AI computing startup Lambda to raise $4B ahead of planned IPO

AI 计算初创公司 Lambda 计划在 IPO 前融资 40 亿美元

Cloud provider Lambda is raising up to $4 billion at a $14.5 billion pre-money valuation, marking what could be its last private round before a planned 2027 IPO, according to The Wall Street Journal. Coatue Management and Blackstone are leading the round. 据《华尔街日报》报道，云服务提供商 Lambda 正计划以 145 亿美元的投前估值融资至多 40 亿美元。这可能是该公司在 2027 年计划 IPO 之前的最后一轮私募融资。本轮融资由 Coatue Management 和黑石集团（Blackstone）领投。

A letter to investors reviewed by the Journal shows Lambda’s backlog grew from $15 billion in June to $50 billion in September. While that might look like a hearty increase in demand, much of that increase appears to be driven by a $35 billion commitment from one company: Anthropic, which signed a deal with Lambda in late August. 《华尔街日报》查阅的一封致投资者信显示，Lambda 的订单积压量已从 6 月份的 150 亿美元增长至 9 月份的 500 亿美元。虽然这看起来需求增长强劲，但其中大部分增长似乎是由一家公司——Anthropic——提供的 350 亿美元承诺订单所驱动的，该公司于 8 月下旬与 Lambda 签署了协议。

That means Lambda’s valuation, which has climbed significantly since its 2025 funding round, could be leaning heavily on Anthropic’s ability to keep paying. Still, with reliable GPU capacity so scarce, investors are clearly still willing to bet on companies that provide it, especially ones with large contracts with a major AI lab. 这意味着 Lambda 自 2025 年融资轮以来大幅攀升的估值，可能在很大程度上依赖于 Anthropic 的持续支付能力。尽管如此，由于可靠的 GPU 算力依然稀缺，投资者显然仍愿意押注于提供此类算力的公司，尤其是那些与大型 AI 实验室签有大额合同的公司。

For neoclouds like Lambda, demand isn’t so much the problem as is the cost of meeting it. Data center buildouts are largely funded by debt — of which Lambda just raised an additional $1 billion last week — and lenders are getting choosier about who they offer cash to and under what circumstances. 对于像 Lambda 这样的新兴云服务商（neoclouds）来说，问题不在于需求，而在于满足需求的成本。数据中心的建设主要依靠债务融资——Lambda 上周刚刚额外筹集了 10 亿美元债务——而贷款机构在决定向谁提供资金以及在何种条件下提供资金时，正变得越来越挑剔。

Lambda’s decision to raise more now not only sets the tone for its IPO pricing, but also gives it access to more capital before the scrutiny of public markets arrives. If and when Lambda does IPO — the company was reportedly meant to debut this year, but has pushed that back amid market uncertainty — it will join other Nvidia-backed neoclouds, like CoreWeave and Nebius, that now depend on the health of their stock to fund their data center buildouts. Lambda 此刻决定进一步融资，不仅为其 IPO 定价奠定了基调，也使其在面临公开市场审查之前获得了更多资本。如果 Lambda 最终成功 IPO（据报道该公司原定于今年上市，但因市场不确定性而推迟），它将加入其他由英伟达支持的新兴云服务商行列，如 CoreWeave 和 Nebius，这些公司目前都依赖其股票表现来为数据中心建设提供资金。

British neocloud Nscale filed for an IPO last month and is expected to begin trading soon. Lambda, Coatue, and Blackstone did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 英国新兴云服务商 Nscale 上个月提交了 IPO 申请，预计很快将开始交易。Lambda、Coatue 和黑石集团未立即回应置评请求。