Upscale AI is an innovative company that recently launched into the high-performance AI networking space, having secured more than $100 million in funding to kickstart its journey. The funding was raised through a seed round that was co-led by notable investment firms Mayfield and Maverick Silicon. The round also saw contributions from various other investors, including StepStone Group, Celesta Capital, Xora, Qualcomm Ventures, Cota Capital, MVP Ventures, and even Stanford University.
This strong financial backing reflects the confidence in Upscale AI’s vision and its potential impact on the technology landscape. The company has its roots in Auradine, a rapidly expanding player in the fields of blockchain and AI computing.
Upscale AI is committed to making advanced AI solutions accessible to a broader audience by launching a next-generation suite of networking products. These offerings are designed to deliver high-performance connectivity specifically tailored for specialized computing applications. This goal aligns with the company’s mission of democratizing AI by utilizing open standards and providing comprehensive, ready-to-use solutions.
One of the defining features of Upscale AI is its focus on pioneering open-standard networking technologies. By adopting these standards, the company aims to accelerate innovation while offering greater flexibility and choice across its AI infrastructure. The company’s product portfolio incorporates cutting-edge technologies, including SONiC, Ultra Accelerator Link (UAL), Ultra Ethernet (UE), and the Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI). Many of these technologies are open-source, which not only fosters community collaboration but also encourages the development of new solutions. Moreover, the team at Upscale AI is actively involved in influential organizations like the Ultra Ethernet Consortium, the Open Compute Project, and the SONiC Foundation, further strengthening its commitment to advancing AI networking.
The exponential growth of AI signifies that traditional computing and networking solutions are quickly becoming inadequate. The AI networking market is projected to exceed $20 billion, highlighting an urgent need for a comprehensive redesign of the infrastructure that supports these technologies. To fully realize AI’s potential, businesses require specialized compute clusters, ultra-low latency interconnections, and secure, power-efficient infrastructures. Upscale AI aims to fill this gap by designing systems, silicon, and software that enable ultra-low latency networking. This will facilitate breakthrough performance and scalability, which are essential for applications ranging from AI training and inference to generative AI, edge computing, and extensive cloud deployments.
The company was founded by Barun Kar, who serves as CEO, and Rajiv Khemani, who is the Executive Chairman. Both are seasoned entrepreneurs with a solid track record of success. They previously co-founded and led several successful ventures, including Palo Alto Networks, Innovium, and Cavium, the latter of which was acquired by Marvell. The team at Upscale AI is truly exceptional, comprising over 100 influential technologists with extensive experience in various fields, including silicon, systems engineering, and software development. Members of this talented team have worked at some of the most reputable infrastructure companies, such as Marvell, Broadcom, Intel, Cisco, AWS, Microsoft, Google, Palo Alto Networks, and Juniper Networks.
As the company moves forward, Upscale AI is focused on rapidly developing its full-stack AI networking infrastructure. This product lineup is designed to optimize xPU performance and enhance connectivity capabilities. Some key components of this infrastructure include ultra-low-latency networking fabrics, which are essential for achieving the best possible performance from various computing units while also reducing the overall cost of ownership at the data center level. Upscale AI is also committed to enhancing operational efficiency through a unified network operating system based on open standards like SAI and SONiC. This robust system will allow for greater scalability, in-service network upgrades, and improved performance, ultimately maximizing uptime for users.
In addition, the company plans to introduce groundbreaking networking rack platforms that are built on established standards, enabling users to have genuine freedom of choice in their networking solutions. This flexibility will empower businesses to select the best components for their specific needs, ensuring a truly tailored approach to AI networking.
KEY QUOTES:
“From enterprise networking to building cloud infrastructure, Upscale AI’s team has been at the center of every major computing shift over the past 20 years. Now, our world-class team is applying its depth and breadth of expertise to the next frontier: open AI-native infrastructure. Our deep expertise enables us to architect cohesive AI infrastructure solutions, partnering with leading xPU vendors and AI innovators to meet today’s demands and power what’s next.”
Barun Kar, CEO of Upscale AI
“We incubated Upscale AI with a bold vision to reimagine networking for the AI era anchored in openness, performance, and scale. As AI transforms every industry, next-generation infrastructure must keep pace. Upscale AI’s world-class team is building the foundational layer that will enable AI to reach its full potential.”
Rajiv Khemani, Executive Chairman of Upscale AI and CEO of Auradine
“We’re witnessing a fundamental transformation in networking as traditional approaches cannot keep pace with AI’s exponential demands. Upscale AI is reimagining the entire AI networking stack, starting with scale-up solutions based on open standards that break free from proprietary systems. We’re excited to continue our partnership with Barun and Rajiv for the third time, along with their world-class team, as they set out to build a category-defining networking company for the AI era.”
Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner of Mayfield
“The future of AI will not be built by any one company or in a closed ecosystem; it will require open standards and committed partners. Upscale AI is a welcome addition to the UA Link ecosystem, and their open standards-based AI Network Fabric will support customers’ design acceleration and bring AI-powered solutions to market faster.”
Robert Hormuth, Corporate Vice President, Architecture and Strategy, Data Center Solutions Group, AMD
“Upscale AI’s open standards approach is shaping the critical networking layer for the GenAI era. By unifying performance, scalability, and interoperability, Upscale AI is uniquely positioned to solve today’s AI networking bottlenecks while laying the groundwork for the next generation of distributed, large-scale AI systems.”
Andrew Homan, Managing Partner at Maverick Silicon
“Open, interoperable systems will become the new standard for scalable AI infrastructure. Upscale AI is driving the exact type of innovation we expect to see more of as the market moves beyond monolithic structures. Many industry-leading tools remain trapped within closed circuit vendor-locked systems, but Upscale AI is building a level playing field where innovation, performance, and healthy competition can thrive.”
Alan Weckel, co-founder and Technology Analyst at 650 Group
