Cerebras, an AI chip maker, saw its Nasdaq-listed shares nearly double, closing up 70% with a valuation of $95 billion.
Cerebras’ potent chips are central to the US-China AI technology race.
Chris Baskirk, co-founder and chief investment officer at 1789 Capital, a key Cerebras investor, states that the company’s IPO holds geopolitical significance.
On Thursday, Cerebras, the AI chipmaker based in Sunnyvale, California, made its stock market debut, with shares almost doubling upon opening on the Nasdaq at $185 per share. The company concluded the trading day at $311 per share, marking a 70% surge, which propelled its market capitalization to $95 billion, making it the largest IPO of the year to date.
For investors eager for AI exposure—an IPO that was 20 times oversubscribed—this represents one of the most substantial new public market entries alongside chip manufacturer Nvidia.
“This thing is flying… partly because for public investors, whether retail or institutional, there are very few ways to invest in this,” Chris Baskirk, co-founder and chief investment officer at 1789 Capital and an early investor in the company, told me.
Cerebras designs specialized, powerful chips, the most notable of which is the Wafer Scale Engine—the largest chip processor, spanning an entire silicon wafer and boasting 19 times the computing power of Nvidia’s flagship chip.
The IPO arrived at a critical juncture, with AI emerging as a significant leverage point in negotiations with China, coinciding with President Trump’s visit to Xi Jinping in Beijing this week.
“American companies are great, but the Chinese are very good—well-capitalized, with very talented people,” Baskirk remarked. “It’s going to be an American AI tech stack or a Chinese AI tech stack that proliferates not only in our countries but globally, and that’s something we absolutely must win.”
Within this context, Cerebras’ listing may carry even greater geopolitical weight than financial implications. The IPO serves as a timely reminder of America’s efforts in building both the hardware and software infrastructure to maintain AI dominance, and China’s intense desire for American chips.
“This thing is flying… partly because for public investors, whether retail or institutional, there are very few ways to invest in this,” Chris Baskirk, co-founder and chief investment officer at 1789 Capital and an early investor in Cerebras, told me.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
However, investors contend that the company not only highlights a dominant advantage in AI hardware but also leverages its deep Middle Eastern ties to expand US technological influence at a time when China aggressively seeks regional dominance.
“This is the existential geopolitical race of our time,” Baskirk adds.
This phenomenon is particularly evident in the Persian Gulf. Cerebras anticipated two clients from the UAE in 2025, accounting for 86% of its $510 million revenue projection. These associations have drawn scrutiny, even triggering national security reviews by CFIUS, which delayed the chipmaker’s listing (G42 from the UAE holds an investment portfolio that includes Chinese tech companies).
This story is part of NYNext—an indispensable insider look at the innovations, moonshots, and political chess moves that matter most to New York’s power players (and those who aspire to be).
Despite this, investors argue that these relationships ultimately solidify influence in regions China aims to control.
“During the Biden administration, the US government did everything it could to push our Middle Eastern allies away from us and into the arms of China… It was the Biden administration pushing them towards China. The Trump administration is bringing them back into alignment with the United States,” Baskirk told me.
Cerebras concluded the trading day at $311 per share, marking a 70% surge, which propelled its market capitalization to $95 billion, making it the largest IPO of the year to date.
AFP via Getty Images
“Everyone has to adopt AI technology—every company, every nation needs to do it. And there are only two choices. Do you align with the American AI stack or the Chinese tech stack?”
And speed is paramount now because computing power has become the defining bottleneck for AI growth.
“Compute is the new bottleneck,” Baskirk stated. “Software can scale infinitely—that’s why people loved investing in [Software as a Service] companies. But the amount of compute power needed for AI is orders of magnitude greater.”
Cerebras has also secured significant strategic investments and computing partnerships from OpenAI, a move some critics view as a circular arrangement that merely inflates the AI bubble.
Baskirk refutes this perspective, arguing that such an agreement is a practical necessity: “They cannot deploy their models at scale if there aren’t leading chip companies that have the scale to supply them with chips.”
The company has also faced criticism for its Pentagon ties—which Baskirk argues is a positive development.
“The US government should continuously be buying the best advanced technology from American companies,” he told me. “And Cerebras is one of those companies.”
About the Author
