Specialized Cloud Provider CoreWeave Locks Down $221M Investment

As workloads continue to become more specialized and intense, the cloud infrastructure they use needs to keep up. New Jersey-based CoreWeave has locked up a new $221 million investment to do just that.

The specialized cloud provider — which actually started out as an Ethereum mining operation — plans to use the cash to meet the needs of the onslaught of generative AI applications that are now appearing. 

“CoreWeave is uniquely positioned to power the seemingly overnight boom in AI technology with our ability to innovate and iterate more quickly than the hyperscalers,” co-founder and CEO Michael Intrator said in a release.

Flexible cloud infrastructure with better processing will be needed to train large language models for AI, something CoreWeave is looking to provide. Specifically, the company plans to use some of the new capital to open two new centers this year — bringing CoreWeave’s total North American-based data centers to five.

With its focus on the AI sector, it may be unsurprising one of the investors in this round was Nvidia, which is leading the charge in designing better AI chips.

The round was led by Magnetar Capital, an alternative asset manager. CoreWeave has raised nearly $377 million to date, per Crunchbase.

From crypto to AI

CoreWeave started in 2016, using specialized computer hardware called graphics processing units to verify transactions on the Ethereum network. 

As the company grew its processing power, it realized many companies faced issues with legacy cloud architecture adapting to GPU acceleration and realized its application to other areas.

And no area is hotter than AI right now, as every week another generative AI startup seems to raise a nine-figure round with Character.ai, Adept AI and Anthropic as some recent examples.

Coreweave may not be developing its own generative AI applications, but helping others there might prove nearly as valuable.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

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