AI inference chip startup Etched has completed a new $700 million financing round, valuing the company at $21 billion post-money. The round was led by Jane Street, with participation from Sequoia, a16z, Tiger Global, and others. On the same day, the company also disclosed its first customer: Wall Street quant giant Jane Street. Etched focuses on inference-only chips and claims that under its architecture, communication tasks take about 700 nanoseconds, compared with about 4,000 nanoseconds for Nvidia's Blackwell. It also claims to be the first AI chip startup to succeed on its first tape-out. The new force in the AI inference sector is accelerating fundraising, which may intensify competitive pressure on leaders such as Nvidia. The related industrial chain is worth continued tracking. $NVDA for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.