Two AI startups merged to establish a full-stack cloud, the first built from the outset with AI in mind.
New York-based Lightning AI, a cloud platform where developers run AI apps, is joining up with Voltage Park, a GPU provider based in San Francisco, Calif., with the pair operating under the Lightning AI name.
The merger sees the pair bring together AI software and on-demand GPU compute in a single AI cloud designed for training, deploying and running AI models and applications. While financials for the deal were not disclosed, Lightning AI’s founder and CEO William Falcon told Forbes that the combined company has more than $500 million of annual recurring revenue and is valued in excess of $2.5 billion.
Lightning’s more than 400,000 users, including individual developers, startups and large enterprises, will now gain access to more than 35,000 Nvidia H100, B200, and GB300 GPUs based in six data centers across the U.S., according to a press release.
Falcon said traditional clouds were designed for hosting and building websites and services. Generative AI, however, requires a different set of tools built for GPU-based workloads such as large-scale inference, multinode training and massive data preparation.
The gap between what’s on offer and what’s needed has meant there are too many single-use tools deployed across the AI lifecycle, driving up complexity and costs. “Imagine instead of using an iPhone, having to carry a separate calculator, flashlight, radio, and more — that’s where AI tooling is today,” Falcon said in the press release.
Now, customers of the merged company are promised “purpose-built AI software with enterprise-grade reliability at neocloud GPU prices.”
Saurabh Giri, former chief product and technology officer at Voltage Park and now CPTO at Lightning AI, spelled out the uniqueness of the proposition, saying in the release: “Most neoclouds sell raw GPU capacity without a deep software stack. Most AI platforms depend on third-party clouds underneath. We’re software-first and infrastructure-native, and designed end-to-end for AI workloads.”
Existing customers of Lightning AI will benefit from the expanded functionality at no additional cost, with no change to contracts. They will also still be able to use other cloud services if that is their preference.
