Benchmark Invests $225M in Cerebras WS-24 to Fuel AI Chip Expansion (CERE)

Benchmark Capital has committed at least $225 million in Cerebras Systems’ (CERE) latest $1 billion funding round, part of the AI chipmaker’s rapid valuation climb from $8.1 billion in early 2024 to $23 billion. The investment comes as Cerebras secures a multi-year, over $10 billion agreement to supply 750 MW of compute to OpenAI through 2028. Cerebras’ Wafer Scale Engine, a 300mm wafer-sized chip with 4 trillion transistors and 900,000 parallel cores, claims 20x faster AI inference than competing systems. The firm is preparing a potential IPO in Q2 2026, following the removal of G42 from its investor list after a national security review over its prior ties to Chinese technology firms. Benchmark, which led Cerebras’ 2016 $27 million Series A and raised two under-$450 million Infrastructure vehicles to support the investment, declined to comment.