AI chip startup Blaize is expected to become the first chip startup to go public in 2025.
Blaize, founded by former Intel engineers, has announced it will become the first AI chip startup to go public in 2025, merging with a blank-check company for listing on the Nasdaq. The announcement was made on Monday, January 13, 2025, with the transaction expected to close on Tuesday. Launched in 2011, Blaize has raised $335 million from investors including Samsung and Mercedes-Benz and is headquartered in El Dorado Hills, California.
Unlike Nvidia and other dominant AI chip makers focused on vast data centers, Blaize manufactures AI chips for edge applications—designed to be integrated into smart products like security cameras, drones, and industrial robots. CEO Dinakar Munagala, who previously worked almost 12 years for Intel, stated that "AI-powered edge computing is the future due to its low power consumption, low latency, cost-effectiveness, and data privacy advantages." Currently, the company is highly unprofitable, losing $87.5 million on only $3.8 million in revenue in 2023, according to its prospectus.
Blaize is touting $400 million in deals in its pipeline, including a signed purchase order of up to $104 million with an unnamed EMEA "defense entity," likely in the Middle East, for a system capable of identifying unknown or friendly troops, spotting small boats, and detecting drones. The company expects to be valued at $1.2 billion following its SPAC merger. Munagala explained the capital requirements facing chip manufacturers: "As you can imagine, [as a] chip company you do a massive amount of investment and when the hockey stick comes, it climbs."
Blaize's public offering represents a contrasting bet to other AI chipmakers like Cerebras, which focuses on data center chips and filed for an IPO seeking to double its $4 billion valuation, though it has not yet gone public due to investor concerns over its over-reliance on a single Middle Eastern customer. Munagala articulated Blaize's market position: "All of the AI hype is happening in the data center. Interestingly, they've totally neglected and forgotten about real physical world use cases that are very real, that are touching people's lives and are happening now and making money. We're focused on the practical use of AI in the physical world."