AI inference startup Baseten is reportedly raising $1.5 billion at a $13 billion valuation, just months after its previous mega-round, highlighting the enormous investor interest in the inference layer of AI.
Startup Baseten is reportedly close to finalizing a $1.5 billion round at a $13 billion as the “inference gold rush" marches on.
# AI inference startup Baseten reportedly raising $1.5B months after its last mega-round | TechCrunch
Source: [https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/18/ai-inference-startup-baseten-reportedly-raising-1-5b-months-after-its-last-mega-round/](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/18/ai-inference-startup-baseten-reportedly-raising-1-5b-months-after-its-last-mega-round/)
In Brief
Posted:
2:20 PM PDT · June 18, 2026
**Image Credits:**Nuthawut Somsuk / Getty ImagesAI inference company Baseten is close to finalizing a stunning $1\.5 billion funding round at a $13 billion valuation,[the Wall Street Journal reports](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-13-billion-ai-startup-betting-on-cheaper-alternatives-to-openai-anthropic-b9679603?mod=tech_lead_pos1)\. Just five months ago, the startup announced that it had raised a[$300 million Series E](https://www.baseten.co/blog/announcing-baseten-s-300m-series-e/)at a $5 billion valuation\. And that round was just nine months after raising a[$150 million Series D\.](https://www.baseten.co/blog/announcing-baseten-150m-series-d/)
If finalized, this latest round would represent a 160% increase in valuation in less than half a year\. However, the WSJ reports that this is a[split\-priced round](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/03/why-ai-startups-are-selling-the-same-equity-at-two-different-prices/), a tactic startups are using to boost their headline valuation and make lead investors look good on paper\. Some investors in this latest funding round are reportedly coming in at a $13 billion valuation, while others at $11 billion, sources told the Journal\. This deal is said to be co\-led by Spark Capital, Sands Capital, Altimeter Capital, and Wellington Management\.
Launched in 2019, Baseten is a startup benefiting from what The Next Wave hailed the “[inference gold rush](https://thenextweb.com/news/baseten-1-5bn-round-13bn-valuation-ai-inference),” in which VCs are pouring enormous amounts of money into companies building the inference layer\. Inference is what the model does after a user submits a prompt\. Baseten promises to handle inference quickly while controlling costs by routing requests to the best\-for\-task model, especially to competent, less\-expensive open source alternatives\.
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