Investments
55Portfolio Exits
12About Samsung Catalyst
The Samsung Catalyst Fund is Samsung Electronics' evergreen multi-stage venture capital fund that invests in the new data economy and strategic ideas for Samsung's mobile, device solutions and consumer electronics groups. Investment spans across Automotive, Robotics, Digital Health, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Infrastructure, and Device-Level Solutions. Through Samsung Catalyst Fund, entrepreneurs are enabled by Samsung's global brand, manufacturing and distribution, domain expertise, recruiting network, and world-class Innovation Fellows for advice and mentorship.

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Latest Samsung Catalyst News
Aug 28, 2023
Tenstorrent recently announced that it closed a $100 million strategic funding round led by Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund, with participation from Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, Maverick Capital, and more. What does Tenstorrent do? The company sells AI processors and licenses AI and RISC-V IP to customers who want to own and customize their silicon. Both Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung have a strong history of product leadership and enjoy massive success in their respective markets. What will the funding be used for? The funding will accelerate the company’s product development, the design and development of AI chiplets and its ML software roadmap. KEY QUOTES: “The trust in Tenstorrent shown by Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund leading our round is truly humbling. It has been impressive watching Hyundai Motor Group become the third largest automaker in the world through their aggressive adoption of technology including their acquisition of Boston Dynamics, their joint venture with Aptiv, and now their investment in us.” “Samsung has long been a leader in the electronics industry and they are the ideal partner to co-lead this round. We are excited by the opportunity to work together.” — Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent “Tenstorrent’s high growth potential and high-performance AI semiconductors will help the Group secure competitive technologies for future mobilities. With this investment, the Group expects to develop optimized but differentiated semiconductor technology that will aid future mobilities and strengthen internal capabilities in AI technology development.” — Heung-soo Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Strategy Office (GSO) at Hyundai Motor Group “Samsung Catalyst Fund invests in disruptive ideas that we believe can change the world. Tenstorrent’s industry-leading technology, executive leadership, and aggressive roadmap motivated us to co-lead this funding round. We are excited by the opportunity to work with Tenstorrent to accelerate AI and compute innovations.” — Marco Chisari, EVP of Samsung Electronics, Head of Samsung Semiconductor Innovation Center Trending on Pulse 2.0
Samsung Catalyst Investments
55 Investments
Samsung Catalyst has made 55 investments. Their latest investment was in TensTorrent as part of their Series B - II on August 8, 2023.

Samsung Catalyst Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8/2/2023 | Series B - II | TensTorrent | $100M | Yes | Eclipse Ventures, EPIQ Capital Group, Fidelity Ventures, Hyundai Motor Company, Maverick Capital, Samsung Catalyst, and Undisclosed Investors | 2 |
4/13/2023 | Series B | Celestial AI | $100M | Yes | 5 | |
11/15/2022 | Series D - II | Weka | $135M | Yes | 10D Ventures, Atreides Management, Celesta Capital, Gemini Israel Ventures, Generation Investment Management, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hitachi Ventures, Key1 Capital, Lumir Ventures, Micron Ventures, Mirae Asset Capital, MoreTech Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, NVIDIA, Qualcomm Ventures, and Samsung Catalyst | 25 |
8/2/2022 | Series A | |||||
2/2/2022 | Seed VC |
Date | 8/2/2023 | 4/13/2023 | 11/15/2022 | 8/2/2022 | 2/2/2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Series B - II | Series B | Series D - II | Series A | Seed VC |
Company | TensTorrent | Celestial AI | Weka | ||
Amount | $100M | $100M | $135M | ||
New? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Co-Investors | Eclipse Ventures, EPIQ Capital Group, Fidelity Ventures, Hyundai Motor Company, Maverick Capital, Samsung Catalyst, and Undisclosed Investors | 10D Ventures, Atreides Management, Celesta Capital, Gemini Israel Ventures, Generation Investment Management, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hitachi Ventures, Key1 Capital, Lumir Ventures, Micron Ventures, Mirae Asset Capital, MoreTech Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, NVIDIA, Qualcomm Ventures, and Samsung Catalyst | |||
Sources | 2 | 5 | 25 |
Samsung Catalyst Portfolio Exits
12 Portfolio Exits
Samsung Catalyst has 12 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was Autotalks on May 08, 2023.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5/8/2023 | Acquired | 11 | |||
11/17/2022 | Acquired | 25 | |||
4/28/2022 | Reverse Merger | 8 | |||
Date | 5/8/2023 | 11/17/2022 | 4/28/2022 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | Acquired | Reverse Merger | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | |||||
Sources | 11 | 25 | 8 |
Samsung Catalyst Team
5 Team Members
Samsung Catalyst has 5 team members, including current Managing Director, Christopher Chu.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Christopher Chu | AnyDATA, Pacific Venture Partners, Crescendo Ventures, and Worldview Technology Partners | Managing Director | Current |
Name | Christopher Chu | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | AnyDATA, Pacific Venture Partners, Crescendo Ventures, and Worldview Technology Partners | ||||
Title | Managing Director | ||||
Status | Current |
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