AI chip startups are now attacking Nvidia by eliminating DRAM, interconnects and compute-memory splits
deedydas · x · 2026-07-26
AI chip startups are splitting Nvidia’s stack into four new substrate bets
The post updates a prior list of next-gen AI chip startups and adds more coverage of interconnect and alternative substrates. The accompanying chart frames the sector as an attempt to attack data movement — not just compute — in order to break Nvidia’s dominance.
Key approaches highlighted:
- Eliminate DRAM: Groq
- Eliminate the interconnect: Cerebras
- Eliminate the compute/memory split: d-Matrix
- Eliminate server compute-centrism: Majestic
- Eliminate generality: Etched, Taalas, MatX
- Eliminate the $400M lithography machine: substrate-focused players
The image also maps a larger landscape of interconnect, optical compute, thermodynamic, and superconducting startups. It notes that roughly $18B of value now sits in interconnect, far more than the optical-compute, thermodynamic, or superconducting segments individually.
Related event: AI Chip Startups Target Nvidia's Dominance with $58B Valuation(4 posts)→
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