AI chip startup Etched said it has raised $800 million and revealed that its investors include Jane Street and a venture firm linked to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.The aspiring competitor to Nvidia plans to start shipping chips to some customers this summer.It was earlier reported that Etched raised a $500 million round valuing the company at $5 billion. Led by investment firm Stripes with participation from billionaire Peter Thiel, Positive Sum and Ribbit Capital, that round closed in December and also included an investment from Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Two Sigma and VentureTech Alliance, which has a strategic partnership with TSMC, Etched said.Jane Street led a previously unannounced funding round, according to Etched co-founder and president Robert Wachen, and has invested additional funds since then. The trading firm has invested a total of more than $100 million in Etched, according to people familiar with the matter.Founded in 2022, Etched designs chips to run AI models. The company is currently testing its products and has signed sales contracts worth $1 billion, said Wachen, who declined to name any customers. This is the first time Etched has publicly discussed its funding and chip plans in about two years. "We've been very quiet until we had stuff to show off," said Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO.Other Etched investors include Geoffrey Hinton, who won a Nobel Prize for developing some of the key concepts in modern AI, computer vision pioneer Fei-Fei Li and hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller.
Jane Street, TSMC-Linked AI Startup Etched Raises $800 M
AI chip challenger Etched has secured a massive $800 million in funding, with backing from industry heavyweights like Jane Street and a firm linked to TSMC. The startup, aiming to rival Nvidia, is set to begin shipping its AI chips this summer. Etched has already inked $1 billion in sales contracts and boasts an impressive roster of investors, including AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton.
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