Open-model demand pushes Applied Compute toward $3B valuation

California’s Applied Compute, a company that assists firms in developing, deploying, and improving open-weight AI models, is reportedly negotiating with investors to secure financing valued at about $3 billion, according to a report from The Information.

If raised, this would more than double its former valuation of $1.3 billion in a funding round disclosed only four months ago, demonstrating changing perceptions by investors concerning AI infrastructure.

This is an indication of a wider change in the AI industry. With the advancement of open models, businesses are constantly searching for systems that they can personalize for their use and manage, resulting in a growing demand for infrastructure that can train, deploy, and improve those models.

Hugging Face, the leading platform for open models, stated that in 2025 its platform hit 13 million users and has over 2 million public models as proof of the advancement of the open-source AI ecosystem.

Doubling up from a $1.3 billion Series B

Applied Compute reported an $80 million funding round in April, with Kleiner Perkins being the major financier at a post-money valuation of $1.3 billion, which raised the company’s overall funding to $160 million.

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