VAST Data Plans Funding Round so Early Stock Holders Can Get Cash
•February 5, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Why It Matters
The deal underscores the soaring demand for high‑performance, AI‑ready storage and provides a rare exit for early backers while signaling a delayed public market debut for VAST Data.
Key Takeaways
- •Raising $1 billion at $30 billion valuation.
- •Secondary round sells existing shares, raising $700‑$850 million cash.
- •Early investors could see 40‑60× returns.
- •Revenue projected to hit $600 million this year.
- •IPO likely postponed to 2027‑2028.
Pulse Analysis
The explosion of generative AI and large‑scale model training has intensified the need for ultra‑fast, scalable storage solutions. VAST Data’s disaggregated shared‑everything (DASE) architecture separates compute from flash storage, delivering petabyte‑scale performance while reducing data movement costs. This design positions VAST as a preferred partner for AI labs and cloud‑native workloads, differentiating it from traditional SAN providers and attracting marquee customers such as Lambda and CoreWeave.
In the current financing round, VAST is leveraging a secondary market mechanism that lets founders, employees, and early investors monetize a portion of their holdings. By issuing roughly one new share for every five to six existing shares, the company will raise up to $850 million in cash without diluting the capital structure excessively. Early backers like 83North and Greenfield Partners stand to realize 40‑60× returns, reflecting the dramatic uplift in valuation from the low‑tens‑of‑millions to the mid‑tens‑of‑billions range.
The timing of the round hints at a strategic postponement of an IPO, likely pushing a public listing to 2027 or later. This delay gives VAST time to scale revenue toward the projected $600 million mark and to cement its technology leadership in the AI storage niche. For investors, the secondary round offers immediate liquidity, while customers gain confidence that the company has sufficient capital to sustain rapid product innovation and support commitments in the fast‑evolving AI ecosystem.
VAST Data plans funding round so early stock holders can get cash
VAST Data is in the final stages of raising an estimated $1 billion in cash at a $30 billion valuation, according to Israel’s Globes media outlet.
VAST Data sells all‑flash arrays with a DASE (Disaggregated Shared Everything) design that separates compute (controllers) from data (storage drives) along with sophisticated data protection and reduction. Its arrays are highly scalable and, together with their software stack encompassing a complete AI pipeline, store, and AI‑agent operating capability, have proved popular—particularly in the AI training and “Neocloud” area, with deals such as those with XAi, Lambda, and CoreWeave for $1.17 billion.
VAST was founded in 2016 and has raised a total of $381 million through five rounds, the last in 2023 for $118 million (see the funding announcement), when it said its annual revenues were in the $200 million range. Reuters and Sacra expect its revenues to reach the $600 million level this year.
Globes reports that the bulk of the cash will be raised by current stockholders selling existing shares in a secondary round. They will sell 5 to 6 shares for every new issued share, meaning there will be between $150 million to $300 million of new shares issued and $700 million to $850 million of cash raised by selling existing shares. The current stockholders who would be selling shares include existing investors, founders, employees, and option holders.
It is an opportunity for them to cash out some or all of their stock and benefit from the rise in VAST’s valuation since they obtained their stock. The report says that early investors, such as Israeli outfits 83North and Greenfield Partners, received shares when VAST was valued at the tens‑of‑millions‑of‑dollars level.
VAST’s valuation in the secondary round will be $25 – $27 billion; around $25 per share. That could generate a return in the hundreds of millions of dollars for such early investors. For example, Greenfield Partners, which led the 2019 B‑round when VAST was valued at several hundred million dollars, could potentially sell shares at a 40× to 60× profit on its original investment.
A final point: if an IPO were imminent there would be no need for a round like this. This suggests any VAST IPO would take place in 2027 or 2028, or later.
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