According to Bitcoin.com, San Francisco based data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) company VNet has raised $5 billion in its latest round of funding, which will value the company at $55 billion. Sources say that VNet plans to raise a total of $8 billion, which is expected to be the largest funding round of the year. According to reports, the latest round of funding from VNet aims to allow employees to sell shares, thereby reducing the need for an immediate initial public offering (IPO). However, although the IPO may not come soon, it is still possible to occur in the second half of 2025.
Although the report did not disclose the identities of the investors involved in the latest round of financing, it revealed well-known supporters of the company, including Nvidia, Capital One, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, Insight Partners, and Tiger Global. In the September 2023 financing, VNet raised $500 million, valuing the company at $43 billion.
Openai currently holds the record for the largest funding round of 2024, raising $6.6 billion in October. Billionaire Elon Musk's Xai has also raised $5 billion in funding, valuing the company at $50 billion. Another AI startup, Anthropic, has secured $400 million in funding from Amazon, bringing its total financing to $8 billion.