FriendliAI Secures $20 Million to Propel AI Inference Revolution
September 5, 2025, 3:44 pm
FriendliAI closed a $20 million seed extension round. This funding fuels its leading AI inference platform. The company offers unmatched GPU cost savings and the fastest Large Language Model (LLM) inference. It tackles critical challenges: high infrastructure costs, slow speeds, and complex LLM management. The investment targets expanded sales, marketing, and product development. Strategic partnerships, including with LG AI Research, highlight its market leadership. FriendliAI empowers enterprises to deploy AI at scale, efficiently and cost-effectively, defining the future of AI production.
FriendliAI has cemented its position in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence landscape. The company recently finalized a significant $20 million seed extension funding round. This capital infusion underscores confidence in its innovative AI inference platform. It signals a new phase of accelerated growth and market expansion.
Capstone Partners led the investment. Notable new participants included Sierra Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and KDB. KB Securities provided continued support. This diverse investor base reflects strong belief in FriendliAI’s technology and vision. The funding arrives as the AI inference market experiences unprecedented growth. Organizations worldwide are shifting from AI experimentation to full-scale production. FriendliAI stands at the forefront of this critical transition.
The company delivers cutting-edge inference solutions. These are designed for businesses deploying AI applications at scale. FriendliAI's core technology offers compelling advantages. It promises up to 90% savings on GPU costs. It also boasts the fastest Large Language Model (LLM) inference performance available today. This dual benefit of cost efficiency and raw speed is a game-changer for enterprises.
Optimizing AI infrastructure presents a complex challenge. FriendliAI’s platform directly addresses several pain points. High infrastructure costs often impede AI adoption. Slow inference speeds can severely degrade user experience. Managing sophisticated LLMs in production environments adds further complexity. FriendliAI provides comprehensive solutions to these issues. Its platform makes AI deployment more accessible and efficient.
Industry data highlights the urgency of these optimizations. Research indicates LLMs spend approximately 90% of their operational time in inference mode. This makes inference the most resource-intensive aspect of AI deployment. FriendliAI’s technology directly targets this critical area. It dramatically improves efficiency where it matters most.
The fresh capital empowers FriendliAI’s ambitious growth strategy. The company plans to significantly expand its sales and marketing teams. This expansion aims to accelerate new customer acquisition. It will also scale operations to better serve a growing client base. Investment in product development and platform enhancements remains a top priority. This ensures FriendliAI consistently meets evolving market demands. New partnerships with key technology providers will further strengthen its industry standing.
FriendliAI has already demonstrated its significant impact through strategic collaborations. The company recently partnered with LG AI Research. This makes FriendliAI the exclusive provider of API access to LG’s EXAONE 4.0 foundation model. This partnership elevates FriendliAI’s profile globally. It also expands resources for developers and enterprises utilizing advanced AI solutions.
Customer success stories further validate FriendliAI’s value proposition. Scatter Lab, a leading character AI chatbot company in Korea, leverages FriendliAI’s platform. They operate their popular Zeta LLM service. This adoption resulted in a dramatic reduction in infrastructure costs. It showcases FriendliAI's effectiveness and efficiency. Similarly, Upstage, known for its cutting-edge Solar foundation model, relies on FriendliAI. Their platform ensures superior inference performance. These examples reinforce FriendliAI’s leadership in the AI inference market.
FriendliAI also offers unmatched model coverage. It supports over 430,000 models on Hugging Face. This broad compatibility gives developers extensive flexibility. Access to Friendli Inference is available through Dedicated Endpoints, Serverless Endpoints, and Container solutions. This flexibility caters to diverse enterprise needs and deployment scenarios.
The company's focus on enterprise AI is clear. It facilitates the transition from experimental AI to robust, production-ready systems. FriendliAI enables organizations to deploy and scale AI models efficiently. It ensures cost-effectiveness. This allows businesses to fully harness the power of artificial intelligence without prohibitive overheads.
The $20 million seed extension round marks a pivotal moment for FriendliAI. It fuels the company’s mission. FriendliAI aims to make AI deployment seamless and economical for every enterprise. Its innovative platform, strategic partnerships, and proven customer successes position it as a critical enabler in the AI era. The future of enterprise AI inference is here. FriendliAI leads the way.
FriendliAI has cemented its position in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence landscape. The company recently finalized a significant $20 million seed extension funding round. This capital infusion underscores confidence in its innovative AI inference platform. It signals a new phase of accelerated growth and market expansion.
Capstone Partners led the investment. Notable new participants included Sierra Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and KDB. KB Securities provided continued support. This diverse investor base reflects strong belief in FriendliAI’s technology and vision. The funding arrives as the AI inference market experiences unprecedented growth. Organizations worldwide are shifting from AI experimentation to full-scale production. FriendliAI stands at the forefront of this critical transition.
The company delivers cutting-edge inference solutions. These are designed for businesses deploying AI applications at scale. FriendliAI's core technology offers compelling advantages. It promises up to 90% savings on GPU costs. It also boasts the fastest Large Language Model (LLM) inference performance available today. This dual benefit of cost efficiency and raw speed is a game-changer for enterprises.
Optimizing AI infrastructure presents a complex challenge. FriendliAI’s platform directly addresses several pain points. High infrastructure costs often impede AI adoption. Slow inference speeds can severely degrade user experience. Managing sophisticated LLMs in production environments adds further complexity. FriendliAI provides comprehensive solutions to these issues. Its platform makes AI deployment more accessible and efficient.
Industry data highlights the urgency of these optimizations. Research indicates LLMs spend approximately 90% of their operational time in inference mode. This makes inference the most resource-intensive aspect of AI deployment. FriendliAI’s technology directly targets this critical area. It dramatically improves efficiency where it matters most.
The fresh capital empowers FriendliAI’s ambitious growth strategy. The company plans to significantly expand its sales and marketing teams. This expansion aims to accelerate new customer acquisition. It will also scale operations to better serve a growing client base. Investment in product development and platform enhancements remains a top priority. This ensures FriendliAI consistently meets evolving market demands. New partnerships with key technology providers will further strengthen its industry standing.
FriendliAI has already demonstrated its significant impact through strategic collaborations. The company recently partnered with LG AI Research. This makes FriendliAI the exclusive provider of API access to LG’s EXAONE 4.0 foundation model. This partnership elevates FriendliAI’s profile globally. It also expands resources for developers and enterprises utilizing advanced AI solutions.
Customer success stories further validate FriendliAI’s value proposition. Scatter Lab, a leading character AI chatbot company in Korea, leverages FriendliAI’s platform. They operate their popular Zeta LLM service. This adoption resulted in a dramatic reduction in infrastructure costs. It showcases FriendliAI's effectiveness and efficiency. Similarly, Upstage, known for its cutting-edge Solar foundation model, relies on FriendliAI. Their platform ensures superior inference performance. These examples reinforce FriendliAI’s leadership in the AI inference market.
FriendliAI also offers unmatched model coverage. It supports over 430,000 models on Hugging Face. This broad compatibility gives developers extensive flexibility. Access to Friendli Inference is available through Dedicated Endpoints, Serverless Endpoints, and Container solutions. This flexibility caters to diverse enterprise needs and deployment scenarios.
The company's focus on enterprise AI is clear. It facilitates the transition from experimental AI to robust, production-ready systems. FriendliAI enables organizations to deploy and scale AI models efficiently. It ensures cost-effectiveness. This allows businesses to fully harness the power of artificial intelligence without prohibitive overheads.
The $20 million seed extension round marks a pivotal moment for FriendliAI. It fuels the company’s mission. FriendliAI aims to make AI deployment seamless and economical for every enterprise. Its innovative platform, strategic partnerships, and proven customer successes position it as a critical enabler in the AI era. The future of enterprise AI inference is here. FriendliAI leads the way.