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Amazon, led by CEO Andy Jassy, frequently touts the benefits the company is reaping from the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Amazon got another boost from AI on Wednesday, rising 72% to close at $62.03 at the Nasdaq open, according to shares of Astera Labs, a company that specializes in data center chips for the cloud and AI. The performance increased Astera’s market value to approximately $9.5 billion.
Founded in 2017 by former executives of Texas Instruments, Astera Labs has a proud customer base that includes technology companies such as Nvidia, AMD, Intel, as well as Amazon. Amazon’s partnership with Astera Labs goes beyond just being a customer; In 2022, it became associated with technology company Astera and received a warrant allowing it to purchase up to 1.5 million Astera shares for $20.34 per stera share. An agreement amended the next year authorized Amazon for an additional 830,000 shares. Amazon owned 232,608 shares at the end of last year, according to a filing.
At Astera’s closing price on Wednesday, Amazon’s shares and warrants were worth approximately $144 million. But under the agreement, Amazon must commit to purchasing up to $650 million of Astera’s shares over the next few years to reap the benefits of the price increase and transfer the remaining shares. This is a big investment for Astera, considering its total sales last year rose from $79.9 million to $115.8 million in 2022.
Astera products recommended by Amazon will be designed to solve important problems. As noted in the company’s IPO prospectus, Astera Labs’ IPO success reflects investors’ need for business acumen. This coincides with the expectation that the social media platform Reddit will be sold on the New York Stock Exchange. The tech IPO industry has seen limited supply since 2021; Only a few companies went public during this time, including Arm Holdings, Instacart, and Klaviyo. Astera Labs’ successful entry into the public market reflects investors’ growing demand for investment expertise.