Etched is a US artificial-intelligence chip startup that designs transformer-specialized ASICs, including its Sohu inference chip (Source: wsj.com; eetimes.com). The Wall Street Journal reported on July 17, 2026 that the company was in negotiations for a $20 billion valuation, alongside a separate capital raise at a $10 billion valuation led by Sequoia (Source: wsj.com).
On July 23, 2026, Etched announced a $300 million Series C at a $10.3 billion valuation — reported as the highest valuation for a Sequoia-led Series C — with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Jane Street, and SK Hynix, bringing total funding past $1 billion. The company reported $1 billion in pre-orders for inference clusters built on the Sohu ASIC (Source: finance.yahoo.com; eetimes.com).
Snapshot
Valuation
| Date | Valuation | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-23 | $10.3B (Series C, $300M) | Sequoia-led; a16z, Jane Street, SK Hynix participating; total funding >$1B; $1B reported Sohu pre-orders | finance.yahoo.com |
| 2026-07-17 | $20B (in talks) | Reported alongside a separate raise at a $10B valuation led by Sequoia | wsj.com |
Relationships
- related: Semiconductor Supply Chain — specialty AI chip supplier landscape
- related: AI Bubble Debate — rapid private-valuation escalation among AI infrastructure startups