Market map · San Francisco
AI compute and inference market map: San Francisco
36 AI compute and inference startups based in San Francisco that have raised money in rounds we track, placed in 5 segments by what each says it does. Together they have raised $5.3B.
36startups on the map
5segments
$5.3Braised between them
GPU cloudsmost funded segment
Funding by segment
- GPU clouds$4.4B17
- Inference platforms$624M9
- Data centres and power$118M4
- Training and fine-tuning$105M3
- Retrieval and vector search$133M3
Where they are based
- United States36$5.3B
United StatesFounded
Earlier
112
113
14
15
116
17
118
119
20
221
122
523
424
525
126
13 without a founding year on record.
Total raised
- Under $1M13
- $1M to $10M7
- $10M to $50M7
- $50M to $250M7
- $250M to $1B1
- $1B and over1
Each dot is a startup: the year it was founded across, the total it has raised up (each line is ten times the one below). Pick a segment to pick it out.
23 of 36 startups shown; the rest have no founding year or amount on record.
- 1 to 2
- 3 to 7
- 8 to 24
- 25 to 99
- 100 and more
- United States36
Startups by country, 1 country in all.
Segment by segment
GPU clouds
17 startups · $4.4B raised
BasetenBaseten is a San Francisco-based company founded in 2019 that specializes in AI inference infrastructure.United States$4.0B
Prime IntellectPrime Intellect is a technology company based in Dover, Delaware, focused on building an open superintelligence stack.United States$180M
HEAVY.AIHEAVY.AI is a software company based in San Francisco, California, specializing in a GPU-accelerated database and visual analytics platform.United States$55M
HyperbolicHyperbolic provides high‐performance GPU clusters and managed inference for AI startups and ML teams that need reliable capacity oUnited States$42M
LuminalLuminal is an AI infrastructure and machine learning compiler company that focuses on enhancing model inference and deployment speed on GPUs.United States$28M
Thunder ComputeThunder Compute is a cloud computing company founded in 2024 and backed by Y Combinator.United States$13M
Tera AITera AI is a San Francisco-based startup founded in 2023 by Tony Zhang.United States$8.0M
ElotlElotl is a San Francisco-based company that specializes in developing a nodeless Kubernetes platform and AI infrastructure engine.United States$5.0M
Inference platforms
9 startups · $624M raised
Gimlet LabsGimlet Labs is an applied AI research and product company located in San Francisco.United States$380M
InferactInferact is an AI infrastructure startup founded by the creators of vLLM, a leading open-source LLM inference engine.United States$150M
ChalkChalk is a data platform designed for AI inference, enabling organizations to deploy, manage, and scale real-time machine learningUnited States$51M
FriendliAIFriendliAI is a generative AI infrastructure company based in Redwood City, California, with roots in Seoul, South Korea.United States$20M
Featherless.aiFeatherless AI is a technology company based in San Francisco, founded in 2023 by Eugene Cheah, Harrison Vanderbyl, and Wesley George.United States$20M
Infinity Artificial Intelligence InstituteAutomated AI Research for Inference OptimizationUnited States$1.8M
each::labseach::labs is a private AI software company based in San Francisco, specializing in a unified platform for AI model inference.United States$1.0M
KuzcoKuzco is a marketplace for distributed LLM inference network.United States$500K
Data centres and power
4 startups · $118M raised
Watney RoboticsWatney Robotics develops autonomous robotic systems to manage data center and supercomputing infrastructure.United States$101M
Unlimited IndustriesUnlimited Industries is an AI-native construction company based in San Francisco, founded in 2025.United States$12M
Internet BackyardInternet Backyard is a startup founded by Mai Trinh that focuses on building financial infrastructure for the AI compute economy.United States$4.5M
ArchiLabsArchiLabs is a data center design automation company that enhances mission-critical design workflows by connecting models, engineeUnited States$500K
Training and fine-tuning
3 startups · $105M raised
RadixArkRadixArk is an AI infrastructure company based in Palo Alto/Redwood City, California.United States$100M
PipeshiftPipeshift is a San Francisco-based AI infrastructure startup that provides a modular orchestration platform for training, deployinUnited States$4.5M
Cumulus LabsCumulus Labs develops software for creating, running, and managing virtual labs and hands-on training environments.United States$500K
Retrieval and vector search
3 startups · $133M raised
Parallel Web SystemsParallel Web Systems is an AI infrastructure company focused on enhancing how AI agents interact with the web.United States$100M
Judgment LabsJudgment Labs is an AI infrastructure company specializing in Agent Behavior Monitoring (ABM).United States$32M
OramaOrama is a San Francisco-based AI research lab and software company that specializes in search and AI infrastructure.United States$500K
How this map is made. Every startup here has raised money in rounds we track, and is based in San Francisco. It joins the map when its sectors, read from its rounds, or the opening of its own description say it works in AI compute and inference, and goes to the first segment whose words it carries. Each segment shows its best-funded first. Rebuilt nightly; updated 15 November 2026.
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Who backs AI compute and inference?
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