# Cerebras
Cerebras Systems is an American AI-compute company that builds wafer-scale processors, the Wafer Scale Engine (WSE) line, and rack-scale systems built around them, and it has been a public company since its May 2026 initial public offering. Founded by a five-person team led by CEO Andrew Feldman, the company set out to do what the chip industry had long considered impractical: manufacture an entire 300 mm silicon wafer as a single chip. By 2026 it had signed a company-disclosed multi-year deal with OpenAI valued at more than $20 billion,[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2021728/000162828026025762/cerebras-sx1april2026.htm) priced a $5.55 billion IPO,[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) and ended its first week of trading worth about $60 billion.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founders | Andrew Feldman, Gary Lauterbach, Michael James, Sean Lie, and Jean-Philippe Fricker, with the aim of bringing wafer-scale computing to market[4](https://www.cerebras.ai/company) |
| Flagship products | WSE-3T processor (four trillion transistors, 900,000 AI cores) and the CS-4 rack-scale system, launched August 19, 2026[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/) |
| IPO | Priced at $185 a share on May 14, 2026, raising $5.55 billion, after a CFIUS review over G42's stake forced withdrawal of the original 2024 filing[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) |
| 2025 revenue and concentration | $510 million, roughly 86% from the related parties Group 42 (G42) and MBZUAI[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) |
| OpenAI deal | Multi-year deal valued at more than $20 billion, announced January 2026 (company-disclosed in its S-1)[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2021728/000162828026025762/cerebras-sx1april2026.htm) |
| Total capital raised | Roughly $2.8 billion in private venture funding plus $5.55 billion in the IPO, roughly $8.4 billion total[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) |
| Market value | About $60 billion at the end of IPO week;[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/) roughly $43 billion as of mid-September 2026, down from a $67 billion day-one close[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) |
## Founding and funding history
Cerebras was launched by Andrew Feldman, Gary Lauterbach, Michael James, Sean Lie, and [Jean-Philippe Fricker](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-philippe-fricker) with the aim of bringing wafer-scale computing to market; at the time, the company's own history notes, it was unclear whether such a feat was technically possible.[4](https://www.cerebras.ai/company)
The early years nearly killed the company. Founder CEO Andrew Feldman told [TechCrunch](https://www.edgepedia.org/techcrunch) that in one period Cerebras was "spending about $8 million a month" and had "incinerated nearly $200 million trying to solve one technical problem."[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/) That problem was packaging: once TSMC could manufacture the giant die, Cerebras still had to mount it, deliver power, remove heat, and move data on and off the wafer, with no premade [heat sinks](https://www.edgepedia.org/heat-sink) and no existing manufacturing partners for a chip of that size.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/)
Private funding scaled with the ambition. Per an S-1-derived analysis, Cerebras raised roughly $2.8 billion across eleven venture rounds between 2016 and early 2026, including Series F in November 2021 ($250 million at a valuation above $4 billion), Series G in September 2025 ($1.1 billion at $8.1 billion) and Series H in February 2026 ($1.0 billion at $23 billion), before adding $5.55 billion in the IPO for roughly $8.4 billion in total.[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) The United Arab Emirates' Group 42 (G42) became a major investor and customer, a relationship that later shaped both the company's revenue and its path to going public.
## Wafer-scale technology: how the WSE works
A conventional AI accelerator is a chip measured in hundreds of square millimeters, paired with high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks mounted beside it. Cerebras inverts this. Each WSE-3 Turbo processor is a full 300 mm wafer of TSMC 5 nm silicon carved into a single chip; a CS-4 rack holds three of them.[6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/) The company describes the WSE-3T as the largest AI processor ever built, containing four trillion transistors and 900,000 AI-optimized cores across 46,225 square millimeters of silicon, with 44 GB of SRAM integrated directly on the wafer.[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/)
The architectural consequence is memory location. Because the SRAM sits on the same silicon as the compute cores, model weights and activations do not have to cross a chip-to-memory link, and Cerebras reports 129.6 petabytes per second of aggregate memory bandwidth for the CS-4, alongside 750 PFLOPs of AI compute (marked as sparse FP16) and 7.2 terabits per second of I/O, with support for models over 50 trillion parameters.[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/) The physical cost of this design is severe: Feldman said the chips "were 58 times larger" than typical chips and used "40 times as much power as anybody had ever used," with no off-the-shelf packaging or cooling to draw on.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/) On power delivery, Cerebras reports that CS-4 power conversion moved from roughly 50 mm to about 0.5 mm from the processor, delivering twice as much power to the WSE-3T.[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/)
The August 2026 CS-4 also introduced a split-inference design. Cerebras supports disaggregated inference, running the compute-bound prefill stage on other hardware (AMD Helios racks, [AWS Trainium](https://www.edgepedia.org/aws-trainium)) and keeping the memory-bandwidth-bound decode stage on wafer-scale hardware, connected over RoCE v2 RDMA on Ethernet, with claimed 10x GPU speed and 5x throughput versus Cerebras alone.[6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/)
## Products and Cerebras Inference
The CS-3, built on the previous WSE-3 generation, remains the company's shipping system and the basis of its cloud inference service. On August 19, 2026, Cerebras introduced the CS-4, a rack-scale system built from three WSE-3 Turbo processors and the first system on its Nexus platform architecture.[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/)
The company's performance claims come with caveats. In Cerebras's own launch benchmark, GPT-OSS-120B generated 4,465 tokens per second per user on a CS-4, 2,308 on a CS-3, and 131 on a GPU deployment that goes unidentified; that is a 34x ratio, marketed as "up to 30 times faster than GPU solutions."[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/) • [6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/) Independent commentary notes two problems with the comparison: the GPU baseline is never named, and Cerebras's petaflop figures are marked sparse FP16, which stretches any comparison against dense GPU numbers.[6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/) At launch, Cerebras disclosed no customer agreements, no pricing, and no official rack power figure.[6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/) ([Cerebras Inference](https://www.edgepedia.org/cerebras-inference), the company's API service, is covered in its own article; one analysis puts usage-based API access to CS-3 capacity from around $0.10 per million tokens for smaller models, unverified.[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive))
## By the numbers
- **Processor scale:** four trillion transistors, 900,000 AI cores, 46,225 mm² of silicon, 44 GB on-wafer SRAM per WSE-3T[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/)
- **CS-4 system:** 750 PFLOPS sparse FP16, 7.2 Tbps I/O, 129.6 PB/s memory bandwidth; Cerebras rates a single CS-3 at 125 PFLOPS[5](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/) • [6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/)
- **Inference speed (vendor benchmark):** 4,465 tokens per second per user on GPT-OSS-120B on a CS-4[6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/)
- **Q2 2026 results (company release):** GAAP revenue of $180.1 million, up 74%; core revenue of $209.9 million, up 103%; core gross margin of 41%; net loss of $450.5 million; $8.6 billion in cash[7](https://aiinasia.com/voices/cerebras-cloud-inference-hardware-decline-asia-buyers-voices-2026-08-13)
- **Backlog and guidance:** remaining performance obligations of $25.4 billion; more than 600 MW live and under contract expected by end of 2027; Q3 2026 core revenue guided to $214–216 million; full-year 2026 revenue guided to $880–890 million, with plans to more than triple revenue in 2027[7](https://aiinasia.com/voices/cerebras-cloud-inference-hardware-decline-asia-buyers-voices-2026-08-13)
- **2025 revenue:** $510 million, roughly 86% from G42 and MBZUAI[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive)
- **Power (estimate):** third-party estimates put a full CS-4 rack near 120–140 kW, roughly half a comparable GPU rack, but nobody outside Cerebras has metered one[6](https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/)
## The OpenAI deal and partnerships
In January 2026, Cerebras announced a multi-year deal with OpenAI valued at more than $20 billion, as the company disclosed in its own S-1.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2021728/000162828026025762/cerebras-sx1april2026.htm) The deal's financing terms are more revealing than the headline value. OpenAI loaned Cerebras $1 billion secured by warrants that conditionally grant OpenAI about 33 million Cerebras shares; per the S-1, those shares were worth over $9 billion at the May 2026 closing price of $279.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/) As part of the loan deal, Cerebras agreed not to sell its hardware to specific OpenAI competitors. Feldman would not confirm that the company in question is [Anthropic](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthropic), but said the restriction is temporary.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/)
Two further partnerships followed. In March 2026, Cerebras started a multi-year partnership with AWS.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2021728/000162828026025762/cerebras-sx1april2026.htm) On July 23, 2026, AMD and Cerebras announced a joint inference architecture that pairs AMD's Helios rack-scale GPU systems for the compute-heavy prefill stage with Cerebras' wafer-scale chip for the latency-sensitive decode stage, deploying through Cerebras Cloud in the second half of 2026.[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive)
## The 2026 IPO and recent developments
Cerebras first filed to go public in 2024, but a CFIUS national-security review over G42's ownership stake forced it to withdraw the original filing, and the company spent more than a year restructuring the relationship before refiled paperwork cleared the way.[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) The IPO priced at $185 a share on May 14, 2026, raising $5.55 billion, the largest tech listing of 2026.[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) Both co-founders became billionaires, and the company ended its first week as a public company worth about $60 billion.[3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/) One analysis gives a $67 billion day-one close and a market cap of roughly $43 billion as of mid-September 2026, while TechCrunch gave an "about $60 billion" end-of-week figure.[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive) • [3](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/) Whether the offering was the largest US tech IPO since Uber's 2019 listing is a framing that appears in planning material but is not confirmed by any kept source.
Since 2023 the company has added the WSE-3T and CS-4 (August 2026), the OpenAI deal (January 2026), the AWS partnership (March 2026), and the AMD prefill/decode architecture (July 2026). The kept sources document no leadership changes, layoffs, lawsuits beyond the CFIUS episode, safety departures, or regulatory actions in 2024–2026.
## References
1. Cerebras S-1 Registration Statement (April 2026). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2021728/000162828026025762/cerebras-sx1april2026.htm
2. Cerebras (CBRS): Inside the AI Chip Maker Taking On Nvidia (ValueAdd VC, Sept 2026). https://valueaddvc.com/blog/cerebras-cbrs-wafer-scale-ai-chip-maker-company-deep-dive
3. $60B AI chip darling Cerebras almost died early on, burning $8M a month (TechCrunch, May 16, 2026). https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month/
4. Cerebras — Company (official). https://www.cerebras.ai/company
5. Cerebras Introduces CS-4 with 750 PFLOPs of AI Compute (HPCwire, Aug 19, 2026). https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cerebras-introduces-cs-4-with-750-pflops-of-ai-compute/
6. Cerebras CS-4: 750 PFLOPS from an overclocked wafer (PacketNebula, 2026). https://packetnebula.com/articles/cerebras-cs-4-750-pflops-wse-3-turbo/
7. Cerebras Now Rents Asia Its Speed Instead of Selling (AI in Asia, Aug 13, 2026). https://aiinasia.com/voices/cerebras-cloud-inference-hardware-decline-asia-buyers-voices-2026-08-13
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Computing and digital systems › Modern AI: foundation models, generative AI, and the AI industry › AI companies, people, and products › AI chips, compute, and infrastructure companies › AI accelerator chips and makers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license