TL;DR: MatX, founded by former Google TPU engineers, raised $500M Series B to build chips that are 10x better than Nvidia GPUs for training LLMs. Led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness (Leopold Aschenbrenner’s fund). Chips shipping 2027.
The Numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Series B | $500 million |
| Series A (2024) | ~$100 million |
| 2024 Valuation | $300 million |
| Competitor (Etched) Valuation | $5 billion |
| First Chips | 2027 |
Why This Matters
MatX is one of the most serious Nvidia challengers in the AI chip space. The company was founded in 2023 by:
- Reiner Pope - Former lead of AI software development for Google TPUs
- Mike Gunter - Former lead designer of Google TPU hardware
These aren’t random founders. They literally built Google’s TPUs, the most successful non-Nvidia AI accelerators in existence.
The Investors
The round was led by:
- Jane Street - Quantitative trading firm known for technical depth
- Situational Awareness - Leopold Aschenbrenner’s fund (former OpenAI researcher who wrote the famous AI safety memo)
Other investors include:
- Marvell Technology
- Spark Capital
- Patrick and John Collison (Stripe co-founders)
The Competition
MatX’s closest competitor is Etched, which raised $500M at a $5B valuation in January 2026. Both are building specialized chips for transformer-based AI models.
The difference: MatX claims their chips will be 10x better at training LLMs than Nvidia GPUs. That’s a bold claim, but with ex-Google TPU architects, they have credibility.
What’s Next
The funding will help MatX produce chips with TSMC, with plans to start shipping in 2027. If they deliver on the 10x performance claim, this could be the first real threat to Nvidia’s dominance in AI training.
FAQ
Who founded MatX? Reiner Pope and Mike Gunter, both former Google engineers who led TPU development.
How much has MatX raised total? Approximately $600 million across Series A ($100M) and Series B ($500M).
When will MatX chips be available? The company plans to start shipping chips in 2027.
Who led the Series B? Jane Street and Situational Awareness (Leopold Aschenbrenner’s fund).
How does MatX compare to Etched? Both raised $500M rounds, but Etched’s valuation ($5B) suggests they may be further along.
Last verified: March 1, 2026
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