Cerebras Systems lists on Nasdaq in $5.55bn IPO debut
Largest offering of 2026 sees Cerebras Systems trade at a premium to peers, with investors pricing in significant future demand from OpenAI and Amazon Web Services despite underlying operational losses.
Cerebras Systems began trading on the Nasdaq on May 14, 2026, marking the largest initial public offering of the year with a $5.55 billion raise. The artificial intelligence chipmaker’s shares surged from an IPO price of $185 to close at $311.07, valuing the company at approximately $95 billion. The listing occurred amidst a broader market rally, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 0.2% during a period of heightened geopolitical activity, including a US-China summit in Beijing.
The AI infrastructure sector has seen significant momentum, with semiconductor exchange-traded funds delivering triple-digit gains as hyperscalers race to secure computing power. Cerebras Systems claims its wafer-scale processors, which turn an entire silicon wafer into one giant chip, offer inference speeds up to 15 times faster than traditional GPU clusters. This technology is designed to run already-trained models efficiently, a critical requirement as the industry shifts focus from training to deployment.
Financially, the company reported 2025 revenue of $510 million, a 76% year-on-year increase from $290.3 million the previous year. It also reported a net income of $237.8 million, a sharp turnaround from a $481.6 million loss in 2024. However, underlying operations remained loss-making, with an operating loss of approximately $145.9 million when excluding a $363 million non-cash accounting gain from extinguishing a forward contract tied to G42. Free cash flow for the period was negative at $392.8 million.
The valuation surge places Cerebras Systems at a significant premium to established competitors. At its closing price, the company traded at a price-to-sales ratio of roughly 186.3 times, compared to Nvidia’s 26.4 times and Advanced Micro Devices’ 21.1 times. The order book was reportedly oversubscribed more than 20 times, forcing two upward revisions to the IPO range before pricing above the top end.
Despite the high multiple, the company holds a $24.6 billion backlog and has secured significant agreements with major technology partners. OpenAI has a multiyear agreement valued at more than $20 billion for 750 megawatts of AI compute capacity, while Amazon Web Services has signed a binding term sheet to deploy Cerebras CS-3 systems in its data centres. Management expects to recognise about 15% of its backlog across 2026 and 2027, providing a clear path for future revenue recognition.
