As Semiconductor Stocks Slide, These Chip Startup IPOs Go On Hold

Semiconductor stocks have been sliding amid concerns that overheated artificial intelligence spending and intensifying US-China chip competition could affect the robust pipeline of venture-backed chip startups already lined up to go public.

At one point in late June, the Morningstar Global Semiconductors Index was up 60% for 2026. While the index is still up more than 30% for the year, it has slid roughly 18% from its peak.

The market’s volatility could push those startups to delay going public, said PitchBook senior analyst Harrison Rolfes. Following SpaceX’s SPCX historic offering, and with OpenAI and Anthropic waiting in the wings, many late-stage startups were already considering taking advantage of the current IPO season. “The selloff repriced the exit market, so every chip startup that set its valuation against the second-quarter peak is now priced above what public buyers will pay,” Rolfe says. “Historically, that gap delays exits rather than cancels them.”

A major headwind for US semiconductor stocks was Chinese chipmaker CXMT’s Shanghai IPO on Monday, which raised a domestic record of $8.6 billion in proceeds. Wall Street has been worried that Chinese peers could become a significant threat to US chipmakers.

The stock slump will test whether investors will keep backing chip startups at peak-cycle marks, and whether those companies can still target IPOs in late 2026 and early 2027.

Semiconductor exits have picked up this year. In one example, Cerebras Systems CBRS was valued at $56.4 billion in its May IPO. The stock surged in early trading but has since dropped by 31.1%. Among still-private chipmakers, SambaNova Systems carries the highest valuation at $11.0 billion after a recent new funding round, followed by Etched at $10.3 billion.

Here are the other top VC-backed semiconductor companies expected to go public, according to PitchBook’s VC Exit Predictor.

SambaNova Systems

• IPO probability: 97%
• Description: Developer of a chips-to-AI model computing platform that powers machine learning and data analytics.
• Capital raised: $2.48 billion
• Last known valuation: $11 billion

Etched

• IPO probability: 82%
• Description: Developer of rack-scale AI inference hardware for production workloads.
• Capital raised: $1.04 billion
• Last known valuation: $10.3 billion

Lightmatter

• IPO probability: 94%
• Description: Its photonic computing and interconnect hardware is designed for high-performance data processing and communication in AI infrastructure.
• Capital raised: $0.82 billion
• Last known valuation: $4.5 billion

Ayar Labs

• IPO probability: 94%
• Description: Its optical interconnect technology accelerates data movement in computing systems.
• Capital raised: $0.87 billion
• Last known valuation: $3.8 billion

SiFive

• IPO probability: 94%
• Description: Developer of customized and open-source-enabled semiconductors designed to democratize access to custom silicon.
• Capital raised: $0.77 billion
• Last known valuation: $3.65 billion

Tenstorrent

• IPO probability: 83%
• Description: Its application-specific integrated circuit processors provide training and adaptability to algorithms.
• Capital raised: $1.03 billion
• Last known valuation: $2.6 billion

d-Matrix

• IPO probability: 92%
• Description: Developer of an AI inference hardware and software platform to accelerate the deployment of generative AI in data centers.
• Capital raised: $0.45 billion
• Last known valuation: $2 billion