The California-based startup’s revenue has grown 20-fold in a year, as investor appetite for companies powering the AI inference layer shows no signs of cooling
Baseten, a California-based AI infrastructure startup co-founded by Australians, has closed a $1.5 billion funding round at a $13 billion valuation, marking its fourth capital raise in just 18 months and cementing its position as one of the hottest companies in the generative AI supply chain.
The round was led by US-based asset managers Sands Capital and Wellington Management. Australian venture capital firm Blackbird VC also participated, contributing what it described as the largest single investment in its history, though it did not disclose the exact figure.
Baseten’s core offering is software and infrastructure that allows companies to build, customise, and deploy their own AI models — positioning itself as a cost-effective alternative to frontier model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. The company has carved out its niche in the fast-growing “inference” segment, the stage at which trained AI models generate real-world outputs for end users and enterprises.
That bet appears to be paying off. Baseten said its revenue grew 20-fold over the past year, a figure that helps explain why investors are piling in despite the lofty valuation.
Blackbird partner Michael Tolo called the firm’s decision to increase its stake “a signal of conviction,” adding that the shift in unit economics and competitive leverage within the AI market represents the most significant change he has witnessed in the sector to date.
The freshly raised capital will be directed toward expanding computing capacity, software development, and hiring, the company said.
The deal underscores a broader trend: as AI model development matures, the infrastructure layer enabling its commercialisation is rapidly becoming where the money flows.
