Tenstorrent is a computer hardware manufacturer that focuses on artificial intelligence-based chips and products. The firm is a pioneering force in the market that continually invests in the R&D of more powerful and capable AI-centric computing systems. As a first mover in the AI hardware sector, there’s strong demand to acquire Tenstorrent stock.
However, the company is privately held, meaning that only accredited investors can purchase the stock via pre-IPO acquisition strategies. Here’s how you can navigate the nuances of the secondary market and buy Tenstorrent pre-IPO shares.
What is Tenstorrent?
Tenstorrent entered the computer hardware manufacturing sector in 2016, intending to provide support for the budding AI market. The company’s founders include Ljubisa Bajic, Milos Trajkovic, and Ivan Hamer. Tenstorrent has seen impressive growth since its inception. Today, the company operates offices globally, including operations in Austin, Fort Collins, Boston, Silicon Valley, Toronto, Munich, Belgrade, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Pangyo, and Bangalore.
Tenstorrent managed to carve out a niche in the computer hardware market via its proprietary AI hardware options. Over its lifespan, the company received numerous accolades for its innovative efforts, including being listed among The CB Insights AI 100. Today, the company maintains this innovative spirit via a mix of products, including next-generation chips specifically designed to handle the growing AI workload efficiently.
Source – Tenstorrent
Developers continually seek out Tenstorrent offerings to gain a fundamental advantage in terms of processing and scalability. Impressively, the company offers a wide selection of options, including an RISC-V-based AI IP for training and inference.
Recently, the company unveiled its Black Hole chips. These chips leverage advanced memory bandwidth and parallelism, making them ideal for high-load inference and training models. Accordingly, these chips excel at AI-specific tasks such as supporting Deep Neural Network training and Large Language Model inference. These options can work directly with the company’s open source stack and compiler to optimize your AI performance and development processes. Notably, all of these products expanded interest in the company’s stock while providing strong infrastructure for the +$184B AI market.
Historical Funding Rounds
Summary of Tenstorrent Funding:
Total Funding: Tenstorrent secured $1.1B across 10 funding rounds
Largest Round: Tenstorrent’s largest funding round secured $693M on December 2, 2024.
Investors: A total of 25 institutional investors back Tenstorrent
Latest Round: The latest funding round raised $693M and was a Series D round held on December 2, 2024.
Tenstorrent Funding Rounds Breakdown:
- 4 Late-Stage rounds
- 3 Early-Stage rounds
- 2 Debt rounds
- 1 Seed round
Tenstorrent Key Investors:
Tenstorrent is backed by Samsung Securities, AFW Partners, XTX Markets, Mesh Ventures, Export Development Canada, Hoopp, LG, Hyundai Motor Group, Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford, Bezos Expeditions, Corner Capital Management, SBI Investment, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse, Maverick Capital, Kia, EPIQ, Moore Capital Management, and Real Ventures.
Why Invest in Tenstorrent?
There are many reasons why someone would want to invest in Tenstorrent’s pre-IPO shares. For one, the company provides cutting-edge software to one of the fastest-growing industries in the tech sector – AI. According to Statista reports, the AI market is predicted to reach $244.22B by 2025.
The same data suggests that the AI market will see an annual growth rate of 26.60% between now and 2031, equalling over $1T in value. Keenly, Tenstorrent is positioned to take advantage of this growth as a premier hardware provider.
AI-Centric Product Strategy
The company’s dedication to expanding AI operations continues to pay off. The Tenstorrent Galaxy Wormhole Server is a prime example of a product that offers AI developers an advantage. In this instance, the rack-mounted server integrates 32 purpose-built Wormhole processors. These processors can handle intense AI compute tasks better than traditional chips.
Developer-Centric
Another major reason why Tenstorrent has seen such strong support from developers is that it offers a variety of tools to make their lives easier. For example, the company offers hardware kits designed for AI experimentation. This system supports both the TT-Buda and TT-Metalium software building steps.
Tenstorrent has the First Mover Advantage
As a first mover in the AI computer hardware manufacturing market, Tenstorrent has seen considerable growth and is currently positioned ideally for any major integrations or adoption of the tech. The company remains in line with top competitors like Tachyon, InsightFinder AI, and LandingAI in terms of market reach and penetration.
Backed by Major Tech Investors
Tenstorrent has received strong support from some of the largest names in tech. The company secured heavy support from Samsung Securities in its latest fundraising round, demonstrating how the technology continues to spark interest from major conglomerates.
Lots of Room for Growth
One of the main reasons to invest in Tenstorrent is its revenue-to-employee statistics. The company currently has +370 active employees at its offices globally. This represents a small workforce for a company that holds billions in value, opening the door for potential expansion.
How to Buy Tenstorrent Pre-IPO Shares
Tenstorrent remains a privately held company, meaning that you will need to utilize a specialized approach to get access to shares. Here is what you need to consider.
1. Pre-IPO Secondary Marketplace
Secondary markets are purpose-built exchanges that connect pre-IPO shareholders with potential investors. These marketplaces can offer these assets because they work closely with employees, early-stage investors, and venture capitalists, who are crucial to the company’s pre-IPO growth.
Investing in pre-IPO shares of Tenstorrent could offer strong returns if the company’s valuation increases following its IPO. It’s common for company valuations to increase following an IPO. As such, it makes sense to add pre-IPO shares to your portfolio before the firm announces plans to go public.
Secondary marketplaces have many requirements. Here are some concerns you should be made aware of:
Eligibility: This approach requires you to be an accredited investor, meaning you will have to show at least $1M in liquid assets to qualify for access.
2. Private Equity Firms
Private equity firms gain access to pre-IPO shares during investment rounds. They then offer these shares to high-net-worth accredited investors with a commission. Notably, private equity firms are known to have extra stipulations, including blocking the sale of shares for years in some cases.
3. Employee Equity Sales
Many consider employee equity sales as the best way to acquire pre-IPO shares in Tenstorrent. This method of acquiring pre-IPO shares requires you to connect with former employees. It’s common for companies to issue shares as part of an incentive package. Notably, this profit-sharing method has become more popular, leading to more pre-IPO share opportunities for investors.
Private Transactions: There are a lot of hoops you will need to jump through to complete a private pre-IPO transaction, including creating specific legal agreements, conducting valuations, and setting in place any limitations on the transfer of the asset.
Brokerage: Brokers will take a lot of the confusion out of the pre-IPO process. These professionals can guide you through each step, ensuring full compliance and avoiding common errors untrained professionals make.
There are several risks that you should consider before jumping into the pre-IPO shares investment arena. Here are the top concerns:
Liquidity Risk
If you are looking for an asset that you can sell right away, pre-IPO shares are not the best option. These investments can include sales and transfer clauses that prevent the transfer of the asset until certain criteria, such as the IPO’s completion, are met. It’s even common for pre-IPO shares to require you to wait years before gaining the ability to sell your assets.
Finding a Broker
If you meet the requirements and are comfortable with the risks, several platforms offer access to pre-IPO opportunities:
- Forge Global: One of the largest private stock marketplaces, offering shares in late-stage startups like SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks. Minimums typically start around $100,000.
- EquityZen: A popular platform allowing accredited investors to buy into private companies with minimums as low as $5,000. Past offerings include companies like Discord and UiPath.
- Rainmaker Securities: A full-service broker that helps source and negotiate private share sales, including opportunities in companies like OpenAI, Stripe, and Palantir.
- Hiive: A newer platform with live bid/ask pricing for hundreds of private companies. Transparent and low-fee, with minimums starting around $25,000.
- MicroVentures: Offers pooled access to late-stage companies through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), including past investments in SpaceX and Instacart.
- EquityBee: Allows investors to fund employee stock option exercises at startups, often at discounted valuations, with minimums around $10,000.
- Augment: A digital-first marketplace showing real-time pricing for pre-IPO shares, targeting tech-savvy investors and offering lower transaction fees.
- StartEngine Private: Launched in late 2023, this platform offers accredited investors access to Regulation D offerings in later-stage, venture-backed companies. In its first nine months, it generated $16.5 million in revenue, with average investments around $32,000
Important: Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor before investing in private company shares.
Valuation of Tenstorrent and Future IPO
Tenstorrent is a leading name in the AI hardware market that managed to secure a $2.6B valuation on December 02, 2024. The company obtained Unicorn status due to its dedication and focus on the AI market, delivering quality products and helpful tools to developers. This unique approach allowed Tenstorrent to leapfrog over better-funded competitors.
Given the company’s positioning in the AI market and the strong demand for its stocks, it’s possible that the firm may determine that going public is the most strategic move. When you combine this time frame with its unique blend of AI-focused offerings, it’s easy to picture a day in the not-too-distant future where Tenstorrent decides to host an IPO amid huge investor support.
If Tenstorrent were to announce an IPO, it would be met with immediate support from both private and traditional investors. This year has seen a lot of AI projects, with half as much merit and experience as Tenstorrent, secure massive funding via IPOs. As such, it’s reasonable to assume that a Tenstorrent IPO would see massive support.
Investing in Tenstorrent Pre-IPO Shares: Conclusion
Investing in Tenstorrent can be a rewarding task for those who qualify for pre-IPO shares. The company is in the midst of another growth spurt, positioning itself for potential revenue growth in the near term. When you examine Tenstorrent’s business model and the AI market, the growth potential is obvious. However, you must conduct more in-depth research.
It’s recommended that all traders discuss their options with a trained professional. This strategy will help you fully understand your options and ensure you don’t exceed your risk appetite. For those who find that Tenstorrent fits their portfolio and can acquire pre-IPO shares, there’s massive upside potential.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Pre-IPO shares are typically available only to accredited investors and carry significant risk. Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor or legal expert before making investment decisions.