Tenspresso, a Sunnyvale, California-based AI chip startup founded by former Google tensor processing unit engineers, is in talks to raise at least US$50 million in a funding round that would value it at US$500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tenspresso raised US$20 million from Striker Venture Partners weeks earlier. Altimeter Capital Management later approached the startup about another investment. The round’s size could still change as talks with strategic investors continue.

Co-founders Dong Hyuk Woo and Harshit Khaitan previously worked on Google’s tensor processing units. Tenspresso is building chips for AI workloads that need longer context windows, which let models process more information for complex tasks.

The 15-person startup aims to complete the design of its first product in late 2027 or early 2028 while exploring alternative supply options outside the traditional silicon supply chain.

Industry analysts project bottlenecks in advanced packaging, high-bandwidth memory, and leading-edge manufacturing capacity through 2027.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg