SambaNova Systems has announced it is partnering with SoftBank to expand its SambaNova Cloud deployment offering.

The chip and artificial intelligence (AI) model developer said it is adding racks containing its chips to a new AI data center in Japan, providing developers in the region with inference services via its cloud services.

No further details about the data center were provided. DCD has reached out to both SambaNova and SoftBank for additional information.

In a statement, the two companies said developers would also gain access to Swallow, a Japanese open-source model developed by the Institute of Science Tokyo, Meta’s Llama, and Alibaba’s Qwen via SambaNova Cloud.

First unveiled in September 2024, SambaNova Cloud provides cloud-based AI inference services using the company’s SN40L AI chip, launched in September 2023 and capable of running models with up to five trillion parameters.

At launch, SambaNova said its cloud offering, which can be accessed by developers via an API and create their own generative AI applications, was the fastest AI inference platform, citing independent benchmarking by Artifical Analysis.

“The deal being announced today is an expansion of our current partnership with SoftBank Corp., showcasing SambaNova’s performance advantage for fast inference,” Rodrigo Liang, co-founder and CEO of SambaNova.

“This partnership means more developers in APAC can produce discoveries that accelerate and impact AI initiatives in the region. We are pleased to build upon our longstanding partnership with SoftBank Corp. and this new system deployment.”

SambaNova Systems was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. In addition to SoftBank Vision Fund 2, investors include Intel Capital, GV, Walden International, Temasek, GIC, Redline Capital, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Celesta, and others.