Baseten Nears $1.5B Round at a $13B Valuation — New Surge in Inference

Friends, sharing an AI update: Baseten is close to a $1.5B round at a $13B valuation, reports the WSJ.

What happened:
- Five months ago Series E: $300M at $5B; prior Series D: $150M — rapid escalation.
- WSJ cites a split-priced deal: some investors at $13B, others at $11B; co-leads include Spark, Sands, Altimeter, Wellington.
- Founded in 2019, Baseten focuses on inference—routing requests to the best and most cost-effective models, including open-source.

Why it matters: underscores VC fervor for inference layers and the risk of accelerated revaluation.

How should this shape our investment and product priorities?

#AI #inference #startups