The growing prominence of AI, fueled by the success of companies like Nvidia, has led to a renewed interest in AI chip startups, with one such company, Blaize, making headlines as it prepares to go public. Founded in 2011 by former Intel engineers, Blaize has raised $335 million from notable investors such as Samsung and Mercedes-Benz. The company, headquartered in El Dorado Hills, California, focuses on the design and production of AI chips specifically tailored for edge applications. These chips, unlike those used primarily in vast data centers like Nvidia’s, are designed for integration into smart products, including security cameras, drones, and industrial robots.
CEO Dinakar Munagala, who has almost 12 years of experience at Intel, has stated that AI-powered edge computing represents the future due to its low power consumption, low latency, cost-effectiveness, and data privacy advantages. This vision positions Blaize as a player in an AI landscape that is rapidly moving beyond data centers into the physical world, aiming to provide tangible, practical AI applications in everyday products.
Blaize is preparing for a public debut through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger. The company announced that it will go public on the Nasdaq on Tuesday. However, Blaize remains a relatively small player in the broader AI chip industry, which is dominated by giants like Nvidia. The company is currently unprofitable, with a reported loss of $87.5 million on just $3.8 million in revenue for 2023. While its financials are not robust at the moment, the capital-intensive nature of chip manufacturing requires significant investment before scaling can take place. Munagala has acknowledged this challenge, noting that chip companies often experience substantial upfront costs before they can reach the point where growth accelerates rapidly.
Blaize’s SPAC merger is expected to value the company at $1.2 billion, which is lower than the valuations of other well-known AI chipmakers like Cerebras. Cerebras, a competitor focused on data center chips, filed for an IPO last year, seeking to double its valuation to $4 billion. However, Cerebras has yet to go public, with some investors expressing concerns over the company’s reliance on a single Middle Eastern customer, which could pose risks to its long-term growth.
Despite the challenges, Blaize is optimistic about its future growth. The company claims to have $400 million in deals in the pipeline, including a signed purchase order for up to $104 million with an unnamed defense entity in the EMEA region. This order is reportedly for a system that can identify friendly or unknown troops, detect small boats, and spot drones — all crucial capabilities in modern defense technologies. Munagala declined to disclose the specifics of the country involved in this deal but emphasized that such contracts could play a pivotal role in Blaize’s growth trajectory.
Blaize’s focus on AI chips for edge computing represents a strategic divergence from the traditional AI chip industry, which has been heavily centered on the data center market. While companies like Nvidia have made significant strides in powering AI applications within centralized data centers, Blaize is positioning itself as a key player in the rapidly growing edge computing space. Munagala is keen on addressing the real-world, practical use cases of AI that impact everyday life. He believes that the excitement surrounding AI in data centers has overshadowed the many ways AI is already being integrated into physical products, driving real-world benefits and creating value for businesses today.
In contrast to Blaize’s focus on edge computing, companies like Cerebras and Nvidia are betting on the continued growth of AI in centralized data centers, where massive computing power is required to train and deploy large-scale models. However, Blaize’s emphasis on the practical application of AI in physical products — including in industries such as security, manufacturing, and defense — reflects a growing recognition of the potential for edge computing to transform a wide range of sectors.
As Blaize moves forward with its SPAC deal and prepares for its public debut, it is placing a bet on a future where AI chips are embedded not just in large data centers but in the devices and systems that power everyday products. If successful, Blaize’s approach could reshape the landscape of AI hardware, bringing advanced AI capabilities to the edge and opening up new possibilities for industries that require real-time, on-device AI processing. With its focus on the practical, real-world application of AI, Blaize is positioning itself to capitalize on a market that has long been overshadowed by the data center-centric vision of AI.
