Company:VAST Data
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software, AI infrastructure |
| Founded | January 2016 |
| Founders |
|
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Products | VAST AI Operating System |
Number of employees | 1,000 (2025)[1] |
| Website | vastdata |
VAST Data is a private technology company that develops the VAST AI Operating System, a data platform purpose-built for artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning applications.[2][3] The company's platform combines storage, database, and distributed computing capabilities into a unified system built on a novel architecture called DASE (Disaggregated and Shared Everything).[4][5]
With a valuation of $30 billion as of April 2026, VAST Data has become a leading infrastructure provider for AI neoclouds, enterprise AI, and sovereign AI initiatives.[6][7][8]
History
VAST Data was founded in January 2016 by Renen Hallak, former head of R&D at XtremIO (acquired by Dell EMC in 2012),[9][10] Shachar Fienblit (formerly of Kaminario), Jeff Denworth (formerly of CTERA Networks), and Alon Horev.[11][12] Michael Wing, formerly of Dell EMC, serves as company president.[12][13]
In 2019, VAST emerged from stealth mode with $80 million in funding and launched its data storage software built on the DASE architecture.[14][11] The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 triggered an AI boom, and VAST emerged as the dominant storage supplier to neoclouds—GPU‑heavy AI cloud providers. By 2025, neoclouds collectively generated $23–25 billion in revenue, and VAST had signed major contracts with CoreWeave and others.[15]
VAST ranked No. 5 on the 2022 Deloitte Technology Fast 500[16] and No. 3 on the 2023 Financial Times list of The Americas' Fastest-Growing Companies.[17] In 2023, VAST surpassed $1 billion in cumulative software bookings and $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).[18] In 2024, it was included in the Forbes Cloud 100 and named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for File and Object Storage Platforms.[1]
In 2025, VAST was named to the CNBC Disruptor 50[19] and the Forbes AI 50,[20] and reached $2 billion in cumulative software bookings.[21]
In April 2026, VAST announced a $1 billion Series F round at a $30 billion valuation, backed by Nvidia, Drive Capital, Access Industries, Fidelity, and NEA.[6][7][8] At that time, the company had surpassed $4 billion in cumulative bookings and ended the previous fiscal year with more than $500 million in committed annual recurring revenue (CARR).[22][23] The company delivered a "Rule of X" score of 228% for that fiscal year.[24]
Funding
VAST Data has raised capital across seven funding rounds:
| Series | Date | Amount (million $) | Lead Investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2016 | 15 | 83North, Norwest Venture Partners |
| A1 | 2018 | 25 | Dell Technologies Capital, 83North, Norwest |
| B | 2019 | 40 | Greenfield Partners, 83North, Norwest |
| C | 2020 | 100 | Next47 |
| D | 2021 | 83 | Tiger Global Management |
| E | 2023 | 118 | Fidelity Management and Research Co. |
| F | 2026 | ~1,000 | Drive Capital, Access Industries (with Nvidia, Fidelity, NEA) |
Sources for the Series F round are CNBC, Bloomberg, and Reuters.[6][7][8] Earlier rounds are documented in industry reports.[25]
Product
The VAST AI Operating System is a data platform that ingests data from distributed sources, applies AI‑based metadata enrichment, and supports automated agent‑based processing pipelines.[26] It includes several components:
- VAST DataStore – unstructured data storage service.
- VAST DataBase – a database management system combining features of a traditional database, data warehouse, and data lake.
- VAST DataEngine – global function execution engine.
- VAST DataSpace – global namespace that allows each location to store, retrieve, and process data.
- VAST InsightEngine – real-time retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) service, developed in partnership with Nvidia.[27]
- VAST AgentEngine – AI agent deployment and orchestration system.
- VAST SyncEngine – tool for ingesting, cataloging, and providing access to unstructured data from distributed sources for AI applications.[28]
The platform supports the full range of data types and runtime states required by modern AI workloads—including structured and unstructured data, files and tables, vectors, key‑value cache, event streams, and persistent agent memory—all delivered across distributed environments with consistent performance.[15] Co‑founder and CTO Alon Horev has stated that the system achieves "two to one data reduction" on flash storage, enabling all‑flash architectures without tiering to hard drives.[15]
The platform can be deployed in on‑premises data centers, public clouds, and edge environments, and is offered as a subscription‑based service.[29]
Market position and partnerships
VAST Data has established itself as the dominant storage supplier to neoclouds, the GPU‑compute‑heavy AI cloud providers that compete with hyperscalers.[15][30] Notable customers and partnerships include:
- CoreWeave – VAST signed a $1.17 billion commercial agreement in November 2025.[15]
- Sharon AI – In June 2026, the Australian neocloud expanded its partnership with VAST, deploying 600 petabytes of the VAST AI Operating System across its AI cloud infrastructure—reportedly supporting approximately 100,000 GPUs.[31][32]
- Mistral Compute – VAST powers Mistral's AI factories on Nvidia GB300 NVL72 systems, representing one of the highest‑density concentrations of that architecture in Europe.[33]
- Megaport – The distributed compute and networking platform enlisted VAST to unify its connectivity, compute, and storage for AI offerings, extending VAST's DataSpace fabric across Megaport's platform.[34]
Other customers include the U.S. Air Force, xAI, and Cursor.[30]
Technology partners include Arista, Cisco, Equinix, HPE, Lenovo, Nvidia, and Supermicro.[35][36][37]
Financial performance
As of April 2026[update], VAST Data's key financial metrics include:
- Cumulative software bookings: over $4 billion (up from $1 billion in 2023).[22]
- Committed annual recurring revenue (CARR): over $500 million.[22]
- Valuation: $30 billion (up from $9.1 billion in 2023).[6][7]
- "Rule of X" score: 228% for the fiscal year ending prior to the Series F.[38]
Primary proceeds from the Series F round will be used to expand VAST Data's global footprint, strengthen partnerships, and pursue strategic transactions to broaden its technology platform.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Cloud 100 2025" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/lists/cloud100/.
- ↑ Mellor, Chris (February 26, 2019). "VAST Data: The first thing we do, let's kill all the hard drives". https://blocksandfiles.com/2019/02/26/vast-datas-extinction-level-event-for-disk-drives-and-tiering/.
- ↑ Miller, Ron (April 16, 2020). "TechCrunch". https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/16/vast-data-lands-100m-series-c-on-1-2b-valuation-to-turn-storage-on-its-head/.
- ↑ Adshead, Antony. "QLC + 3D Xpoint = Vast Data's universal storage". https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252484709/QLC-3D-Xpoint-Vast-Datas-Universal-Storage.
- ↑ Williams, Joe (April 17, 2020). "Business Insider". https://www.businessinsider.com/how-this-data-storage-startup-became-unicorn-amid-the-coronavirus-2020-4.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Nicol-Schwarz, Kai (2026-04-22). "Nvidia backs AI company Vast Data at $30 billion valuation" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/22/nvidia-backs-ai-company-vast-data.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Nvidia-Backed Vast Data Raises $1 Billion, Triples Valuation to $30 Billion" (in en). 2026-04-22. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-22/nvidia-backed-vast-data-raises-1-billion-triples-valuation-to-30-billion.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "VAST Data valued at $30 billion in latest funding round" (in en). 2026-04-22. https://www.reuters.com/technology/vast-data-valued-30-billion-latest-funding-round-2026-04-22/.
- ↑ "EMC buys XtremIO for $430m - Globes" (in en). 2012-05-10. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article--1000747655.
- ↑ Kovar, Joseph F. (April 16, 2020). "Renen Hallak Talks Future". https://www.crn.com/slide-shows/storage/vast-data-ceo-renen-hallak-talks-future-finance-and-a-100m-funding-round/9.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Wilson, Alexandra (April 16, 2020). "VAST Data Gets $1.2 Billion Valuation, As Researchers Race To Combat COVID-19". https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrawilson1/2020/04/16/vast-data-gets-12-billion-valuation-as-researchers-race-to-combat-covid-19/.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mellor, Chris (February 26, 2019). "VAST Data's business sitrep". https://blocksandfiles.com/2019/02/26/vast-datas-business-sitrep/.
- ↑ "Mike Wing, Vast Data Inc: Profile and Biography" (in en). https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/22996955.
- ↑ Robinson, Daniel (2019-06-05). "VAST Data guarantees no downtime, no data loss" (in en-US). https://blocksandfiles.com/2019/06/05/vast-data-zero-compromise-guarantee/.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Mellor, Chris (2026-06-16). "VAST Data and the evolving neoclouds" (in en). https://www.blocksandfiles.com/ai-ml/2026/06/16/vast-data-and-the-evolving-neoclouds/5256380.
- ↑ "2022 Technology Fast 500™ Rankings". https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/us-tmt-22-deloitte-technology-fast-500-ranking-list.pdf.
- ↑ "The Americas' Fastest-Growing Companies 2023". https://www.ft.com/americas-fastest-growing-companies-2023.
- ↑ "VAST Data closes $118 million Series E, nearly triples valuation to $9.1 billion" (in en). 2023-12-06. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bjfh5gast.
- ↑ staff, CNBC com (2025-06-10). "2025 CNBC Disruptor 50: See the full list of companies leading new era of AI breakthroughs and riches" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/10/2025-cnbc-disruptor-50-see-the-full-list-of-companies.html.
- ↑ "VAST Data | Company Overview & News" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/companies/vast-data/.
- ↑ Data, VAST. "VAST Data Unveils the Operating System for the Thinking Machine" (in en-US). https://www.vastdata.com/resources/datasheets/the-vast-data-platform-short-overview.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "VAST Data confirms $1b raise at $30b valuation | The Jerusalem Post" (in en). 2026-04-23. https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-893918.
- ↑ "VAST Data Valued at $30B as AI Drives a New Infrastructure Stack" (in en-US). https://www.hpcwire.com/bigdatawire/this-just-in/vast-data-valued-at-30b-as-ai-drives-a-new-infrastructure-stack/.
- ↑ "VAST Data's $30B Moment Comes as Its AI Architecture Bet Pays Off | TechArena Content". https://techarena.ai/content/vast-datas-30b-moment-comes-as-its-ai-architecture-bet-pays-off.
- ↑ say, Georgia Butler Have your (2026-04-22). "Vast Data secures $1bn in Series F funding at $30bn valuation" (in en). https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/vast-data-secures-1bn-in-series-f-funding-at-30bn-valuation/.
- ↑ Morgan, Timothy Prickett (2023-08-01). "Vast Data Intentionally Blurs The Line Between Storage And Database - The Next Platform" (in en-US). https://www.nextplatform.com/2023/08/01/vast-data-intentionally-blurs-the-line-between-storage-and-database/.
- ↑ "VAST Data Unveils Groundbreaking VAST InsightEngine with NVIDIA to Unlock Insights from All Enterprise Data". https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vast-data-unveils-groundbreaking-vast-150000564.html.
- ↑ "Vast Data's SyncEngine helps AI agents to tap unstructured data from every source" (in en-US). 2025-08-21. https://siliconangle.com/2025/08/21/vast-datas-syncengine-helps-ai-agents-tap-unstructured-data-every-source/.
- ↑ "VAST Data Deep Learning Data Platform - Built for AI" (in en-US). 2023-08-04. https://www.storagereview.com/news/vast-data-deep-learning-data-platform-built-for-ai.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 "VAST Data Hits $30 Billion Valuation Amid AI Revolution" (in en). 2026-04-22. https://www.futuriom.com/articles/news/vast-data-hits-30-billion-valuation-amid-ai-revolution/2026/04.
- ↑ "Sharon AI Expands Partnership with VAST Data" (in en). https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/sharon-ai-expands-partnership-vast-131200659.html.
- ↑ "Australian neocloud Sharon AI taps VAST Data for its infra OS" (in en). 2026-06-16. https://www.fierce-network.com/newswire/australian-neocloud-sharon-ai-taps-vast-data-its-infra-os.
- ↑ "VAST Data Powers Mistral Compute AI Factories on NVIDIA GB300 NVL72" (in en). 2026-06-16. https://www.storagereview.com/news/vast-data-powers-mistral-compute-ai-factories-on-nvidia-gb300-nvl72.
- ↑ "Megaport enlists VAST Data to unify its connectivity, compute and storage for AI offerings" (in en). 2026-06-16. https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/megaport-enlists-vast-data-to-unify-its-connectivity-compute-and-storage-for-ai-offerings/.
- ↑ "VAST Data Valued at $30 Billion as AI Drives a New Infrastructure Stack" (in en). https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/vast-data-valued-at-30-billion-as-ai-drives-a-new-infrastructure-stack-1036049241.
- ↑ Salamone, Salvatore (2023-10-01). "Real-time Analytics News for the Week Ending September 30" (in en-US). https://www.rtinsights.com/real-time-analytics-news-for-the-week-ending-september-30/.
- ↑ "Distribution underpinning VAST Data's EMEA expansion plans" (in en). https://www.computerweekly.com/microscope/news/252512879/Distribution-underpinning-VAST-Data-EMEA-expansion-plans.
- ↑ "VAST Data's $30B Moment Comes as Its AI Architecture Bet Pays Off" (in en). https://techarena.ai/content/vast-datas-30b-moment-comes-as-its-ai-architecture-bet-pays-off.
