Vast Data
Vast Data is a New York-based data infrastructure company founded in January 2016 by Renen Hallak (former VP R&D at XtremIO), Shachar Fienblit, Jeff Denworth, and Alon Horev.
Profile
Unified data platform combining storage, database, and compute optimized for AI training and agentic applications.
Vast Data is a New York-based data infrastructure company founded in January 2016 by Renen Hallak (former VP R&D at XtremIO), Shachar Fienblit, Jeff Denworth, and Alon Horev. The company emerged from stealth in February 2019 with DASE—a disaggregated, shared-everything distributed storage architecture designed to eliminate performance trade-offs endemic to tiered storage. Over five years, Vast has evolved from a flash-storage vendor into what it now positions as an "AI operating system," unifying storage, database, and compute for AI workloads and agentic computing.
The platform consolidates DataStore (file, object, and block storage), DataBase (a purpose-built database for AI with vector search and metadata enrichment), and DataSpace (distributed compute orchestration). As of early 2026, Vast had reached $2 billion in annual recurring revenue—achieved ahead of its stated target—and surpassed $4 billion in cumulative bookings. In April 2026, the company closed a $1 billion Series F at a $30 billion valuation, a threefold leap from its $9.1 billion Series E valuation in late 2023.
The round was led by Drive Capital and Access Industries, with participation from Fidelity, NEA, NVIDIA, and new investors. Vast exited its most recent fiscal year with over $500 million in committed annual recurring revenue and positive operating margins. The company has gained traction with high-profile customers spanning media (NHL, Pixar), cloud infrastructure (CoreWeave), telecommunications (SK Telecom), and defense (Leidos).
Vast's trajectory reflects the market's hunger for AI-native infrastructure; it ranked as No. 5 on Deloitte's 2022 Technology Fast 500 and was named a Gartner leader in file and object storage in 2024. The company's near-vertical scaling—promising 5x year-over-year growth in early 2025—positions it as a focal point in the infrastructure consolidation wave driven by GPU-intensive AI workloads.
Who buys this
- AI cloud infrastructure providers (CoreWeave, xAI, cloud GPU marketplace operators)
- Large-scale media and entertainment firms handling petabyte-scale workflows (NHL, Pixar, Adobe)
- Enterprise finance and risk (G-Research, hedge funds running backtests and model inference)
- Telecommunications and state actors scaling agentic workloads (SK Telecom, national defense/intelligence agencies)
- Healthcare systems and research (Boston Children's Hospital, institutions managing genomics and diagnostic imaging)
Publicly disclosed clients
- CoreWeave
- xAI
- SK Telecom
- Pixar
- National Hockey League (NHL)
- Boston Children's Hospital
- G-Research
Strengths and what to watch
Strengths
- Achieved $2B ARR and $500M CARR with positive operating margin and free cash flow—rare profitability at this scale in infrastructure.
- NVIDIA backing, integration, and product co-development; runs natively on NVIDIA-powered servers, tightening lock-in.
- Gartner leader in file/object storage (2024); established distribution through federal partnerships (Carahsoft) and integration with Nvidia's go-to-market.
Watch for
- Extreme customer concentration: $1.17B multi-year deal with CoreWeave (a single data center operator reliant on Microsoft for 62% of revenue) represents significant revenue dependency risk; CoreWeave slowdown or pivot would cascade.
- NVIDIA platform encroachment: as NVIDIA moves "up the stack" into data orchestration (BlueField, data-center software), independent storage vendors risk commoditization or margin compression.
- Unproven profitability at scale: Rule of X = 228% is exceptional but relies on conservative churn assumptions; enterprise storage is sticky but hyperscaler contracts are renegotiable and project-based.
Recent moves
- 4mo ago VAST Data recognizes Carahsoft with Federal Partner of the Year award for 2025
- 5mo ago VAST Data closes Series F financing at $30 billion valuation with $1 billion raised, led by Drive Capital and Access Industries with NVIDIA participation
- 7mo ago Vast Forward 2026: Vast Data introduces end-to-end fully accelerated AI data stack with NVIDIA
Key Information
- Industry
- Storage
- Founded
- 2016
- Employees
- 1206
- Headquarters
- New York, USA
- Country
- United States
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Vast Data?
Vast Data is a unified data platform combining storage, database, and compute for AI training and agentic applications. Founded in 2016, it consolidates DataStore (file, object, and block storage), DataBase (AI-optimized with vector search), and DataSpace (distributed compute) into a single AI operating system for AI workloads.
How much did Vast Data raise in Series F?
In April 2026, Vast Data raised $1 billion in Series F at a $30 billion valuation, led by Drive Capital and Access Industries, with participation from Fidelity, NEA, and NVIDIA. This represented a threefold valuation jump from its Series E valuation of $9.1 billion in late 2023.
Is Vast Data profitable?
Yes. Vast Data achieved $2 billion in annual recurring revenue by early 2026 with over $500 million in committed ARR and positive operating margins plus free cash flow. This profitability at scale is rare for infrastructure companies, demonstrating strong unit economics and cash generation capability.
Who are Vast Data's main customers?
Vast Data serves diverse segments: AI cloud infrastructure providers like CoreWeave and xAI; media firms like Pixar and NHL; enterprise finance and hedge funds; telecommunications companies like SK Telecom; and healthcare systems like Boston Children's Hospital. Its customer base spans petabyte-scale AI, genomics, and diagnostic imaging workloads.
What are the main risks facing Vast Data?
Vast Data faces three key risks: extreme customer concentration with a $1.17 billion CoreWeave multi-year deal representing significant revenue dependency; NVIDIA competitive encroachment as it moves into data orchestration; and unproven profitability sustainability at scale despite strong Rule of X metrics, as hyperscaler contracts are renegotiable.
How does Vast Data rank in the data storage market?
Vast Data is a Gartner leader in file and object storage (2024) and ranked fifth on Deloitte's 2022 Technology Fast 500. Its near-vertical scaling and NVIDIA integration position it as a focal point in the infrastructure consolidation wave driven by GPU-intensive AI workloads and agentic computing.
How Vast Data compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Vast Data
- Positioning
- Unified data platform combining storage, database, and compute optimized for AI training and agentic applications.
- Customer segments
- AI cloud infrastructure providers (CoreWeave, xAI, cloud GPU marketplace operators)
- Strengths
- Achieved $2B ARR and $500M CARR with positive operating margin and free cash flow—rare profitability at this scale in infrastructure.
- Watch for
- Extreme customer concentration: $1.17B multi-year deal with CoreWeave (a single data center operator reliant on Microsoft for 62% of revenue) represents significant revenue dependency risk; CoreWeave slowdown or pivot would cascade.
- Recent moves
- VAST Data recognizes Carahsoft with Federal Partner of the Year award for 2025
Everpure (formerly Pure Storage)
- Positioning
- Flash storage vendor pivoting to unified data management platform for AI-era enterprise workloads.
- Customer segments
- Large enterprises in finance, healthcare, cloud-native AI; 14,500-plus customers, 64% Fortune 500 penetration.
- Strengths
- Evergreen subscription model enables non-disruptive hardware upgrades, locking in multi-year contracts without forklift replacements.
- Watch for
- Mid-rebrand pivot from flash storage to data management platform creates execution risk and customer base confusion during transition.
- Recent moves
- February 2026: rebranded as Everpure, announced and completed 1touch acquisition for data discovery and classification (closed May 2026).
WEKA
- Positioning
- Software-defined parallel file storage targeting GPU clusters, AI training, and HPC workloads.
- Customer segments
- AI labs, GPU cloud providers including CoreWeave and Cohere, NVIDIA-ecosystem deployments, genomics, and life sciences research.
- Strengths
- Microsecond-latency parallel I/O with GPU-Direct integration, rated 4.9 out of 5 on Gartner Peer Insights with 98% recommend rate.
- Watch for
- HPE ceased direct reselling of WEKA software (effective March 2026), removing a major hardware-bundled distribution channel mid-growth cycle.
- Recent moves
- March 2026: NVIDIA AI Factory partnership announced for joint GPU-cluster storage deployments.
DDN (DataDirect Networks)
- Positioning
- HPC-origin parallel file storage vendor pivoting to enterprise AI training and inference infrastructure.
- Customer segments
- Hyperscalers, national labs, GPU cloud providers, defense and government HPC, life sciences, and energy; enterprise motion expanding since 2025.
- Strengths
- EXAScaler parallel file system leads MLCommons storage benchmarks for NVMe-over-Fabrics throughput in GPU-dense environments.
- Watch for
- HPC-focused sales culture limits enterprise deal velocity; direct and channel motion remain underdeveloped outside government and research accounts.
- Recent moves
- January 2025: Blackstone Tactical Opportunities invested $300 million at a $5 billion valuation to accelerate AI infrastructure expansion.
Sources
- www.vastdata.com — Company mission, product portfolio (DataStore, DataBase, DataSpace), customer list, and core positioning as AI operating system
- en.wikipedia.org — Founding date (January 2016), founders (Renen Hallak, Shachar Fienblit, Jeff Denworth, Alon Horev), headquarters (New York City), market positioning, DASE architecture, Deloitte Fast 500 and FT fastest-growing rankings
- www.vastdata.com — Series F funding details (April 2026, $1B raised, $30B valuation), investor names (Drive Capital, Access Industries, NVIDIA, Fidelity, NEA), $4B cumulative bookings, $500M+ CARR, positive operating margin
- www.calcalistech.com — $2 billion ARR milestone by end of 2025, Series F valuation tripling from Series E
- www.vastdata.com — Named customer case studies: NHL, CoreWeave, SK Telecom, Leidos, Pixar
- blocksandfiles.com — Market positioning vs. Pure Storage and NetApp; co-founder Jeff Denworth on positive cash flow; $200M ARR targeting $600M+ in 2026
- www.storagenewsletter.com — 2026 product announcements, NVIDIA integration, policy engine and tuning engine releases planned by end of 2026
- www.globenewswire.com — Federal channel strategy, Carahsoft partnership for U.S. defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies