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Etched weighs bids of up to $50 billion

The inference-chip startup is reviewing offers at $40 billion to $50 billion, about two months after a round at $21 billion, TechCrunch reports.

By Alexandre S. , 02:30 UTC

Etched, the startup building chips for running AI models, is looking at early funding offers that value it at $40 billion to $50 billion, TechCrunch reported on Monday 5 October 2026, citing people familiar with the company. The lower bids come from top-tier investors, the higher ones from less established backers.

Retro-futurist illustration: a striped sunset over a grid horizon under a starry sky, with a microchip standing on the horizon.
Drawn by adtestbench from “Etched fields funding offers at $40B+ valuation, sources say”,

The climb is steep. Etched announced a $300 million round at $10.3 billion led by Sequoia in July, then $700 million at $21 billion, a deal Trending Topics covered on 19 August. Jane Street led that round and is also a customer that received an early system, according to TechCrunch.

Etched said in July it had $1 billion in customer orders. TechCrunch adds that about 15% of its 400 staff previously worked at Nvidia, that a trial chip was made at a TSMC plant this summer, and that a raise the size of the last one could fund up to three and a half years of operations.

For anyone paying for inference, the bids show investors putting a growing price on chips built only to serve models, with orders already booked.

Sources

  1. TechCrunch: Etched fields funding offers at $40B+ valuation, sources say. Checked
  2. Trending Topics: Etched: AI Chip Startup Doubles Valuation in One Month. Checked

Alexandre S.

Alexandre S. is a creative ad strategist and copywriter with ten years' experience in digital marketing across multiple channels.

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