Major Funding Round for Cerebras Systems
Silicon Valley-based AI chip startup
Cerebras Systems has secured $1.1 billion in a recent funding round, highlighting robust investor interest in AI hardware innovation. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Co. and Atreides Management, marking one of the largest investments ever in an AI chip company[2].
Strategic Addition of 1789 Capital
A notable development in this round is the participation of
1789 Capital, an investment fund that has links to former President Donald Trump. Their involvement signals growing interest amongst politically affiliated investors in the transformative potential of artificial intelligence hardware[2].
Position in the AI Hardware Race
Cerebras is widely recognized for its pioneering technology, including the **Wafer-Scale Engine**, the largest computer chip ever made[1]. The company's chips are designed to accelerate large-scale AI models and have outperformed standard GPUs in benchmarks for inference speed and energy efficiency.
- Meta partnered with Cerebras in April 2025 to power the new Llama API, offering inference speeds up to 18 times faster than traditional GPU-based platforms[1].
- Recent claims state Cerebras chips outperform the NVIDIA Blackwell platform on Llama 4 inference, with more than double the performance at 2,500 tokens per second for the 400B parameter Llama 4 Maverick model[1].
- In May 2025, Cerebras launched Qwen3-32B, an open-weight LLM optimized for high-speed reasoning and efficiency[1].
Industry Impact and Future Prospects
Cerebras' fundraising success underscores the escalating global competition in AI infrastructure, especially as companies pursue alternatives to established industry leaders like NVIDIA. The startup was previously named to the Forbes AI 50 and TIME 100 Most Influential Companies lists in 2024, solidifying its reputation for innovation and impact[1].
The funding is expected to accelerate Cerebras' expansion and research, as well as its efforts to prepare for an IPO, which the company aims to pursue in 2025 after securing U.S. government clearance for key foreign investments[1].
About Cerebras
Founded in 2015, Cerebras Systems has consistently advanced the field of AI hardware with groundbreaking designs ranging from massive wafer-scale chips to highly specialized solutions for running expansive AI models. Strategic partnerships, including those with Meta and defense agencies, reinforce Cerebras' standing as a leader in enabling next-generation artificial intelligence[1].
