AI chip startup Etched hits $10.3B valuation with $300M Series C led by Sequoia

AI chip startup Etched defies skeptics, hits $10.3B valuation from big-name investors

Etched, founded by three Harvard dropouts in 2022, raised a $300M Series C at a $10.3B valuation, doubling its $5B valuation from December. The round was led by Sequoia, with a16z, SK Hynix, Jane Street, and angels like Peter Thiel and Andrej Karpathy also in. The company builds non-GPU chips for AI inference. The post doesn't disclose customers or shipping timelines—valuation is one thing, shipping silicon is another.

Why it matters: Doubled valuation, top-tier VC backing, and a contrarian chip bet — strong HKR across the board. Held at 78 because the post discloses zero customer names; commercial validation is still an open question.