Fireworks AI Raises $250 Million, Reaches $4 Billion Valuation

AI infrastructure startup Fireworks AI has raised $250 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the company at $4 billion, reports The Wall Street Journal. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Index Ventures, and Evantic, with participation from existing investor Sequoia Capital.

The funding includes a $230 million primary round and a $20 million secondary component. Fireworks AI, founded by engineers behind PyTorch, provides developers with access to advanced AI chips and tools for running and optimizing open-source models. Its platform supports over 100 models and offers features like auto-scaling GPU resources and fine-tuning capabilities.

The company plans to use the new capital to hire more than 150 AI researchers, engineers, and sales staff, and to expand its GPU infrastructure. Fireworks AI currently powers AI applications for companies including Uber, Shopify, and GitLab.

Fireworks AI competes with major cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, as well as other inference-focused startups like Baseten and Together AI. The company’s growth reflects the broader industry shift from model training to inference, where AI systems are deployed to handle real-time workloads.