AI chipmaker Cerebras files to go public after scrapping IPO plans last year

by · CNBC

Key Points

  • Cerebras, which provides cloud-based access to chips that can run artificial intelligence models, has filed to go public after withdrawing plans for an initial public offering in 2025.
  • The company's revenue grew almost 76% in 2025, according to Friday's filing.
  • OpenAI now plans more than $20 billion in spending on Cerebras products and will receive warrants to buy Cerebras shares, one person said.

In this article

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Cerebras, a producer of chips that run artificial intelligence models, on Friday filed to go public on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "CBRS."

Cerebras reported a $87.9 million in net income on $510 million in revenue during 2025, according to Friday's filing. Revenue grew nearly 76% from 2024, when the company had a $485 million net loss.

When Cerebras sought to go public the first time around in 2024, it said one company, Microsoft-backed G42, based in the United Arab Emirates, contributed 87% of revenue for the first half of that year. In 2025, 24% of Cerebras' revenue came from G42, Friday's filing showed.

For years, Cerebras sought to sell chips to companies, but it has begun operating the chips inside its own data centers as a cloud service on behalf of clients. In January, Cerebras touted plans to provide up to 750 megawatts of computing power to OpenAI through 2028 in an agreement valued at more than $10 billion.

OpenAI has since expanded its relationship with Cerebras in an agreement worth over $20 billion and will get warrants to buy Cerebras shares, one person said. The Information previously reported on the arrangement.

In January, Cerebras received a $1 billion loan from OpenAI to build data center infrastructure and provide services as part of a broader agreement, according to the filing.

Another major expansion could be on the way.

On Oracle's March earnings call, CEO Clay Magouyrk mentioned that the database and cloud company offers chips from Cerebras and other suppliers. But at the time, Oracle's price list did not contain references to Cerebras.

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Cerebras does supply OpenAI with cloud-based computing power to operate a coding tool. Many companies that build and deploy generative AI models rely on Nvidia's graphics processing units, or GPUs. Advanced Micro Devices has made inroads in AI infrastructure as well. Cerebras says on its website that its Wafer Scale Engine 3 chips work at higher speed and for lower cost in comparison with GPUs.

Cerebras has picked up new business by emphasizing the high speed that its large-scale processors can deliver, particularly for responding to queries from end users.

The company announced plans for an initial public offering in 2024 but withdrew the paperwork last year to add information on financial performance and strategy.

Retail investors are thirsty for IPOs from large and growing technology companies after a relative drought that began in 2022. AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI are considering going public as soon as this year.

In February, Cerebras said it raised $1 billion in financing at a $23 billion round.

In September, days before withdrawing the IPO paperwork, Cerebras said it had raised a $1.1 billion funding round at an $8.1 billion valuation.

Cerebras was founded in 2016 and is based in Sunnyvale, California. Andrew Feldman, the startup's co-founder and CEO, sold server startup SeaMicro to AMD for $355 million in 2012.

Feldman has said that in 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tried to buy Cerebras. The company's investors include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Barclays and UBS are among the top underwriters in the offering, according to Friday's regulatory filing.

CNBC reported earlier that the company had plans to file the paperwork on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Cerebras declined to comment.

— CNBC's Seema Mody contributed to this report.

WATCH: OpenAI unveils first AI model running on Cerebras chips

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