a Reuters review of corporate records showed.
The investment, subject to regulatory approval, would increase Intel’s ownership of SambaNova to 9%, the review showed. The backing follows another $35 million that Intel put into SambaNova in February, which, along with other financing, had boosted Intel’s stake in the startup to 8.2%, from 6.8% last year. The companies announced a “strategic collaboration” in February.
The specifics of this deal and others, previously unreported, show how Intel continues to pursue transactions that may increase the personal fortune of Tan, a wealthy venture capitalist whom the chipmaker hired a year ago to turn the company around.
Intel said in a late March securities filing that there were four unnamed companies whose financings were material to disclose because of their size and benefit to Tan. The company did not say if the list was exhaustive.
Reuters determined details of these investments and, in the case of startup OPAQUE Systems, the value of Intel’s stake, by reviewing the chipmaker’s disclosure and cross-referencing it with other public statements from Intel and the startups.
The four Tan-affiliated companies are EPIC Microsystems, 3D Glass Solutions, OPAQUE Systems and SambaNova, the review showed.
In a statement, Intel said it “maintains rigorous, well-established governance and conflict-of-interest policies, with active Board oversight to ensure all decisions are made in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.”
It added that Intel was already a shareholder in three of the four companies prior to Tan’s taking the CEO job. Intel did not comment on SambaNova financing specifically.
“In specialized industries like semiconductors and advanced computing, overlap among long-time investors is expected,” the company said.
Reuters reported in December that in at least three instances, Intel had chased deals that would benefit Tan, either by exploring bids for Tan-backed startups – including for SambaNova – or investing in them through its venture arm, Intel Capital.
The late March securities filing by Intel revealed a broader scope to such dealmaking.
Two corporate governance experts told Reuters in the December report that such Intel transactions raised red flags because of the conflicts inherent in dealmaking with Tan’s portfolio companies. By contrast, some chip-industry analysts have welcomed Tan’s industry relationships, which in Tan’s view have made him uniquely able to negotiate deals that benefit all parties, Reuters previously reported.
When asked about Intel’s March filing, one of the corporate governance experts, Wharton School professor Daniel Taylor, said he did not see anything inherently wrong with the disclosure.
SAMBANOVA STAKE
Tan had pushed Intel to back SambaNova, a startup struggling to deliver on lofty ambitions to rival Nvidia’s AI hardware and software ecosystem.
Tan has been SambaNova’s board chair since November 2017. The company laid off 77 people in California in April 2025, and around that time it explored fundraising or going up for sale at a lower valuation, Reuters previously reported.
Late last year, Intel and SambaNova signed a non-binding term sheet for an acquisition that ultimately did not occur. Reuters was unable to determine why.
The challenges notwithstanding, Intel upped its stake in February, and it is looking to put in more. Tan’s firms are important backers of SambaNova and could lose millions of dollars if the company fails.
In response to Reuters’ inquiry, SambaNova said that 2025 was its strongest, record-breaking year and that the company has shifted its focus to a form of AI computing called inference, referring to the computation required to answer a user’s query in a chatbot like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is in high demand.
SambaNova has “aligned the organization and new financing around this transition” and has introduced a new chip, the company said.
OTHER STARTUP INVESTMENTS
Intel in January invested $2.3 million in AI startup OPAQUE Systems, giving it a 14% stake valued at about $41 million, Reuters’ review showed.
Venture funds affiliated with Tan, Walden and FactoryHQ Fund, held 17% of the startup before the January funding round. The value of their holdings was about $46 million after the round.
OPAQUE Systems, Walden and FactoryHQ did not respond to requests for comment.
Intel also put $3.4 million into EPIC Microsystems for a nearly 5% stake in January, the review showed. Tan-backed venture funds were big investors in the semiconductor company, and Tan’s son Andrew is on its board.
Intel Capital likewise put $8 million over two financings into 3D Glass Solutions since Tan became the chipmaker’s CEO. Tan’s Walden owned 9.6% after the second financing, the review showed.
Andrew Tan, EPIC Microsystems and 3D Glass Solutions did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Max A. Cherney and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Nia Williams)
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