Sequoia-Backed Chip Startup Nuvacore Reportedly Seeking $2.5B Valuation Before Launching a Product

Six-month-old microchip startup Nuvacore is reportedly raising hundreds of millions of dollars at a roughly $2.5B valuation to develop a new central processor for data centers. The Sequoia-backed company has not yet developed a product, instead adopting an unconventional strategy to build core chip functionality before committing to a specific architecture like x86 or Arm. Nuvacore was founded by Gerard Williams, John Bruno, and Ram Srinivasan; Williams previously sold his startup Nuvia to Qualcomm for $1.4B in 2021. The funding push arrives as venture capital appetite for AI hardware surges, with investors pouring about $10.7B into semiconductor startups in the first five months of 2026 alone.