AI chipmaker Cerebras announces CFIUS clearance, a key step toward IPO
The government decision helps clear the path for an initial public offering from one of Nvidia's challengers in artificial intelligence chips.
Artificial intelligence chip developer Cerebras said Monday that it has obtained clearance from a U.S. committee to sell shares to Group 42, a Microsoft-backed AI company based in the United Arab Emirates.
That clearance came from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, and it's a key step for Cerebras in its effort to go public. Cerebras competes with Nvidia, whose graphics processing units are the industry's choice for training and running AI models, but most of its revenue comes from a customer called Group 42.
Cerebras filed to go public in September but has not provided details on timing or size for the initial public offering. The regulatory overhang was tied to the company's relationship with Group 42, which was the source of 87% of Cerebras' revenue in the first half of 2024, made the IPO look uncertain.
"We thank @POTUS for making America the best place in the world to invest in cutting-edge #AI technology," Andrew Feldman, Cerebras' co-founder and CEO, wrote in a Monday LinkedIn post. "We thank G42's leadership and the UAE's leadership for their ongoing partnership and commitment to supporting U.S headquartered AI companies."
Lawmakers have previously worried about Group 42's connections to China. Last year Mike Gallagher, then a Republican member of Congress from Wisconsin, said in a statement that he was "glad to see G42 reduce its investment exposure to Chinese companies." Microsoft later announced a $1.5 billion investment in Group 42.