Global AI leader Cerebrium secures $8.5 million funding to expand their serverless AI infrastructure, reaching from the African continent to the international scene.
In a significant move for the African tech scene, AI infrastructure startup Cerebrium has secured $8.5 million in a seed funding round. Led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-centric venture capital firm, the round also saw participation from Y Combinator and Authentic Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Michael Louis and Jonathan Irwin, both former engineers at OneCart, Cerebrium is headquartered in New York but has roots in Cape Town, South Africa. The company emerged from the challenges faced while building scalable AI solutions at OneCart.
Cerebrium's platform is designed to support the development and scaling of multimodal AI applications, processing various types of data such as text, images, and audio. Its serverless infrastructure allows for quick scaling up or down, making it ideal for volatile workloads and cost-effective for clients. The platform prioritizes speed, security, and ease of deployment across multiple geographies, including Africa, Europe, and the U.S.
Key features of Cerebrium's platform include a serverless CPU and GPU infrastructure, multimodal AI applications, and low latency with high uptime. These features are essential for maintaining performance during traffic spikes, as seen in clients like Tavus and Deepgram.
With the new capital, Cerebrium plans to expand its engineering team, develop tools for faster model deployment, secure code execution, and regional data compliance. This investment aims to meet growing enterprise demand for real-time AI solutions.
Cerebrium's success underscores the growing global recognition of African AI startups. The rapid progress of Cerebrium highlights the rising capacity of South African tech startups in the AI sector. Over the next few months, Cerebrium plans to focus on delivering AI infrastructure solutions on a global scale.
The funding round comes amidst a surge in global AI investments, with 2024 seeing investments surpass $84 billion. Cerebrium's growth strategy also involves scaling its product teams, enriching platform capabilities, and driving market entry efforts, particularly in the U.S.
As Cerebrium moves forward, it is well-positioned to power the next generation of user interfaces with real-time AI. The company aims to fast-track its growth by expanding its offerings in live streaming, real-time avatar features, and robust enterprise APIs.
[1] VentureBeat, "Cerebrium raises $8.5 million to bring serverless AI to the masses", [URL](https://venturebeat.com/2023/02/23/cerebrium-raises-8-5-million-to-bring-serverless-ai-to-the-masses/)
[3] TechCrunch, "Cerebrium raises $8.5 million to build the infrastructure for the next generation of AI", [URL](https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/23/cerebrium-raises-8-5-million-to-build-the-infrastructure-for-the-next-generation-of-ai/)
- As Cerebrium, a tech startup specializing in AI infrastructure, raises $8.5 million in venture funding, they plan to invest in technology that will potentially revolutionize the field of artificial intelligence, particularly in supporting the development and scaling of multimodal AI applications.
- As the global investing landscape continues to prioritize technology, the success of Cerebrium, an AI infrastructure startup, indicates a significant shift towards recognizing the potential of African AI startups, with a goal to meet growing enterprise demand for real-time AI solutions and expand their offerings in various sectors such as live streaming, real-time avatar features, and robust enterprise APIs.
