Cerebras Systems has just closed a $1.1 billion Series G funding round, in a move that signals continued strong demand and ambition for its AI chip technology. Among the new investors in this round is 1789 Capital, a venture fund linked to Donald Trump Jr., adding a notable political profile to the mix of financial backers. This fresh cash infusion values Cerebras at $8.1 billion and comes as the company prepares for its long-anticipated public offering, originally planned for 2024 but delayed by regulatory reviews related to foreign investments.
Founded in 2015 in Silicon Valley, Cerebras has built a reputation for producing some of the largest AI computing chips in the industry, famously known for their “wafer-scale” design. Unlike typical chips from competitors like Nvidia or Intel, Cerebras’ chips are as large as the silicon wafers they are built on, allowing them to pack incredible bandwidth and on-die memory crucial for AI workloads. The production process is notably complex, with chip wafers manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and then assembled in the United States. To meet the surging customer demand, including contracts with major firms like Meta, Hugging Face, and Aramco, Cerebras has been rapidly scaling its manufacturing capacity, increasing it eightfold over the past 18 months and planning to expand four times more within the next six to eight months.
CEO Andrew Feldman has reflected on a turning point in 2024 when demand for AI inference services, the computations that produce AI outputs, exploded. This spike in demand led Cerebras to launch its inference cloud in August 2024, a move that significantly expanded its market relevance. Revenue jumped impressively from under $6 million in Q2 of 2023 to roughly $70 million in Q2 of 2024, highlighting the company’s rapid growth and the increasing adoption of its AI systems.
The influx of $1.1 billion in capital includes participation from well-known institutional investors such as Fidelity Management & Research, Atreides Management, Tiger Global, Valor Equity Partners, and of course, 1789 Capital. 1789 Capital’s involvement is particularly noteworthy as it recently surpassed $1 billion in assets under management and has grown considerably following Donald Trump Jr.’s entry as a partner. The fund has made strategic investments in emerging technology firms, including some associated with Elon Musk, such as SpaceX and AI startup xAI. 1789 Capital’s rise closely follows the political developments surrounding the Trump family and their return to the White House earlier this year.
The political connections of 1789 Capital have drawn some attention, but Cerebras CEO Feldman mentioned that 1789’s involvement came through a known investment banker with longstanding ties to the company. The firm’s participation brought a “significant amount” of capital, affirming the confidence institutional investors have in Cerebras’ future. The company also noted that the funds will primarily support scaling domestic manufacturing and expanding operations, rather than shifting focus away from the planned initial public offering.
Cerebras has faced hurdles behind the scenes, particularly a regulatory delay linked to a $335 million investment from G42, a cloud computing and AI company in Abu Dhabi, which required lengthy clearance from U.S. national security authorities. Despite these complications, the company remains on track for a public listing later this year. Industry observers see Cerebras as one of the few credible challengers to Nvidia’s dominance in the AI chip space. Its wafer-scale engine design and cloud services for large language models set it apart in a rapidly growing sector.
This latest round of investment follows nearly $2 billion raised over Cerebras’s 10-year history, with accelerating growth fueling both optimism and expectation. The company’s ability to attract top-tier investors across finance and politically linked funds while doubling production capacity at a fast clip underscores its determination to keep pace in the competitive AI hardware market. As AI continues to reshape industries and computational demands surge, Cerebras aims to cement itself as a critical player at the core of this transformation.
With this infusion of capital and strategic backing, Cerebras is poised for further expansion. The company’s ambitions stretch beyond fabrication, a vision to deliver fully integrated AI solutions that combine hardware and cloud services to meet the evolving needs of AI developers and enterprises worldwide. This blend of technology innovation and investment momentum will be crucial as Cerebras moves toward becoming a publicly traded company and competes head-on in an intense, fast-moving field.
