Cerebras Systems, the AI chip startup that builds processors the size of dinner plates, filed for an IPO on Friday, riding a wave of artificial intelligence infrastructure investments that shows no signs of slowing.

The company, which attempted an IPO in 2024 before withdrawing due to market conditions, is targeting a valuation between $22-28 billion according to sources familiar with the filing. That would make it one of the largest technology IPOs since the AI boom began.

Cerebras' timing couldn't be better. The company landed OpenAI as an anchor customer earlier this year in a deal that sources describe as "the largest AI compute commitment ever made." OpenAI has committed to $20 billion in chip purchases over five years, with $1 billion already provided as a loan that converts to equity warrants.

The OpenAI partnership transforms Cerebras from a promising startup into a critical AI infrastructure provider. Unlike traditional chip deals, this agreement includes equity upside for Cerebras if OpenAI's valuation continues rising. It's a bet on both companies' AI dominance.

Cerebras' Wafer-Scale Engine chips are massive — literally. Each processor contains 4 trillion transistors and covers an entire 12-inch silicon wafer, compared to traditional chips that are cut into hundreds of smaller pieces. This design allows for unprecedented AI training and inference speeds.

The chip architecture appears particularly suited for large language model training, where massive parallel processing and memory bandwidth determine performance. OpenAI reportedly uses Cerebras chips for both GPT model training and real-time inference serving — the computations that power ChatGPT responses.

Revenue numbers support the growth story. Cerebras generated $510 million in 2025, up 76% from the previous year, with $87.9 million in profit. The company attributes growth to "unprecedented demand for AI inference capabilities" as more companies deploy large language models in production.

Beyond OpenAI, Cerebras has secured Amazon Web Services as a major customer, providing AI inference through AWS cloud services. The Amazon deal validates Cerebras' cloud strategy and reduces dependence on any single customer, despite OpenAI's outsized importance.

The IPO filing comes as AI infrastructure stocks are soaring. NVIDIA has gained over 200% since 2023, while smaller chip companies like SiTime and Lattice Semiconductor have seen similar growth. Investors are betting that AI compute demand will sustain for years, not quarters.

Cerebras' IPO joins a crowded pipeline of AI-related public offerings. SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are all preparing IPOs in 2026, representing over $2 trillion in combined valuations. Wall Street is preparing for what could be the largest technology IPO wave in history.

The company successfully cleared national security reviews after initially raising concerns about its partnership with UAE-based G42. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved the international relationships, removing a potential IPO roadblock.

For investors, Cerebras offers something different from NVIDIA's dominance: specialized architecture designed specifically for AI workloads. While NVIDIA builds general-purpose GPUs adapted for AI, Cerebras built chips exclusively for artificial intelligence from the ground up.

The question is whether specialized AI chips can sustain premium valuations as the market matures. Cerebras is betting that raw performance and energy efficiency will win over cost considerations. With OpenAI as proof of concept, they might be right.