[SAN FRANCISCO] AI Startup Vercel raised US$300 million in a new funding round led by Accel and Singapore's Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC, raising a valuation of US$9.3 billion.
New investors, BlackRock, Stepstone, Coslaventur, Schroeder, Adams Street Partners and General Catalyst, have joined the round, the company said Tuesday (September 30). The startup is also implementing a tender offer to allow some early supporters and employees to sell shares worth around US$300 million.
Vercel develops tools that enable businesses to create web and AI applications in the cloud. Startups 10 years ago have recently gained interest from investors and customers as more companies rely on AI for business development. The announcement confirms previous reports on the lofty valuation of the Bloomberg company.
“Vercel has been the perfect place to build web applications for 10 years. As AI fundamentally changed what applications look like, it built its infrastructure to match that reality,” CEO Guillermo Rauch said in a statement.
The company said the cash inflow will be directed towards Vercel's AI cloud platform and an AI development agent called V0. The agent has over 3.5 million unique users. The company's customer base includes companies such as Adobe, Openai and Stripe.
Versel also continues to build an executive team that includes new members of Stripe, Capital One Financial Corp. and HashiCorp, the startup said.
Tender offers, which allow some employees to cash valuable stocks, has become an increasingly popular tactic for Hot AI companies as they seek to maintain top performers in the competitive job market. Bloomberg
