Cerebras Systems, a US-based designer of AI chipsets, is expected to raise around $5.5 billion at its initial public offering (IPO), with shares offered for $185 each.
This raise would see the company valued at $40 billion, significantly higher than previously expected. Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that strong demand for the stock led bankers to increase the expected share price multiple times.
This valuation is an almost five times increase from the company’s Series G raise in September, which placed its total value at $8.1 billion.
The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq later today, with the IPO closing 15 May, subject to customary closing conditions.
This increase is the latest sign of strong demand for AI chips, which are one of the major bottlenecks to the industry’s expansion. In late April, Google Cloud said it had a backlog of demand for its cloud services of $460 billion, and the FT reported in early May that Huawei’s AI chip revenue forecast was being held back by a lack of production.
Cerebras manufactures wafer scale chips, very-large chips that use an entire silicon wafer. Its flagship WSE-3 chip claims to be the largest AI chip ever built, and provide 28 times more compute that Nvidia’s B200 AI platform.
In April, OpenAI announced it was set to spend $20 billion with Cerebras to use servers powered by these chips in a deal that may also entitle it to a minority stake in the manufacturer.
