AI inference company Baseten is close to finalizing a $1.5 billion funding round at a $13 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal, just five months after raising a $300 million Series E at a $5 billion valuation.
If finalized, the round would represent a 160% increase in valuation in less than half a year. The deal is reportedly structured as a split-priced round, with some investors coming in at a $13 billion valuation and others at $11 billion. The round is said to be co-led by Spark Capital, Sands Capital, Altimeter Capital, and Wellington Management.
Launched in 2019, Baseten operates in what many are calling the AI inference gold rush, handling the computationally intensive process of running AI models after user prompts are submitted. The company promises fast inference while controlling costs by routing requests to the best-fit model, including competent open-source alternatives.
Baseten’s rapid fundraising pace reflects surging investor demand for inference infrastructure as AI adoption scales. The company’s Series E closed just five months ago, which itself came nine months after a $150 million Series D.
Source: TechCrunch
