Lets face it, who in their right mind is going to pay Alpha anything but pennies on the dollar for their chips when they know the barrel they are bent over. They may scrape enough money and chips to set up a farm of their own but they are pretty much finished as a company in their current form. There is no way they can sell that ghetto engineered piece of junk for anything near $10000 so forget getting any new customers, their reputation is pretty much in tatters now anyway. They are in complete damage control melt down at the moment. Hanging on by their fingernails.
I don't believe they're worried about receiving final payment or selling the gear off at all, which is part of what's leading my to my conclusion. Particularly considering it's all paid for already.
If their overhead costs are anything near KNC's costs (KNC's overhead per unit is roughly 25% for startup, 15% for batches 2+), and I'll presume AT's to be higher (20-30%) due to outsourcing and lower volume, the partial-deposit paid for everything in full for the first batch.
When that tanked, they took some more money from folks as well as a couple million from an 'angel investor'. This secondary backer was most likely promised the entire inventory of non-paid orders, as collateral. Keep in mind he essentially paid for their ASIC to be unlocked from tapeout prison, and this money likely went from the investor directly to the tapeout company--AT didn't need to touch the money and you won't see it on books.
This also relieves AT from any debt, and allows them footing for a batch 2 (if they were to pursue one). This method, which I've seen in the business world, provides them with full solvency, a way to make profit, and a way out, with $0 risk to themselves. Clues to their doing this with the investor are very clear in the T&C--for anyone asking for a refund, your order will be forfeit.
This way, whether they receive fully-paid invoices when the time comes, or if the gear ends up in the pits, they are out nothing, and their obligation with the investor has been fulfilled. They may not have banked on increasing costs for a legal fund, but everything else I believe they have covered from what I can infer and calculate.
Meanwhile, they could mine on the gear until it is claimed, and if their tax system is anything like ours, they can write these off as business losses just like we can in the US, for tax credit. These people are accountants, their family has been in business for like 40 years with numerous financial and venture operations, as well as multi-million dollar trusts.
Trust me, they're not dumb. This isn't their first rodeo, it's just their first digital rodeo.
Remember, accountants are paid to risk other people's money. Not theirs.