Vultr secures first equity financing, valued at $3.5bn

Vultr, a major player in the cloud infrastructure domain, has announced it has secured its first equity financing at a valuation of $3.5 billion. The financing was led by LuminArx Capital Management and AMD Ventures.

This marks the first time Vultr has sought external equity financing, having been self-funded since its inception over a decade ago. The infusion of new capital is set to fuel Vultr's expansion in AI infrastructure and cloud computing on a global scale.

Founded in 2014 by David Aninowsky, the company provides scalability, compliance, and a robust price-to-performance ratio for AI infrastructure and cloud services. With 32 cloud data centre regions spread across six continents, Vultr distinguishes itself as an independent, full-stack AI infrastructure and cloud computing platform accessible worldwide.

David Aninowsky, Founder and Executive Chairman of Vultr, expressed his enthusiasm about the new partnerships and growth prospects, saying, "We are pleased to welcome our new equity investors as we accelerate growth to meet the needs of enterprises and businesses of all sizes globally. I have never been more proud of what this extraordinary team has done to deliver easy-to-use, high-performance cloud infrastructure globally."

J.J. Kardwell, CEO of Vultr, acknowledged the backing from LuminArx and AMD as pivotal to their expansion strategy. He stated, "Building upon the foundation created by David Aninowsky, Vultr has become the leading cloud infrastructure alternative to traditional hyperscalers. As we continue our global expansion, LuminArx's collaborative, innovative approach and AMD's strategic impact enable Vultr to further accelerate growth in AI infrastructure and cloud computing, creating the category-defining independent cloud infrastructure company."

A commissioned report by 451 Research notes that enterprises are expected to push AI beyond training to the edge in 2025. This new funding will enhance Vultr's capabilities in expanding its cloud GPU fleet to better serve businesses and innovators working on AI development globally.

Tanisha Keshava Bellur, Partner at LuminArx, expressed confidence in Vultr's management and strategic direction, commenting, "We are excited to partner with Vultr to accelerate the growth of a standout leader in the cloud infrastructure industry. Among the many management teams and companies we've evaluated in the AI infrastructure space, Vultr distinguishes itself through exceptional leadership, outstanding execution, and a proven track record of delivering high-performance cloud infrastructure for over a decade."

From AMD's perspective, Mathew Hein, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Corporate Development at AMD, highlighted Vultr's experience and potential: "Vultr's deep experience delivering secure, compliant and scalable cloud infrastructure and their deployment of AMD Instinct accelerators positions them as an innovative cloud solutions provider. We share Vultr's mission to empower enterprises and AI innovators with unparalleled access to high-performance compute for AI model development and deployment and are proud to support their growth."

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as the financial advisor to Vultr for this transaction, underpinning the strategic financial management involved in the equity raise.