Cerebras Systems priced its IPO at $185 per share on Wednesday evening, aiming to raise $5.5 billion and valuing the AI chipmaker at $40 billion, according to the Financial Times. Just eight months ago, the company was valued at $8.1 billion — a nearly fivefold surge that underscores how fast investor money is pouring into artificial intelligence.
AI Chipmaker’s Skyrocketing Valuation
Cerebras builds custom chips for AI workloads powering tools like Claude Code and ChatGPT. The rapid valuation jump highlights a major headwind for digital assets: risk capital is pivoting hard toward AI-related equities. U.S. stocks have become the undisputed destination for risk capital. Intel (INTC) is up 218% year-to-date; AMD and Micron (MU) have more than doubled. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has gained 66%, while the S&P 500 is up just 8%.
Bitcoin Slips Below $80K as Crypto Bleeds
Meanwhile, Bitcoin BTC has lost 9% and is languishing below $80,000. Google searches for "buy bitcoin" hit a 12-month low, per prediction market Kalshi. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has dropped 19%.
SpaceX and OpenAI IPOs Loom Large
The bearish pressure on crypto could last for months as SpaceX and OpenAI prepare for what may be the largest IPOs in stock market history. The Financial Times describes Cerebras as "an early test of Wall Street's appetite for new AI listings ahead of the anticipated debuts of OpenAI and SpaceX." Each acts as a gravitational pull on risk capital, potentially drawing money deeper into AI equities and away from digital assets.