Cerebras Systems Raises $1.1B - Still Private After IPO Filing

Cerebras Systems Secures $1.1 Billion in New Funding

Despite prior intentions to become a publicly traded company by 2025, Cerebras Systems has successfully completed a new round of private financing.

Series G Funding Details

The Silicon Valley-based firm announced on Tuesday a $1.1 billion Series G funding round, establishing a company valuation of $8.1 billion.

This financing endeavor was jointly spearheaded by Fidelity and Atreides Management, with significant contributions from Tiger Global, Valor Equity Partners, and 1789 Capital, among other investors.

Company History and Growth

Founded in 2015, Cerebras specializes in the development of chips, hardware systems, and cloud services tailored for AI applications.

To date, the company has amassed nearly $2 billion in funding throughout its decade-long existence. A previous Series F round in 2021, led by Alpha Wave Ventures, yielded $250 million and valued the company at over $4 billion.

Recent Expansion and Inference Services

The latest funding arrives following a period of substantial growth, as noted by Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras, in a statement to TechCrunch.

This growth is directly linked to the company’s AI inference services – the utilization of AI models to produce results – which were launched in August 2024.

Feldman explained that by the second quarter of 2024, a critical juncture was reached where deployed AI began demonstrating practical utility, leading to a surge in demand for inference capabilities.

Data Center Expansion

To accommodate this heightened demand, Cerebras has established five new data centers in 2025.

• Locations include Dallas, Texas.
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
• Santa Clara, California.

Further expansion is planned for areas such as Montreal and throughout Europe.

Use of Funds

The newly acquired funds will primarily be allocated towards expanding the company’s data center infrastructure and bolstering its U.S. manufacturing capabilities.

Additional investment will also support ongoing technological advancements, details of which Feldman did not disclose.

IPO Plans

Securing this funding round represents a shift from Cerebras’ initial strategy, which involved filing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in September 2024.

The IPO process encountered regulatory hurdles shortly thereafter.

Regulatory Delays

The initial delay stemmed from a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) concerning a $335 million investment from G42, a cloud and AI company based in Abu Dhabi.

Further delays occurred in early 2025 due to staffing vacancies within CFIUS during the early stages of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Future Outlook

While the IPO remains a goal, Feldman refrained from providing specific timelines.

He indicated that the company is pursuing a common strategy for late-stage startups: securing substantial funding from predominantly public investors prior to a public market listing.

“We selected a group of leading investors who will support us not only in this round, but also in the future,” Feldman stated. “These firms are leaders in late-stage private fundraising, but primarily operate in the public markets. Becoming a public company remains our ambition.”