StartupWiki is a community-driven AI-powered research directory of global startup ventures. Explore in-depth profiles of AI, Biotech, CleanTech, FinTech, Cybersecurity, and other deep-tech startups with funding data, financial metrics, competitive analysis, and team insights.
Browse categories: AI & Machine Learning, FinTech, Biotech, Cybersecurity, CleanTech, Quantum Computing, and more.
Browse all startups A-Z for the complete directory.
Read our blog for startup insights and deep dives.
Sohu — the transformer-only chip betting it can beat NVIDIA at inference
HQ: Cupertino, CA, United States | Founded: 2022 | Employees: ~100 (2026, est.) | Stage: Late Stage VC ($10B+ valuation, 2026) | Website: https://www.etched.com
Etched was founded in 2022 by Gavin Uberti (CEO) and Chris Zhu (CTO), two Harvard students who dropped out to build AI hardware — following early work on AI accelerators at OctoML (and the 'Prod' project that predated Etched). Their thesis is simple and radical: the transformer architecture — invented in 2017 and now powering virtually every frontier model (GPT, Claude, Llama, Gemini) — is not a passing phase, so why waste transistors on generality? Sohu, Etched's flagship chip, is hardwired for transformers: attention and feed-forward layers are implemented in silicon rather than executed in software, which the company says delivers up to 20x faster inference than an NVIDIA H100 at a fraction of the power.\n\nThe bet requires extraordinary conviction — if the industry shifts to a fundamen
Browse: Home | Blog | About | All Startups A-Z | View full profile on StartupWiki