Sam Altman's $150M AI Chip Bet Crashes: Rain AI Faces Sale As OpenAI, Nvidia, And Microsoft Circle The Wreckage

Rain AI, a San Francisco-based chip startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is exploring a sale after its ambitious $150 million Series B funding round failed to secure investors.

Despite early backing from Altman in a $25 million seed round in 2022, Rain AI has struggled to convert technical ambition into scalable business outcomes. The company, which aimed to rival industry giants like Nvidia NVDA with its energy-efficient chips, is now in discussions with potential buyers, including OpenAI, according to New York Post.

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Inside Rain AI’s Pivot

Wired reports that Rain AI aimed to develop neuromorphic chips designed to process AI workloads more efficiently by mimicking how the human brain functions. According to Wired, the company hoped these chips would deliver better performance at a fraction of the power consumption compared to traditional graphics processing units, making them ideal for generative AI models.

According to the Post, testing showed promising results, but the company failed to secure major commercial contracts or letters of intent, a problem that hampered investor confidence. One source close to the company told the Post that the founders were talented engineers but lacked the sales acumen to close enterprise deals.

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Rain AI’s co-founder, Jack Kendall, acknowledged to stakeholders that the company was rapidly depleting its cash reserves and urgently required a $3 million bridge fund to sustain operations while negotiating a potential acquisition. The Post says that the company has since secured the emergency funding and entered what was described as “good progress” in acquisition talks with multiple interested parties.

These talks involve several high-profile technology firms that view Rain AI’s hardware as a strategic foothold in the increasingly competitive chip market. While the company had originally planned to launch its Series B round in December, the raise was delayed repeatedly due to leadership instability and difficulty closing large institutional checks, the Post reports.

The company also hired former Apple AAPL veteran Jean-Didier Allegrucci to lead chip development efforts, bringing experience from Apple’s custom silicon division, the Post says.

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Executive Reshuffle and Emergency Capital

Will Passo, Rain AI’s co-founder and original CEO, stepped down citing personal reasons, and Kendall has since taken over as CEO, the Post reports.

Rain AI is now in discussions with multiple technology giants about a potential acquisition. OpenAI, which has begun interviewing Rain employees to assess talent fit, is a top contender. Altman had previously pitched OpenAI investors to support Rain AI’s Series B, aiming for a $600 million valuation, according to the Post.

Rain AI’s uncertain future unfolds against a backdrop of aggressive expansion in the AI hardware ecosystem. The Post reports that Nvidia, Elon Musk‘s xAI, Microsoft MSFT, and BlackRock BLK are among the giants investing more than $30 billion to build the next generation of AI infrastructure.

Rain AI may not have achieved its original vision, but its core technology and its team remain valuable assets for any player looking to gain ground in the competitive AI chip race.

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