Cerebras Surges on Debut: AI-Chip Maker's Blockbuster IPO Stuns Markets

Cerebras Systems began trading on Nasdaq with an IPO priced at $185 and closed its first session around $311.07, up about 68%, in what was the largest IPO of 2026 so far. The company raised roughly $5.55 billion by selling 30 million shares, valuing it near a $67 billion market cap. Cerebras, whose wafer-scale AI chips power systems like CS-2 and CS-3, counts OpenAI, Amazon and Meta among its customers and is pitched as a rival to Nvidia, albeit far smaller. Revenue has grown rapidly (2022–2025: from $24.6M to $510M in 2025), but the company remains unprofitable on an operating basis, with 2025 R&D at about 48% of sales and negative operating cash flow (~$10.1M). Analysts note potential index inclusions (S&P 500, Nasdaq-100) could provide tailwinds, but Fool’s Stock Advisor does not list Cerebras among its current top picks, underscoring the stock’s growth-story risk and the need to watch profitability as it scales.