TechCrunch reported Monday that inference-chip startup Etched is fielding early investment offers valuing the company at $40 billion to $50 billion, according to people familiar with the bids. That would be roughly double the $21 billion mark set in September, when Jane Street led a $700 million round, itself only two months after a $300 million Sequoia round at $10.3 billion.

The pitch underneath the numbers is a claimed $1 billion customer order book and a first delivered system to Jane Street, which is both an anchor investor and an early customer. Etched says its chips process tokens faster and cheaper than Nvidia's, and it is trying to prove that at scale from a 10-megawatt Silicon Valley data center and a facility near TSMC in Taiwan.

The talks are early and terms could change, with TechCrunch noting it is unclear whether the offers are primary or secondary, and Etched declined to comment. Treat as rumor until a financing is confirmed.