Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Intel logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) -Intel is in talks to acquire artificial intelligence processor maker SambaNova, which has been working with bankers to gauge interest from potential suitors, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Any deal would likely value SambaNova at below the $5 billion it fetched in a 2021 funding round, and deliberations are in the early stages and there's no certainty the companies will reach an agreement, Bloomberg reported.

A potential deal could boost Intel's AI aspirations, after efforts to gain traction in the AI GPU market with chips positioned as a cheaper alternative to Nvidia's leading processors did not produce results.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan's investment firm, Walden International, was among SambaNova's early investors, and the chipmaker's investment arm, Intel Capital, is also an investor. The company has also received backing from Intel investor SoftBank's Vision Fund.

SambaNova, which designs custom AI chips, named Tan executive chairman last year.

Since April, Intel has attracted a slew of multibillion-dollar investments from Nvidia and Japan's SoftBank as well as an unprecedented U.S. government stake, helping shore up its balance sheet.

Intel is aiming for a reentry into the AI graphics processor market next year with a new GPU.

Intel declined to comment, while SambaNova did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A buyout of SambaNova could mark a step back from April, when CFO David Zinsner told Reuters that in the near term, Intel will not make many more acquisitions.

(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Anil D'Silva)