Cerebras AI chipmaker aims for $3.5 billion IPO raise
Cerebras plans to generate up to $3.5 billion by launching its initial public offering on Nasdaq
Artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker Cerebras plans to generate up to $3.5 billion by launching its initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
The company aims to sell 28 million shares, priced between $115 and $125 each, as mentioned in an updated prospectus filed on Monday.
With this pricing, Cerebras would be valued at approximately $26.6 billion for the IPO, taking into account the shares on offer.
Earlier this year, the firm announced it secured a $23 billion valuation through a venture round, which included backing from Advanced Micro Devices.
Not many tech companies have gone public since central banks increased interest rates in 2022 as part of measures to curb inflation, which made some investors wary of companies that aren’t profitable.
However, the rise of generative AI technologies like OpenAI's ChatGPT has reignited investor interest in firms poised to capitalise on this trend.
Cerebras' rival, CoreWeave, which offers Nvidia graphics processors as a cloud service, successfully raised $1.5 billion in its IPO last year. Cerebras' technology serves as an alternative to Nvidia's much-loved GPUs.
Initially, Cerebras planned to go public in 2024 but later withdrew its application, shifting its focus from hardware sales to offering its own chip-powered cloud services. The company revisited its IPO plans in April.
In January, Cerebras committed to providing up to 750 megawatts of AI power to OpenAI by 2028, in a deal surpassing $20 billion.
For the fourth quarter, Cerebras saw its revenue climb by about 76% over the previous year, reaching $510 million, with a net profit of $87.9 million for the quarter.
Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras, is not including his shares in the IPO. Based on upper range pricing, he'll retain 10.3 million shares valued at around $1.28 billion, as per their filing.
The company also holds an option to release an additional 4.2 million shares to underwriters post-IPO, potentially bringing in another $525 million at the higher price point.