American artificial intelligence chip maker Cerebras Systems has emerged as one of the biggest players in the global AI infrastructure market after surviving what its founders described as a near collapse during the company’s early years. The company, now valued at about $60 billion following a blockbuster public offering, currently supplies AI inference chips to major technology firms including OpenAI and Amazon Web Services.
Speaking on the company’s difficult journey, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Feldman revealed that Cerebras was burning nearly $8 million monthly in 2019 while trying to solve complex engineering challenges linked to building the world’s largest AI chip. The company had reportedly spent close to $200 million attempting to perfect the technology, particularly the difficult packaging process involving power delivery, cooling systems, and data movement for chips significantly larger than anything previously developed in the semiconductor industry.
According to Feldman, the breakthrough eventually came after months of repeated failures and destroyed chips, with engineers forced to invent entirely new tools and manufacturing processes to keep the massive processor functional without damage. He described the moment the chip finally worked in July 2019 as one of the greatest moments of his life, noting that the entire founding team stood silently watching the computer run after years of uncertainty and technical setbacks.
The company’s rise has also strengthened its relationship with OpenAI, which is now both a customer and strategic partner. Regulatory filings showed that OpenAI provided Cerebras with a $1 billion loan secured through stock warrants potentially worth billions of dollars. Feldman, however, admitted that Cerebras is still carefully managing expansion and capacity, saying the company intends to focus on selected partnerships before aggressively scaling operations across the broader AI market.