Ballistic Ventures targets $490 million across two new funds
The cybersecurity investor is seeking $360 million for its third flagship fund and $130 million for Ballistic Ventures Fund B. Neither had recorded sales when filed.
Fal raises $1.3 billion at $16 billion valuation
Bessemer Venture Partners led the latest financing, while Fal said its Series E and F rounds brought in a combined $1.65 billion.
Fal, which provides infrastructure for running AI video, image and audio models, raised $1.3 billion in a Series F financing that valued it at $16 billion, according to a media report. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round, with Nvidia, Sound Ventures and T. Rowe Price also investing.
The valuation is twice the $8 billion level reached in April. The San Francisco startup announced its Series E and F financings together, saying they raised $1.65 billion combined. Sequoia led the earlier financing.
The fundraising comes as demand rises for inference, which uses already-trained AI models to produce outputs, particularly among customers using open-source models. Fal’s annualized revenue exceeded $800 million, according to the media report.
Other inference providers, including Baseten, Fireworks AI and Modal, have been expanding rapidly and securing substantial funding at increased valuations. However, purchasing or renting computing capacity keeps gross margins thin, according to several people familiar with the finances of inference companies.