托管图像、视频和音频模型供创作者和开发者使用的 AI 推理初创公司 Fal，在新一轮融资中估值翻倍至 160 亿美元。现有投资者 Bessemer Venture Partners 领投了这笔 13 亿美元的融资，Fal 将于周二宣布。其他投资者包括 Nvidia Corp.、Sound Ventures 和 T. Rowe Price Group Inc.。Fal 此前曾在 4 月完成由 Sequoia 领投的 3.5 亿美元融资，当时估值为 80 亿美元。Bessemer 合伙人 Talia Goldberg 将加入 Fal 董事会。
Fal, an AI inference startup that hosts image, video and audio models for creators and developers, has doubled its valuation to $16 billion in a new round of funding. Bessemer Venture Partners, an existing investor, led a $1.3 billion financing round in the startup in October, Fal is set to announce Tuesday. Other investors include Nvidia Corp., Sound Ventures and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. Fal previously raised $350 million in a Sequoia-led round in April at an $8 billion valuation. Talia Goldberg, a partner at Bessemer, is joining the startup’s board.
随着开发者对推理（即 AI 系统训练完成后的运行过程）的需求不断增长，Fal 的业务也随之扩张。彭博新闻此前报道，提供 AI 推理服务的其他初创公司，包括 Modal 和 Baseten，也一直在讨论以高估值融资。
Fal’s business has expanded in response to developers’ growing appetite for more inference, or the process of running AI systems after they’ve been trained. Other startups offering AI inferencing services, including Modal and Baseten, have also been in discussions to raise money at steep valuations, Bloomberg News previously reported.
首席执行官兼联合创始人 Burkay Gur 表示，Fal 选择筹集如此大额资金，部分原因是需求激增，使其需要获取更多算力。“我们在夏天达到了一个无法服务客户、不得不对其进行限流的地步，”Gur 说。
Fal opted to raise such a large amount in part because a surge of demand meant it needed to get more computing power, said chief executive officer and co-founder Burkay Gur. “We hit a point in summer where we were not able to serve our customers and had to rate limit them,” Gur said.
过去一年，Fal 与开源和闭源模型制造商合作，在后训练视频模型方面投入了更多精力。其中一些安排包含许可费或收入分成协议。Gur 表示，该初创公司短期内不打算预训练自己的模型，但未排除未来这样做的可能性。
Over the past year, Fal has put more effort into post-training video models in collaboration with both open-source and closed-source model makers. Some of those arrangements include licensing fees or revenue share agreements. Gur said that the startup doesn’t plan to pre-train its own models in the short-term, but didn’t rule it out in the future.
据知情人士透露，Fal 今年早些时候实现了 8 亿美元的年化收入。《The Information》此前曾报道 Fal 最近一轮融资和收入的一些细节。
Fal hit $800 million in annualized revenue earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Information earlier reported some details of Fal’s most recent round and revenue.
除了采购算力，总部位于旧金山的 Fal 还计划利用新资金帮助将其 185 人的团队进一步扩大。
In addition to procuring compute, San Francisco-based Fal plans to use the new capital to help expand its 185-person team.
“整个AI市场正变得更加资本密集型，”Gur表示。“我们知道算力和规模是一个巨大的瓶颈，而你拥有的规模越大，最终获胜的可能性就越大。”
“Things are becoming a little more capital intensive in the whole AI market,” said Gur. “We know that compute and scale is a big bottleneck, and the more scale you have, the more likely you are to win at the end of the day.”