SemiAnalysis, Dylan Patel's chip-research shop, just bought its way into markets coverage.
SemiAnalysis has acquired Citrini Research, the thematic investment-research outfit founded by James van Geelen, for an undisclosed sum — and van Geelen is reportedly planning to launch a new fund. Bloomberg first reported the deal. Van Geelen stays on as Citrini's CEO, which suggests the research brand survives as its own unit rather than being folded into SemiAnalysis reports.
Why it matters: this is the moment where AI infrastructure analysis and public-markets research officially merged. SemiAnalysis has been required reading for anyone tracking GPU supply chains, custom silicon roadmaps, and data center economics since Patel founded it in 2020, with headcount reported at over 50 and possibly approaching 90. Citrini is younger — founded in 2023 — but its Substack reaches hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and it has raised roughly $5.05 million through December 2025. Its specialty is exactly the trade SemiAnalysis could see coming but never fully covered: how AI infrastructure spending ripples through public markets, from power producers to networking suppliers.
The take: consolidation at the research layer is a leading indicator. When the people who map compute supply chains and the people who trade on them combine under one roof, sell-side research has a real competitor with no bank to offend. Every serious AI infrastructure thesis now flows through fewer, bigger desks — and the two most influential ones just became one.
What to watch: whether Citrini's fund plans continue under SemiAnalysis ownership, or whether the new vehicle stays fully separate — the answer will tell you how much independence investors can expect from the combined research operation.
If the analysts mapping the AI buildout now own a market-moving research brand, who is left to independently question the numbers they publish? Tell us in the comments.
Sources: Bloomberg · Crypto Briefing · Techmeme
