--- title: "$60B AI chip darling Cerebras almost died early on, burning $8M a month" url: https://daily.dev/posts/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month-uhinollpt source_url: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/16/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month type: article source: "TechCrunch" published: 2026-05-16T15:03:56.133Z updated: 2026-05-16T15:04:36.170Z tags: ["startup", "openai", "gpu"] reading_time: 4 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # $60B AI chip darling Cerebras almost died early on, burning $8M a month **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Cerebras Systems, now a $60B public company after a blockbuster 2026 IPO, nearly collapsed in 2019 while burning $8M per month — nearly $200M total — trying to solve the chip packaging problem for its wafer-scale AI processor. CEO Andrew Feldman recounts the years of failed attempts to package a chip 58x larger than anything previously built, requiring custom cooling solutions and even a bespoke 40-screw simultaneous bolting machine. The breakthrough came in July 2019. The piece also reveals that OpenAI once considered acquiring Cerebras, later became a customer, and loaned the company $1B secured by warrants that could be worth over $9B at current share prices, with a temporary restriction preventing Cerebras from selling to certain OpenAI competitors. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Cerebras raises $5.5B, kicking off 2026’s IPO season with a bang](https://daily.dev/posts/cerebras-raises-5-5b-kicking-off-2026-s-ipo-season-with-a-bang-c8m18zo7h) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#startup](https://daily.dev/tags/startup), [#openai](https://daily.dev/tags/openai), [#gpu](https://daily.dev/tags/gpu) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/60b-ai-chip-darling-cerebras-almost-died-early-on-burning-8m-a-month-uhinollpt)