Tether Capital has officially entered the artificial intelligence hardware sector through Tenstorrent’s $1.5 billion Series E funding round. The participation of the El Salvador-based USDT stablecoin issuer’s investment arm pushed the chipmaker’s post-money valuation to $6.2 billion. This valuation marks a sharp increase compared to its previous round in December 2024, when Tenstorrent raised over $693 million at a $2 billion pre-money valuation.
This move places the USDT stablecoin issuer directly in the midst of semiconductor technology competition, alongside a lineup of institutional investors from Wall Street.
Apple Chip Architect and Wall Street Investors
Tenstorrent is led by Jim Keller, a veteran microprocessor designer who previously spearheaded autopilot chip development at Tesla. Keller also held key chip design roles at Apple and AMD before taking the helm at Tenstorrent. The presence of this senior semiconductor design figure has attracted strong interest from top-tier venture capitalists.
Trace Capital and Innovation X served as lead investors for this Series E round. Several prominent Wall Street financial institutions also contributed capital to the funding consortium, including ARK Invest, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Morgan Stanley, Sandisk, T. Rowe Price, Eclipse, and XTX Markets.
Galaxy Server Plans and Vision of AI Independence
Tenstorrent plans to use the new capital to bolster its production capacity and computing research. The company will deploy the fresh funds to install Galaxy servers and advance architectural designs for AI chips and central processing units (CPUs), including TT-Ascalon CPU technology and Tensix AI cores. On the commercial side, the funds will be directed toward expanding operations with global manufacturing clients such as Samsung and LG.
For Tether, this capital investment is rooted in a long-term perspective on the direction of artificial intelligence. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stressed that the investment aligns with Tether’s vision that AI should be a technology that users can build, run, and control independently, free from reliance on proprietary hardware and closed cloud providers.
Capital Sourced from Reserve Surplus and Gold
Tether is funding this investment commitment using its operational profits and excess reserves. In the second quarter of 2026, Tether reported profits of $1.5 billion. The company also holds more than 146 tons of physical gold, alongside an excess reserve surplus of $6.814 billion, based on an unqualified audit opinion from accounting firm KPMG for the 2025 financial year.
For crypto market participants and USDT holders, this move illustrates how the stablecoin issuer’s accumulated profits are increasingly being deployed into physical computing infrastructure assets outside the traditional financial system.
Reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
