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SambaNova vs Infron
SambaNova serves large open models fast on its own chips. Infron routes across 400+ models from many providers.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
SambaNova vs Infron: key differences
SambaNova runs MiniMax M2.7, GPT-OSS 120B and DeepSeek on its dataflow chips, reporting about 820 tokens per second on MiniMax M2.7. Infron is a gateway: one OpenAI-compatible API in front of 400+ models from 100+ providers, at provider rates plus a 3% to 5% fee on credit top-ups, with fallbacks, region pinning and a 99.9% uptime SLA on dedicated throughput.
SambaNova is a host with its own hardware; Infron is a router that sends traffic to hosts. Pick SambaNova for fast decode on the models it carries, and Infron for breadth and failover.
What SambaNova and Infron do
SambaNova
SambaNova designs its own inference chip, the Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit, and sells fast tokens on large open models through SambaCloud. The RDU maps the model graph onto the chip to cut trips to off-chip memory. A three-tier memory design of SRAM, HBM and bulk DRAM lets one system host very large models and hot swap between several of them in milliseconds. SambaCloud serves models like MiniMax M2.7, DeepSeek, Gemma 4 31B and GPT-OSS 120B, with speeds reported by Artificial Analysis.
Example models: MiniMax M2.7, GPT-OSS 120B
Full SambaNova profile
Infron
Infron is a US-based AI gateway and inference platform. One OpenAI-compatible API reaches 400+ models from 100+ providers, including DeepSeek, Qwen, Claude, Gemini and GPT through what Infron calls official partner routes, plus media and search models. Teams set provider preferences and fallbacks, see usage and billing in one place, and can bring their own provider keys at no fee. Lawrence Xu is CEO and co-founder Andrew Zheng is CTO.
Example models: DeepSeek, Qwen, Claude, Gemini, GPT
Full Infron profileShould you choose SambaNova or Infron?
SambaNova vs Infron at a glance
| Attribute | SambaNova |  Infron |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Closed and open, 400+ models |
| Flagship models | MiniMax M2.7, GPT-OSS 120B, DeepSeek | DeepSeek, Qwen, Claude, Gemini, GPT |
| Speed | ~820 tok/s on MiniMax M2.7 (SN50) | Unknown |
| Price | $0.22 in, $0.59 out (GPT-OSS 120B) | Provider rates; 3–5% top-up fee |
| Customization | Unknown | Custom deployments |
| Deployment | SambaCloud, racks for neoclouds | Gateway API, dedicated, BYOK |
| Long context | Up to 192K (MiniMax M2.7) | Varies by model |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SambaNova and Infron?
SambaNova serves large open models fast on its own chips. Infron routes across 400+ models from many providers.
When should I choose SambaNova over Infron?
Fast decode on large open models; Published per-token prices; Dataflow hardware for neoclouds.
When should I choose Infron over SambaNova?
Closed and open models on one key and one bill; Automatic failover across providers; Region pinning across Asia, Europe and the US.
Is SambaNova or Infron cheaper?
SambaNova: $0.22 in, $0.59 out (GPT-OSS 120B). Infron: Provider rates; 3–5% top-up fee. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, SambaNova or Infron?
SambaNova: Up to 192K (MiniMax M2.7). Infron: Varies by model.
Related comparisons
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If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious. Our inference stack treats a long-horizon trace as the primary workload, so speed, cost, and accuracy hold up deep into the trace.