Nvidia challenger Tenstorrent raises $1.5-billion, valuing Toronto-founded company at $6.2-billion - The Globe and Mail

Artificial intelligence semiconductor maker Tenstorrent Holdings Inc. has raised US$1.5-billion in fresh capital as it steps up efforts to challenge industry behemoth Nvidia Corp NVDA-Q. The financing, which values Tenstorrent at US$6.2-billion, including the money raised, follows reports earlier this year that U. S. chip stalwarts Intel Corp. INTC-Q and Qualcomm Inc. QCOM-Q had both tried to buy Tenstorrent for upward of US$5-billion. The Austin, Tex.-based company was founded in Toronto 10 years ago but relocated to the United States in 2023 after its first investor, Jim Keller – one of Silicon Valley’s top chip architects – became chief executive officer. The company’s Toronto office is still one of its largest hubs, where 200 of its 1,000 employees work. Tenstorrent also has operations in Silicon Valley; Tokyo; Belgrade, Serbia; and Bangalore, India. The deal was led by two American private capital firms, Los Angeles-based Trace Capital, founded by National Football League linebacker-turned-private capital investor Ben Mahdavi, and Innovation X LLC of New York.

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Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actionsNational Bank Financial analyst Gabriel Dechaine is preparing for “mixed” third-quarter results from Canada’s life insurance providers, expecting “a modest growth deceleration” to be evident” due to flatter equity markets and rising bond yields. Modelling 5-per-cent year-over-year growth, down from 8 per cent during the first half of 2026, he expects the recent turbulence in the bond markets to be a focus of discussion on earnings calls. “As discussed in [a] September 20th report, the short-term implications of higher rates can be more negative, while the longer-term ones are more positive,” he said. “Our two top picks in the sector are MFC and SLF. However, we do not expect Q3/26 results to be a positive catalyst for either stock. MFC’s earnings continue to be clouded by higher claims costs in its Canadian Group business, along with volatile mortality experience in its legacy U. S. Individual Insurance business. Longer term, we like the stock’s positive leverage to rising rates, re-rating upside potential from de-risking and growth potential of its Asia segment. SLF faces a challenging quarter for its U. S.