Although it’s only been a couple of months since Etched raised 21 billion valuation, the AI chip startup is already being plied with investment offers at double or more its value.
Etched is reviewing incoming bids that range from 50 billion from lesser-known backers. These fundraising talks are early, so terms of any deal may change.
Etched is pursuing building full AI hardware systems powered by its own proprietary chips. The company claims its chips can process more tokens faster and at a lower cost than Nvidia’s.
Etched said in July that it had already secured $1 billion in customer orders, including one from Jane Street, after manufacturing its test chip at a TSMC factory. Roughly 15% of Etched’s 400-person workforce previously worked at Nvidia.
The startup announced a 10.3 billion valuation in July and the 21 billion valuation in September.