SambaNova Named #4 on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025 List

Recognized for Breakthrough AI Performance: “SambaNova Systems takes another tack with its SambaNova Cloud, an “AI inference” service. Powered by the company’s specialized RDU (Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit) processor, the service makes running AI workloads… faster and more efficient than on GPU-powered systems.”

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SambaNova, the AI inference company delivering fast, efficient AI chips and high performance models, has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025 list, ranking fourth within the computing category.

“SambaNova is leading the next wave of enterprise AI, delivering real-time inference at unmatched speed and efficiency,” said Rodrigo Liang, CEO and co-founder of SambaNova Systems. “Our purpose-built architecture redefines performance and sustainability, empowering businesses to scale AI faster while cutting costs and energy use. This award affirms our role in shaping the future of AI infrastructure.”

In the past year, SambaNova advanced enterprise AI infrastructure through strategic technical milestones. The company introduced a purpose-built AI system optimized for high-performance inference, and developed the Composition of Experts architecture, enabling multiple models to operate concurrently on a single rack without sacrificing speed. Partnerships with STC, Hugging Face, Continue, BLACKBOX.AI, and SoftBank expanded access to advanced AI systems globally, while open-sourcing Deep Research Agents and launching the fastest inference for Qwen models demonstrated a focus on practical, scalable solutions.

“This year’s partnerships and innovations reflect SambaNova’s commitment to addressing real-world enterprise needs, balancing efficiency with adaptability in AI deployments,” stated Liang.

In 2025, SambaNova focused on running the largest open-source, state-of-the-art AI models at the fastest speeds with efficiency. Using SambaNova Cloud, developers achieve breakthrough performance on large-scale workloads, with DeepSeek-R1 671B operating at 231 tokens/second, outperforming GPUs by 3x in speed and 5x in power efficiency. These advancements have highlighted SambaNova’s ability to balance raw performance with efficiency for enterprise AI.

To learn more about SambaNova and its latest innovations, visit sambanova.ai.

ABOUT SAMBANOVA

Customers turn to SambaNova to quickly deploy state-of-the-art generative AI capabilities within the enterprise. Our purpose-built enterprise-scale AI platform is the technology backbone for the next generation of AI computing.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, SambaNova Systems was founded in 2017 by industry luminaries, and hardware and software design experts from Sun/Oracle and Stanford University. Investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Intel Capital, GV, Walden International, Temasek, GIC, Redline Capital, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Celesta, and several others. Visit us at sambanova.ai or contact us at [e-mail]. Follow SambaNova Systems on LinkedIn or X.

ABOUT FAST COMPANY

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com.