Fluidstack, an innovative startup dedicated to creating specialized data centers for artificial intelligence companies, is reportedly negotiating a significant funding round of $1 billion, which could elevate its valuation to an impressive $18 billion, as indicated by recent reports.
If this funding round is successful, it would represent a remarkable increase in Fluidstack's valuation, more than doubling it in just a few months.
Earlier in December, the company was in the process of raising approximately $700 million at a valuation of $7.5 billion. Although the completion of that funding round was not officially announced, it was said to be led by Situational Awareness, a fund focused on artificial general intelligence, founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, with backing from notable figures such as the Collison brothers from Stripe and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman.
As of February, discussions were still in progress regarding this funding round, with Google considering a potential investment of $100 million, highlighting the interest from major tech players.
The excitement surrounding Fluidstack is largely due to a landmark $50 billion partnership with Anthropic, announced in November, to construct custom data centers tailored to Anthropic's specific needs in Texas and New York. Unlike traditional hyperscalers like AWS, Fluidstack's infrastructure is uniquely designed for AI applications.
This partnership has positioned Fluidstack as a rising star in the AI sector, boosting its visibility in the U.S. market. Previously reliant on AWS and Google Cloud for its Claude AI, Anthropic's rapid growth necessitated expanded infrastructure capabilities, and this collaboration provides them with greater control over their cloud resources.
In response to this pivotal partnership, Fluidstack, which originated from Oxford and has been gaining traction in Europe's AI landscape, made the strategic decision to relocate its headquarters to New York. In a further commitment to U.S. opportunities, the company recently withdrew from a major €10 billion AI project in France.
Besides Anthropic, Fluidstack serves a diverse clientele that includes notable organizations such as Meta and Poolside, and it has previously partnered with Mistral to enhance enterprise AI infrastructure.
Fluidstack has not provided comments regarding this latest funding round.
