Nexthop AI launches with $110M in funding to build more efficient Al infrastructure for hyperscalers

Nexthop AI, launched from stealth today with $110 million in funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Additional investors include Kleiner Perkins, WestBridge Capital, Battery Ventures and Emergent Ventures. This funding will accelerate the development of Nexthop AI’s pioneering networking solutions for cloud and hyperscale AI clusters.

To facilitate the staggering scale requirements of AI training and inference, hyperscalers are spending billions in evolving their GPU and networking deployments with upwards of two gigawatts of capacity annually. These companies also require highly optimised hardware and software infrastructure tunable for datacenter build outs.

“The world’s largest cloud providers need a new generation of networking capabilities to keep pace with the demands of AI workloads,” said Guru Chahal, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “Nexthop AI is filling a critical gap in this $35 billion market with its deep domain expertise, pioneering technology and customised solutions, positioning the company as the go-to partner for leading cloud providers, seeking to seize the AI revolution.”

Nexthop AI specialises in building custom networking solutions for the hyperscalers, which integrate seamlessly into their optimised cloud stack. This includes building networking hardware designed to each customer’s specifications, a network operating system of their choice hardened by Nexthop AI, along with pre-tested optical and electrical interconnects from the customer’s diverse supply chain.

“Hyperscalers need the ecosystem to innovate with them to accelerate their infrastructure deployments,” said Anshul Sadana, CEO of Nexthop AI. “Nexthop AI is a force multiplier, as it partners with and works as an extension of the cloud companies’ engineering teams. This disruptive model enables cloud companies to build the most cost and power-efficient AI solutions.”

The network has historically played a critical role in underpinning each wave of technology innovation, including mainframe to PC, client-server to cloud, and now the AI wave. Nexthop AI’s sophisticated products, working seamlessly with open-source Network Operating Systems, such as SONiC, provide the agility and customisation needed by the hyperscalers. Their overarching expertise in hardware, software, photonics, and network architecture enables highly optimised platforms for world-class AI infrastructure.