Welcome to the Unicorn Spotlight, a series where we highlight companies currently in the Prime Unicorn Index. Each post will give a snapshot of what makes these unicorn companies unique, how they achieved billion-dollar status, and why they’re important to watch in today’s market.
Cerebras Systems Inc. Overview
Founded in 2016, Cerebras Systems Inc. is a cutting-edge AI hardware company best known for building the world’s largest computer chip — the Wafer-Scale Engine (WSE). Unlike traditional processors, the WSE packs hundreds of thousands of cores onto a single, dinner-plate-sized chip, designed specifically to accelerate deep learning at a scale not possible with conventional GPUs.
Cerebras stands out for:
- Revolutionary chip design that drastically reduces training times for large AI models.
- Partnerships with national research labs, pharmaceutical companies, and cloud providers.
- Positioning itself as an essential player in the global race for AI computing infrastructure.
In recent weeks, Cerebras has made headlines for two major developments:
(1) a massive $1.1 billion Series G funding round that pushed its post-money valuation to approximately $8.1 billion, reaffirming investor confidence in specialized AI hardware; and (2) the company’s decision to withdraw its previously filed IPO plans, suggesting a strategic pivot toward raising private capital and focusing on long-term growth before entering public markets.
The Journey to Unicorn Status
Cerebras reached unicorn status in 2019, after raising $112 million in a Series F round led by Benchmark, Coatue Management, and others — bringing its valuation above $1 billion.
Key growth drivers included:
- Investor confidence in custom AI infrastructure beyond Nvidia dominance.
- Early adoption of its hardware by Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.
- Industry recognition for tackling the computational bottlenecks of AI research.
Financial & Growth Metrics
- Valuation: ~$8.1B
- Funding Raised: Over $2.1B across 8 rounds.
- Customers: Partnerships with GSK, Argonne National Lab, and Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.
- Technology Footprint: Wafer-Scale Engine 3 can support training models with trillions of parameters.
- Market Position: Competes directly with Nvidia, AMD, and Graphcore in the high-performance AI hardware space.
Fun Fact: Cerebras’ Wafer-Scale Engine is the largest computer chip ever built, at 46,225 mm², about 56x bigger than the largest GPU. The chip is so large it requires a custom water-cooling system to operate effectively.
