Upscale AI, a U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) networking startup, is in talks to raise up to $200 million in fresh capital. The move would mark its third funding round in just seven months since its launch in September 2025, when it closed a $100 million seed round co-led by Mayfield and Maverick Silicon. The development further underscores growing investor interest in companies building the networking infrastructure that powers large AI systems.
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Trade NVDA with leverageUpscale AI Eyes $2 Billion Valuation in Proposed Funding
Upscale AI’s latest funding round, if finalized, would value the company at approximately $2 billion, according to Bloomberg reports. Interestingly, the proposed funding follows a 2025 seed round and a $200 million Series A in January 2026. These funding rounds had attracted high-stakes investors such as Tiger Global Management, Premji Invest, Xora Innovation, Prosperity7, Intel Capital, a division of Intel (INTC), and Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate capital arm of Qualcomm (QCOM).
The investment from these firms pushed Upscale AI’s total capital to over $300 million. It also marked the company’s transition into unicorn status. Notably, Upscale AI has said it will use its new funding to rapidly expand its engineering, sales, and operations teams, particularly as it moves toward commercial deployment of its full-stack networking platform.
Upscale AI Moves to Challenge Cisco and Broadcom in AI Market
Upscale AI’s latest funding round, which comes less than a year after its launch, makes it one of the fastest-rising infrastructure startups in the current AI investment cycle. More notably, Upscale AI has yet to release a commercial product. However, the company said it is building a full-stack AI infrastructure platform. The AI platform will focus on specialized chips and networking systems designed to effectively connect large clusters of AI hardware.
Barun Kar, the CEO and co-founder of Upscale AI, has described the opportunity as “a once-in-a-generation chance to build the open AI networking platform the industry has been waiting for.”
If the new round closes successfully, Upscale AI could emerge as a challenger to top technology firms like Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Broadcom (AVGO), which continue to expand rapidly in the fast-growing AI networking market.
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