Tenstorrent could end up in Qualcomm's hands: up to 10 billion for Jim Keller's company

After rumors a few weeks ago, The Information reports that Qualcomm could acquire Tenstorrent for a spending between 8 and 10 billion dollars. Tenstorrent is the startup specializing in the development of AI accelerators and processors based on the RISC-V architecture, led by engineer Jim Keller.

The valuation is striking, as it is significantly higher than the most recent valuations attributed to Tenstorrent, which placed the company around 3 billion dollars. For Qualcomm, however, a deal of this magnitude would be financially sustainable. The business linked to smartphone processors continues to generate substantial profits and provides the necessary resources to sustain strategic investments in areas considered critical for future growth.

Indeed, the interest in Tenstorrent fits into a broader strategy for Qualcomm, aiming to strengthen its presence in large-scale artificial intelligence and data center infrastructures. In recent years, Qualcomm has begun to work in this direction, with dedicated accelerators and also preparing to re-enter the server CPU market. The acquisition of Tenstorrent, in this sense, might recall, at least in part, the purchase of Nuvia in 2021 for about 1.4 billion dollars, from which the current cores used in the latest Snapdragon platforms derive.

Founded in 2016, Tenstorrent has distinguished itself in the AI startup landscape due to a particularly pragmatic approach to hardware development. After Jim Keller's arrival in 2021, the company accelerated the realization of commercial products based on RISC-V architecture and aimed at accelerating AI workloads.

Unlike many startups in the sector that have struggled to convert projects into real products, Tenstorrent has managed to quickly bring functional hardware solutions to market. However, the journey has not been without obstacles. Earlier this year, the company was forced to revise some product specifications, significantly reducing the number of cores and the declared power consumption for one of its solutions.

Despite these challenges, Tenstorrent continues to be regarded as one of the most interesting players in the emerging landscape of AI accelerators, also thanks to the experience of the team led by Keller, a well-known figure in the industry for his contributions to processor development at companies such as AMD, Apple, and Intel.

Neither Qualcomm nor Tenstorrent has commented on the rumors. However, further indications about the company's future strategy may arrive soon: next week Qualcomm will present its plans for the AI and data center sectors during Investor Day, an event where the group is expected to provide more concrete details on its ambitions in these markets.