Fluidstack AI Data Center Startup in $1B Funding Talks
▼ Summary
– Fluidstack is in talks to raise $1 billion at an $18 billion valuation, potentially led by Jane Street.
– This would more than double its valuation from a reported $7.5 billion round it was seeking just months earlier.
– The startup secured a major $50 billion deal with Anthropic to build custom AI data centers in Texas and New York.
– Following the Anthropic deal, Fluidstack relocated its headquarters from the U.K. to New York and refocused on U.S. opportunities.
– Its customer base includes other major AI companies like Meta, Poolside, Black Forest Labs, and it was previously known for working with Mistral.
Fluidstack, a company constructing specialized AI data centers, is reportedly negotiating a massive $1 billion funding round that would value the firm at approximately $18 billion. This potential investment, which may be spearheaded by the trading firm Jane Street, represents a dramatic surge in the startup’s worth in a very short timeframe. Late last year, the company was said to be raising $700 million at a $7.5 billion valuation, a round led by the AGI-focused fund Situational Awareness and backed by prominent figures like Stripe’s Collison brothers and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. As recently as February, Google was reportedly considering a $100 million contribution to that earlier round.
The intense investor interest is fueled by a landmark agreement. In November, Anthropic announced a staggering $50 billion deal with Fluidstack to build custom data centers in Texas and New York. This partnership is a major strategic shift for Anthropic, which primarily relies on AWS and Google Cloud, and signals a growing demand for dedicated AI infrastructure beyond traditional hyperscalers. The deal provides Anthropic with greater control over its computational capacity as its models, like Claude, experience rapid growth.
This pivotal contract was transformative for Fluidstack itself. Originally a European entity spun out of Oxford University, the company relocated its headquarters from the U. K. to New York following the Anthropic announcement. It also withdrew from a planned €10 billion AI project in France to concentrate fully on its expanding U. S. operations. Beyond Anthropic, Fluidstack’s client roster includes other significant AI players such as Meta, Poolside, and Black Forest Labs. Prior to its breakthrough with Anthropic, the startup was perhaps best known for providing infrastructure to the French AI firm Mistral.
The company has not publicly commented on the current funding talks. If finalized, this new round would solidify Fluidstack’s position as a critical infrastructure provider in the high-stakes race to build and deploy advanced artificial intelligence.
(Source: TechCrunch)
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