As semiconductor stocks slide, these chip startup IPOs could stall

As semiconductor stocks slide, these chip startup IPOs could stall Michael Bodley Wed, July 29, 2026 at 1:28 AM GMT+2 2 min read ^IXIC Semiconductor stocks slid Tuesday amid concerns that overheated AI spending and intensifying US-China chip competition could affect the robust pipeline of venture-backed chip startups already lined up to go public. The market's volatility could push those startups to delay going public, said PitchBook senior analyst Harrison Rolfes. Following SpaceX 's historic offering and with OpenAI and Anthropic already waiting in the wings , many late-stage startups were already considering taking advantage of the current IPO season.

"The sell-off repriced the exit pipeline, so every chip startup that marked itself against Q2's peak now faces a bid-ask gap with public buyers, which historically resolves as deferral rather than cancellation," Rolfes said. Sign up for The Daily Pitch newsletter Subscribe As losses clustered around chips, the Nasdaq slipped 3. 2% over the last five days, paring the index's 2026 gain to 7.

1%. Semiconductor companies' stocks, including Micron , Sandisk , Nvidia and AMD , all declined. A major headwind for US semiconductor stocks was Chinese chipmaker CXMT 's Shanghai IPO on Monday, which raised a domestic record of $8.

6 billion in proceeds. Wall Street has been worried that Chinese peers could become a significant threat to US chipmakers. The stock slump now tests private market appetite: whether investors keep backing chip startups at peak-cycle marks, and whether those companies can still target IPOs in late 2026 and early 2027.

Semiconductor exits have picked up this year. In one example, Cerebras Systems was valued at $56. 4 billion in its May IPO.

Cerebras' stock surged in early trading but has since dropped by 31. 1%. Among still-private chipmakers, SambaNova Systems carries the highest valuation at $11 billion after a recent new funding round, followed by Etched at $10.

3 billion. Here are the other top VC-backed semiconductor companies expected to go public, according to PitchBook's VC Exit Predictor .