Santa Clara-based AI networking company Upscale AI has officially launched with over $100 million in seed funding. Mayfield and Maverick Silicon co-led the round, which was participated in by StepStone Group, Celesta Capital, Xora, Qualcomm Ventures, Cota Capital, MVP Ventures, and Stanford University.
With its launch, Upscale AI is launching a new suite of networking solutions that provides high-performance connectivity for specialised computing and makes AI more accessible through open-standard, ready-to-use solutions.
Founded by serial entrepreneurs
Upscale AI was founded by Barun Kar (CEO) and Rajiv Khemani (Executive Chairman), serial entrepreneurs behind companies such as Palo Alto Networks, Innovium, and Cavium (acquired by Marvell).
Upscale AI is a networking company that aims to make AI more accessible using open-standard, ready-to-use solutions. Their products, which include hardware and software, are built for fast networking and deliver excellent performance and scalability for tasks like AI training, inference, generative AI, edge computing, and cloud deployments.
The company’s team includes 100+ technologists with experience at Marvell, Broadcom, Intel, Cisco, AWS, Microsoft, Google, Palo Alto Networks, and Juniper Networks.
“Open, interoperable systems will become the new standard for scalable AI infrastructure,” said Alan Weckel, co-founder and Technology Analyst at 650 Group. “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.”
Building open-standard AI infrastructure
Upscale AI aims to challenge today’s closed, proprietary systems by pioneering open-standard networking technology. Its portfolio leverages SONiC, Ultra Accelerator Link (UAL), Ultra Ethernet (UE), Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI), and other open-source technologies.
The company also plays an active role in industry groups, including the Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC), UAL, Open Compute Project (OCP), and SONiC Foundation, contributing to scale-out and scale-up innovation.
“From enterprise networking to building cloud infrastructure, Upscale AI’s team has been at the centre of every major computing shift over the past 20 years,” said Barun Kar, CEO of Upscale AI. “Now, we are applying our depth and breadth of expertise to the next frontier: open AI-native infrastructure. Our expertise allows us to architect cohesive AI infrastructure solutions, working alongside xPU vendors and AI innovators to power what’s next.”
Products due to launch this fall
Upscale AI is preparing to roll out its full-stack AI networking infrastructure later this year, with offerings designed to maximise xPU performance and connectivity:
- AI Network Fabrics: Ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth fabrics that reduce TCO and maximise performance at the data centre level.
- Unified NOS based on SAI/SONiC: Hardened, open-standard NOS with in-service upgrades and operational scalability.
- AI Networking Rack Platforms: Standards-based, rack-scale networking enabling true multivendor freedom.
“We’re witnessing a fundamental transformation in networking as traditional approaches cannot keep pace with AI’s exponential demands,” said Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner of Mayfield. “Upscale AI is reimagining the entire AI networking stack, starting with open-standard solutions that break free from proprietary systems. We’re excited to continue our partnership with Barun and Rajiv for the third time.”
