{
  "slug": "etched",
  "name": "Etched",
  "description": "Etched is a hardware startup developing specialized chips known as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) designed specifically to run transformer-based artificial intelligence models. Their flagship product, the Sohu chip, aims to provide significantly higher performance and efficiency than general-purpose GPUs by hardcoding the transformer architecture into the silicon.",
  "url": "https://optimly.ai/brand/etched",
  "websiteUrl": null,
  "logoUrl": "",
  "baiScore": 62,
  "bai_tier_status": "active",
  "bai_score_status": "active",
  "archetype": "Challenger",
  "archetype_status": "active",
  "category": "Semiconductors",
  "categorySlug": null,
  "keyFacts": [],
  "aiReadiness": [],
  "competitors": [],
  "competitorsProse": null,
  "inboundCompetitors": [],
  "aiAlternatives": [],
  "parentBrand": null,
  "subBrands": [],
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-21T06:01:04.63+00:00",
  "verifiedVitals": {
    "website": "etched.ai",
    "founded": "2022",
    "headquarters": "Cupertino, California",
    "pricing_model": "Enterprise/Custom (Hardware procurement and cloud deployment models)",
    "core_products": "Sohu (Transformer ASIC)",
    "key_differentiator": "Etched is the only company building an ASIC where the transformer architecture is 'burned into' the silicon, trading general-purpose flexibility for massive performance gains on modern LLMs.",
    "target_markets": "Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), Frontier Model Labs, Enterprise AI Infrastructure",
    "employee_count": "11-50",
    "funding_stage": "Series A",
    "subcategory": "AI Hardware & Computing"
  },
  "intentTags": null,
  "timestamp": 1779343292292
}