Demand for running AI models is still pulling in huge checks. San Francisco-based Fal, which hosts and runs AI video, image and audio models, has raised $1.3 billion in a Series F led by Bessemer Venture Partners, TechCrunch reports. Nvidia, Sound Ventures and T. Rowe Price joined. The round values Fal at $16 billion, double its $8 billion valuation in April, and Fal says it raised $1.65 billion across its Series E and F combined.
CEO Burkay Gur said the round is so large because serving demand takes more compute. «We hit a point in summer where we were not able to serve our customers and had to rate-limit them,» he said, according to SiliconANGLE. The money will go to compute and to hiring beyond the current 185 employees. Fal's annualized revenue passed $800 million earlier this year.
Rival Fireworks AI raised $1.5 billion at $17.5 billion in July. TechCrunch notes that gross margins across inference companies remain thin because compute is expensive to buy or lease.
