AI chip startup Etched raises $300 million at $10.3 billion valuation

Sequoia-backed Etched said on Thursday it raised $300 million in a Series C funding round that valued the AI chip company at $10.3 billion.

Etched is among a ‌growing number ⁠of ⁠startups seeking to challenge Nvidia's dominance ​in AI chips by developing hardware for inference, ​the process of running artificial intelligence models.

Here are some details:


The ​funding round was led ⁠by Sequoia, ‌with participation from Andreessen ​Horowitz, ​Jane Street, Diffusion and ⁠SK Hynix.

Etched said the financing represents ​the highest valuation ever for ​a Sequoia-led Series C.

The company will use the proceeds to expand production and customer deployments.

It recently opened an 80,000-square-foot ‌facility near its San Jose, California headquarters to expand ​production and ​prototyping.

Etched ⁠said demand for its AI inference systems continues to outpace supply as customers move from evaluation to deployment.

The company said it has about 400 employees, and is rapidly expanding.