Latest news with #YoulianTzanev
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NexGen Cloud secures $45m to bolster AI infrastructure
UK-based GPU cloud services startup NexGen Cloud has raised $45m (£35m) in its Series A funding round to bolster its AI infrastructure platform for European enterprises. The company announced the funding on LinkedIn, revealing that the round was supported by a group of family trusts and high-net-worth individuals, though their identities were not disclosed. Founded in 2020, NexGen Cloud initially provided cloud infrastructure for blockchain applications before pivoting to artificial intelligence. Now operating as a GPU-as-a-Service provider, it enables customers to access high-performance computing resources required for AI training and inference. Rather than owning its own data centres, NexGen Cloud has established long-term agreements with major hyperscalers to access GPU resources. These are offered to customers on-demand through the company's Hyperstack platform, which includes infrastructure services and consulting support for AI project planning. Describing itself as an "AI factory," the company reported a significant revenue increase, growing from $3m in 2023 to more than $70m by the end of 2024. According to NexGen Cloud, revenue from its AI cloud operations increased by 380% in the past year. Its client base now includes more than 10,000 organisations, including Red Hat, and ArchiLabs. The company operates within a sector expected to see significant growth. Industry forecasts from SNS Insider estimate the global GPU-as-a-Service market will rise from $3.3bn to over $34bn by 2032. Despite competition from firms such as Vultr, Akamai Technologies, and Lambda Labs, NexGen Cloud believes its European base provides a competitive edge. It aims to serve companies with heightened concerns over data privacy and regulatory compliance, positioning itself as a 'sovereign AI infrastructure provider.' The company offers AI workload support on dedicated virtual machines within local data centres to address data security concerns. With the new funding, NexGen Cloud plans to invest around half in expanding its GPU capacity and allocate the remainder to advancing its platform development. This includes the launch of a Fine Tuning-as-a-Service offering, team expansion, and potential acquisitions. NexGen Cloud co-founder and chief strategy officer Youlian Tzanev in an interview with Forbes said the company sees demand for accessible and straightforward cloud solutions. 'It has been something of a monopolistic market, dominated by a handful of giant US technology companies,' Tzanev said. 'But now, people are exploring other options.' "NexGen Cloud secures $45m to bolster AI infrastructure" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
09-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
NexGen Cloud Raises $45 Million In Series A Funding
Enterprises the world over are looking for data center capacity As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has swept round the world over the past two years, the space has largely been dominated by US technology businesses. In London, however, growth at an entrepreneurial UK AI company has also been gathering pace. Today, NexGen Cloud will announce it has raised $45 million of new funding, valuing the company at just over $350 million. NexGen was founded in 2020, initially focusing on blockchain applications, but rapidly pivoting into cloud solutions for AI. The company's revenues totalled only $3 million in 2023, the year after its shift of emphasis, but grew almost seven times' last year to reach $20 million. 'We deliver cloud in the way it's meant to be delivered,' says Youlian Tzanev, one of NexGen's co-founders and now its chief strategy officer. In essence, NexGen gives its customers access to the computing power they need to perform tasks such as training and developing large language models for generative AI applications. The company rents space and power in established data centers, enabling customers to secure time on GPUs, the machines that are vital to powering AI. Customers use NexGen's Hyperstack platform as their way into this power. The cloud-based solution means they don't have to build their own infrastructure to support their work with AI. 'Enterprises are looking for a solution that is simple and easy to use,' adds Tzanev. 'And as their AI projects develop and grow, they need something they can scale up quickly.' Demand is growing rapidly. Data from SNS Insider suggests the market for GPU as a service was worth only $3.3 billion globally in 2023 but will be worth $34 billion by 2032 – growth of almost 30% a year. Naturally, this acceleration has seen competitors target the market. The big names in cloud computing – including AWS, Microsoft and Google – are all present, but SNS Insider also points to a range of other players – including the likes of Vultr, Linode and Lambda Labs. Nevertheless, NexGen is convinced it can carve out a space for itself. It points to the merit of building a European-native cloud AI business, given the growing regulation of the sector. Local providers may be better placed to cope with European regulation – both in the European Union and the UK – on data privacy and management, for example. The business also sees partnerships as critical to expansion, pointing to alliances with firms such as cloud marketplace Shadeform. 'NexGen has been an incredibly reliable partner as we've scaled our cloud marketplace,' says Shadeform's CEO, Ed Goode. In time, NexGen hopes that customers using it for AI development will opt to host other data and activity via its cloud service. 'If we can deliver the most complex cloud solutions successfully, we'll be trusted to host other storage,' Tzanev explains. Tzanev believes the cloud solutions market is on the verge of a significant change. 'It's been something of a monopolistic market, dominated by a handful of giant US technology companies,' he says. 'There was a time when the feeling was that 'no-one gets fired for hiring AWS, say', but now people are exploring other options.' Many enterprises are focused on usability and scalability, as well as price, Tzanev argues. He points to NexGen's team of technical specialists, who provide troubleshooting advice and support on performance and optimisation, as one possible source of competitive advantage. Certainly, the business appears to be getting traction with customers, particularly in Europe. Current clients include organisations such as Red Hat, Tyne, and ArchiLabs. At the latter company, Brian Bakerman, CEO, says it switched to Hyperstack based on its 'support and pricing'; ArchiLabs switched to NexGen for 'GPU-accelerated cloud' after working with competitors in the market, he explains. The company's strategy for the next year and beyond focuses on developing partnerships that enhance access to and delivery of AI-compute services. It has plans for further improvements to its infrastructure services and for the launch of new products that make it easier for enterprises to integrate AI across the entire development cycle. One particular priority is dedicated virtual machines, giving customers greater control over privacy and data security. Today's fund-raising will help in this regard, giving NexGen greater balance-sheet strength and supporting its technology roll-out as it continues to add GPU capacity. The company's Series A round gives it a post-raise valuation of $354 million, with the funding primarily sourced from family trusts and high-net-worth individuals, led by Moore & Moore Investment Group. It's an important raise, both for NexGen itself, and for UK technology companies, which have often struggled to raise scale-up finance. 'Funding is tighter in Europe than in the US, with liquidity in short supply,' says Tzanev. 'The upside of that is that it forces us to keep proving ourselves.'
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Meet The British AI Start-Up Hoping To Take On The World
As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has swept round the world over the past two years, the space has largely been dominated by US technology businesses. In London, however, growth at an entrepreneurial UK AI company has also been gathering pace. Today, NextGen Cloud will announce it has raised $45 million of new funding, valuing the company at just over $350 million. NextGen was founded in 2020, initially focusing on blockchain applications, but rapidly pivoting into cloud solutions for AI. The company's revenues totalled only $3 million in 2023, the year after its shift of emphasis, but grew almost seven times' last year to reach $20 million. 'We deliver cloud in the way it's meant to be delivered,' says Youlian Tzanev, one of NextGen's co-founders and now its chief strategy officer. In essence, NextGen gives its customers access to the computing power they need to perform tasks such as training and developing large language models for generative AI applications. The company rents space and power in established data centers, enabling customers to secure time on GPUs, the machines that are vital to powering AI. Customers use NextGen's Hyperstack platform as their way into this power. The cloud-based solution means they don't have to build their own infrastructure to support their work with AI. 'Enterprises are looking for a solution that is simple and easy to use,' adds Tzanev. 'And as their AI projects develop and grow, they need something they can scale up quickly.' Demand is growing rapidly. Data from SNS Insider suggests the market for GPU as a service was worth only $3.3 billion globally in 2023 but will be worth $34 billion by 2032 – growth of almost 30% a year. Naturally, this acceleration has seen competitors target the market. The big names in cloud computing – including AWS, Microsoft and Google – are all present, but SNS Insider also points to a range of other players – including the likes of Vultr, Linode and Lambda Labs. Nevertheless, NextGen is convinced it can carve out a space for itself. It points to the merit of building a European-native cloud AI business, given the growing regulation of the sector. Local providers may be better placed to cope with European regulation – both in the European Union and the UK – on data privacy and management, for example. The business also sees partnerships as critical to expansion, pointing to alliances with firms such as cloud marketplace Shadeform. 'NexGen has been an incredibly reliable partner as we've scaled our cloud marketplace,' says that company's CEO, Ed Goode. In time, NextGen hopes that customers using it for AI development will opt to host other data and activity via its cloud service. 'If we can deliver the most complex cloud solutions successfully, we'll be trusted to host other storage,' Tzanev explains. Tzanev believes the cloud solutions market is on the verge of a significant change. 'It's been something of a monopolistic market, dominated by a handful of giant US technology companies,' he says. 'There was a time when the feeling was that 'no-one gets fired for hiring AWS, say', but now people are exploring other options.' Many enterprises are focused on usability and scalability, as well as price, Tzanev argues. He points to NextGen's team of technical specialists, who provide troubleshooting advice and support on performance and optimisation, as one possible source of competitive advantage. Certainly, the business appears to be getting traction with customers, particularly in Europe. Current clients include organisations such as Red Hat, Tyne, and ArchiLabs. At the latter company, Brian Bakerman, CEO, says it switched to Hyperstack based on its 'support and pricing'. The company's strategy for the next year and beyond focuses on developing partnerships that enhance access to and delivery of AI-compute services. It has plans for further improvements to its infrastructure services and for the launch of new products that make it easier for enterprises to integrate AI across the entire development cycle. One particular priority is dedicated virtual machines, giving customers greater control over privacy and data security. Today's fund-raising will help in this regard, giving NextGen greater balance-sheet strength and supporting its technology roll-out as it continues to add GPU capacity. The company's Series A round gives it a post-raise valuation of $354 million, with the funding primarily sourced from family trusts and high-net-worth individuals, led by Moore & Moore Investment Group. It's an important raise, both for NextGen itself, and for UK technology companies, which have often struggled to raise scale-up finance. 'Funding is tighter in Europe than in the US, with liquidity in short supply,' says Tzanev. 'The upside of that is that it forces us to keep proving ourselves.'
