Last Updated: 25 March 2025
Nexthop AI, a startup focused on transforming how AI infrastructure is built at hyperscale, has officially launched from stealth with $110 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, WestBridge Capital, Battery Ventures, and Emergent Ventures.
The fresh capital will accelerate development of Nexthop AI’s highly tailored networking solutions, designed specifically for the world’s largest cloud providers.
While the company has not disclosed its valuation, the size and composition of the round suggest high investor confidence in its differentiated approach.
As AI training and inference workloads balloon in complexity, hyperscalers are investing billions annually to upgrade GPU deployments and data center networks.
These companies now demand more than just raw compute—they need agile, power-efficient infrastructure optimized for scale, performance, and customization.
“The world’s largest cloud providers need a new generation of networking capabilities to keep pace with the demands of AI workloads. Nexthop AI is filling a critical gap in this $35 billion market with its deep domain expertise, pioneering technology and customized solutions."
Guru Chahal, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners
With this round, Nexthop AI plans to rapidly expand its engineering teams and accelerate product delivery timelines.
The company is building out networking solutions that integrate tightly with customers’ cloud stacks—ranging from custom hardware to hardened network operating systems and vetted interconnect components.
Beyond its current offerings, Nexthop AI aims to support future AI cluster needs across global regions, optimizing for power, cost, and latency in increasingly complex environments.
“Hyperscalers need the ecosystem to innovate with them to accelerate their infrastructure deployments. Nexthop AI is a force-multiplier, as it partners with and works as an extension of the cloud companies’ engineering teams. This disruptive model enables cloud companies to build the most cost and power efficient AI solutions.”
Anshul Sadana, CEO of Nexthop AI
Nexthop AI designs end-to-end networking infrastructure tailored to hyperscaler specifications. From silicon and optics to software and systems integration, the company takes a collaborative approach—working hand-in-hand with customer engineering teams to co-develop and deploy solutions that meet unique performance and operational goals.
Its platforms are designed to work seamlessly with open source network operating systems like SONiC, providing the flexibility and scalability required by today’s AI-focused cloud providers.
The company’s capabilities span hardware design, photonics, software engineering, and full-stack architecture—bringing a rare depth of specialization to the market.
Founded by a team of seasoned engineers and operators with deep roots in AI, networking, and cloud infrastructure, Nexthop AI brings decades of experience to the table. CEO Anshul Sadana, previously Chief Operating Officer at Arista Networks, leads the company’s vision.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, Nexthop AI also has offices in Seattle, Vancouver, and Bengaluru, enabling global collaboration across technical and business functions.
The funding round brings together a group of well-known investors with a long history in enterprise infrastructure. Lightspeed Venture Partners, the lead investor, has backed companies like Affirm, Rubrik, Snap, and Anthropic.
Kleiner Perkins, Battery Ventures, WestBridge Capital, and Emergent Ventures also participated in this round.
