Vast Data is hunting a fresh funding round with a massive jump in valuation. The 9-year-old company aimed for about $25 billion earlier this year, up from its $9 billion valuation in December 2023.
The deal isn’t locked yet. Terms and valuation could shift, sources say. The price was considered high even with strong growth. VCs are watching closely.
Vast Data sells AI-friendly data storage software paired with hardware from Supermicro, HPE, Cisco, and others. It ditches traditional tiered storage in favor of a unified flash storage approach. 
AI demand is fueling Vast’s growth. Its platform handles all data types in one place, speeding up data access and lowering AI training costs.
Clients include Pixar, ServiceNow, xAI, CoreWeave, and Lambda. These use Vast’s storage tech for enterprise and AI cloud workloads.
The company reported $200 million ARR at Series E 18 months ago. CEO Renen Hallak said on a podcast last May that Vast grows 2.5x to 3x year-over-year and has been free cash flow positive for four years.
Vast competes with old guard Pure Storage ($17B market cap) and Weka ($1.6B valuation). It’s also building database tech to rival Databricks.
The startup has raised $381 million total from Fidelity, NEA, BOND Capital, and Drive Capital.
Vast didn’t respond to requests for comment.
