(Bloomberg) -- Lambda Inc., an AI cloud-computing provider backed by Nvidia Corp., is in talks to raise as much as $3 billion in a round that could tee it up to go public next year, according to people familiar with the efforts.
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The company, part of a group of "neoclouds" that rent access to chips and other AI infrastructure, has discussed raising the money at a valuation of as much as $12 billion or more, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions aren't public. The fundraising talks are ongoing and deal terms haven't been finalized, they said.
California-based Lambda has already received multiple term sheets for the round, which some close to the company say could set the stage for an initial public offering as soon as next year.
The company is expected to earn more than $1.5 billion in revenue this year, some of the people said.
Lambda did not respond to a request for comment.
Lambda raised more than $1.5 billion in a November funding round led by TWG Global. Other backers include Andra Capital, early Google investor Scott Hassan's family office SGW, OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy, Cathie Wood's ARK Invest, Nvidia and others.
Investor appetite for AI chip and infrastructure companies in both private and public markets has grown this year. Nscale, which is developing data centers, is seeking to raise as much as $3 billion in an IPO which could happen as soon as next month. Crusoe, which builds and operates the type of large data centers that power artificial intelligence tech, has been in talks to raise $3 billion in a funding round that may triple its valuation, Bloomberg reported in July.
The excitement has prompted a wave of IPOs. Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust Inc., a data center acquisition vehicle, raised $2 billion in an IPO in May, while Brookfield-backed Csquare Inc. raised $1.21 billion in an IPO in July. Earlier this month, Switch Inc. filed confidentially for a listing that could take place as soon as November; Bloomberg reported in July that the company had kicked off a new funding round in which it could seek a valuation approaching $50 billion including debt.
Still, public markets for Lambda competitors have been volatile. Cloud-computing provider CoreWeave Inc.'s shares are up 20% this year but shed nearly one-fifth of their value in the past week. Amsterdam-based Nebius Group N.V.'s US-based stock remains up about 150% this year after falling 26% from a June peak.