Modal vs Nebius

Modal Hits $1B ARR, Raises $750M Series D at $15.75B Valuation

Modal, an AI infrastructure startup, announced it has crossed $1 billion in annualized run rate and raised a $750 million Series D round at a $15.75 billion valuation, led by Accel. The company's usage has tripled since its Series C and grown more than 15x year-over-year. Modal's Sandboxes product, launched in 2023 in response to developers using LLMs to generate code, has become a $300 million run rate product on its own, with nearly 3 billion sandboxes spun up and scaling to a million concurrent. The funding round marks Modal's transition from an infra unicorn to an infra decacorn, positioning it as a key player in the AI infrastructure space.

• Modal raised a $750M Series D at a $15.75B valuation, led by Accel.
• Modal crossed $1B in annualized run rate.
• Usage has tripled since Series C and grown over 15x year-over-year.

Runtime recap: the full keynote, VM Sandboxes, Modal Clusters, and more.

Modal announces a runtime product update with VM Sandboxes and Modal Clusters, as highlighted in a blog post.

Modal Labs closing in on $750M round at $15.75B valuation

AI inference infrastructure provider Modal Labs is nearing a $750 million funding round led by Accel at a $15.75 billion valuation, according to a source. This would more than triple its valuation from $4.65 billion in May. The round comes amid surging demand for inference services, with other startups like Baseten, Fireworks, and Fal also raising at higher valuations. Modal Labs, founded in 2021 by Erik Bernhardsson and Akshat Bubna, provides infrastructure for training and running AI models without managing servers. The company has surpassed $300 million in annualized revenue as of May. The funding talks follow a security incident in July where a customer's data was compromised, but Modal's platform was not breached.

• Modal Labs is nearing a $750 million funding round led by Accel at a $15.75 billion valuation.
• The round would more than triple Modal Labs' valuation from $4.65 billion in May.
• Modal Labs has surpassed $300 million in annualized revenue as of May.

Rising Interest Rates Hit AI Data Center Builders

Rising interest rates are putting pressure on AI data center builders, particularly neoclouds like CoreWeave, Nebius, Nscale, and Firmus. CoreWeave's bonds are trading at a 15% yield, and its stock has fallen 30% but remains 60% above IPO price. Firmus pulled its IPO after investors balked at a $30 billion valuation. Nscale's IPO is shaky amid doubts about its $35 billion valuation. Anthropic's revenue growth is slowing, with Q3 revenue near $17 billion, up 46% quarter-over-quarter but below previous 100% growth. Investors now discuss a $1.5 trillion valuation for Anthropic, below the $2 trillion target. The article also covers a lawsuit by Valar Atomics founder against investor Day One Ventures over pro-rata rights, and Ramp data showing AI token spending flattening.

• CoreWeave's bonds trade at a 15% yield, stock down 30% but 60% above IPO price.
• Firmus Grid pulled its IPO after investors rejected a $30 billion valuation.
• Anthropic reported Q3 revenue near $17 billion, up 46% quarter-over-quarter.

AI Neocloud Stocks Like CoreWeave and Nebius Sell Off

AI neocloud companies such as CoreWeave and Nebius are experiencing a significant sell-off in the stock market. These companies, which provide cloud computing services specialized for AI workloads, share a similar business model and often serve the same major customers. The article likely discusses factors such as market saturation, dependency on a few large clients, and broader tech sector volatility. The sell-off reflects investor concerns about the sustainability of the AI infrastructure boom, potential overcapacity, and the concentration of revenue among a handful of tech giants.

• AI neocloud stocks like CoreWeave and Nebius are experiencing a sell-off.
• Neoclouds share the same business model and many of the same customers.
• The sell-off was reported on October 15, 2026, by CNBC.

Nebius Signs Deals with UK AI Labs

European AI infrastructure company Nebius announced it has secured compute and infrastructure agreements with several early-stage UK AI labs, as part of its expansion in the UK. The company, which operates GPU-packed data centers, earlier announced a £1.7bn UK build-out and expansion of its London hub. Nebius's EMEA general manager Gary Tierney highlighted the UK's talent density and the potential impact of the government's planned easing of non-compete clauses, which he believes will foster more AI startups. Specific lab names were not disclosed.

• Nebius has struck compute and infrastructure deals with several early-stage UK AI labs.
• Nebius announced a £1.7bn UK build-out and expansion of its London hub earlier this year.
• Nebius has data centres in the UK, Finland, and France.