How to invest in Upscale AI stock pre-IPO

As AI demand grows, developing chips and building out data centers aren't necessarily the only bottlenecks. The various pieces of hardware (including chips, memory and storage) within data centers also need to share information with one another. Yet in Upscale AI's view, previous networking technologies were not built to meet the demands of AI workloads, which require high bandwidth and low latency. So, Upscale AI is building out open-standards network infrastructure platforms that are purpose-built for AI systems.¹ In just about two years since its founding, the company has already attracted significant investor interest, rising to a $2 billion valuation with its Series A-1 in June 2026.²

Ultimately, Upscale AI wants to become the next Cisco, as reported by Fortune. In the 1990s, when PCs first started connecting to the internet, Cisco played a major role (along with Juniper) in building the network infrastructure that facilitated this connectivity, and now Upscale AI is trying to do the same for an AI era.³

However, the company is still in its early stages, as it is working on bringing its scale-up and scale-out networking platforms to market.⁴ As it starts to commercialize its products, its valuation and potential path to the public market may change. For now, Upscale AI remains a private company, but accredited investors may be able to access pre-IPO Upscale AI stock through a private marketplace such as Forge, subject to share availability, investor eligibility and other applicable requirements. Non-accredited investors may also be able to gain indirect exposure through other assets, as this guide explains.

Upscale AI: Company background

Upscale AI was founded in 2024 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.⁴ The company was founded by Barun Kar, who serves as Chief Executive Officer, and Rajiv Khemani, who serves as Executive Chairman.⁵ The company spun out of AI/blockchain tech company Auradine¹ (now called Velaura AI⁶).

Kar's previous experience includes senior roles at Palo Alto Networks and Juniper.⁷ Khemani was Chief Operating Officer at Cavium (a network, security and mobile infrastructure company) that he helped take public, and he later co-founded Innovium (a cloud network switch solutions company) — both companies have since been acquired by semiconductor and infrastructure company Marvell.⁸

Upscale AI is developing two main platforms:

• SkyHammer: A scale-up product, with a custom-designed ASIC to connect AI accelerators, memory and storage into a unified, synchronized system, intended to improve AI training and inference speed, efficiency, and performance.⁹
• Open Ethernet systems: A scale-out product (still to be named) that uses Nvidia Spectrum-X switch silicon and is built on a SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud)-based system.⁹

In some ways, Upscale AI, with its focus on open standards, positions itself as an alternative to closed systems such as Nvidia's NVLink.¹ However, Nvidia is also a strategic partner, such as for Upscale AI's scale-out product, and Nvidia is also an investor in Upscale AI.¹⁰

Upscale AI stock history and funding history

Upscale AI has raised money quickly since its founding, totaling roughly half a billion dollars in primary round funding. Its initial seed round came in September 2025, when Upscale AI raised $82.9 million at a $274.78 million valuation, according to Forge Data. This round included investment from Maverick Silicon, Mayfield, StepStone Group and Qualcomm Ventures, among others.²

Shortly after, in January 2026, Upscale AI raised $203.07 million for its Series A, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. In addition to Maverick Silicon and Mayfield, this round included investors such as Intel Capital, Premji Invest, Samsung Catalyst and Tiger Global, among others.²

Most recently, in June 2026, Upscale AI's Series A extension — a Series A-1 — raised another $190 million and doubled its valuation to $2 billion, which brought in new investors such as Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures and Temasek, alongside several existing ones such as Maverick Silicon, Mayfield and Premji Invest.²

Forge Data as of 10/02/2026

At this time, Upscale AI's Forge Price is unavailable due to limited data. Check back here or create an account with Forge for more updates on Upscale AI's stock price history, as well as more valuation information.

Forge Price is a derived data point that reflects the up-to-date price performance of venture-backed, late-stage companies, and is calculated based on a proprietary model incorporating pricing inputs from primary funding round information, secondary market transactions and indications of interest (IOIs) on Forge.

Upscale AI IPO outlook

Upscale AI has not announced specific plans for an IPO. The company is still moving into commercial deployment, and it expects to start selling its networking solutions sometime in 2026.¹⁰

On average, VC-backed companies take 11 years to go public, based on data from 2001-2025.¹¹ An Upscale AI press release in January 2026 quoted an analyst at 650 Group saying that AI networking is on track to become a $100 billion per year industry by the end of this decade.¹⁰ However, there has been no indication that the company is focused on the public market.

Instead, Upscale AI's main moves have apparently been scaling its valuation through primary funding rounds, as well as getting on the AI world's radar, given that it only came out of stealth last year.¹ So, at most, Upscale AI could be considered pre-IPO at this stage, but it may be premature to even say that an IPO is in the pipeline.

How to invest in Upscale AI stock

As a private company, Upscale AI stock is not available to trade via traditional brokerages.

Instead, accredited investors may be able to access shares of some private companies like Upscale AI through secondary market transactions on private marketplaces like Forge, through which existing shareholders such as employees or early investors may sell their holdings. An accredited investor is a person or entity that meets income or net-worth thresholds, or professional criteria, as set by the SEC.¹²

However, private market access can come with constraints. Share availability is not guaranteed, and companies often impose transfer restrictions, including a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) that lets the company or existing investors buy shares before an outside buyer can when an existing shareholder tries to sell. Private company shares are also typically illiquid, especially compared to public market securities, and valuations can be uncertain.

To learn more about pre-IPO opportunities, explore our buyer's guide to investing in private market shares or our comprehensive pre-IPO investing guide. Eligible investors can also create a free account on Forge to explore available private market investment opportunities.

Potential indirect exposure to Upscale AI for non-accredited investors

Investors who do not meet accredited investor requirements generally cannot invest directly in a private company like Upscale AI. However, even if you can not directly buy and sell Upscale AI stock, you may be able to gain indirect or thematic exposure to the AI networking and broader AI infrastructure sector through public companies and funds.

Some examples of publicly traded companies that operate in AI networking and semiconductors include Nvidia, Broadcom, Arista Networks, Cisco Systems and Marvell. Sector exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on semiconductors or technology infrastructure, along with broad technology funds, may offer another way to track the AI infrastructure theme.

These alternatives do not provide direct ownership of Upscale AI or equivalent economic exposure to it. Their performance may differ from any potential investment in Upscale AI, based on factors such as individual company business decisions and market-wide factors that may affect companies in different ways.

How to analyze Upscale AI stock

Evaluating a private company like Upscale AI generally differs from analyzing a public company's stock, which generally provides more financial transparency. However, a few factors that may help frame the analysis of an early-stage private company like Upscale AI include:

• Funding and valuation history: Upscale AI's valuation climbed from about $275 million to $2 billion in less than a year, while raising nearly $500 million.² That trajectory may reflect investor conviction, but it also potentially sets a high bar for future growth.
• Market opportunity: Related to funding and valuation, investors might analyze what they consider to be the market opportunity of AI networking infrastructure as they assess how Upscale AI fits into that picture.
• Competitive positioning: Upscale AI positions itself as using open standards and being purpose-built for AI, while competing with established players like Nvidia in some areas. As such, investors might weigh how they think this competitive positioning will land in the market as they try to assess how much of the market opportunity Upscale AI may capture.
• Leadership experience: At some early-stage companies with limited financial data, one data point that investors may consider is the company leadership's background. In Upscale AI's case, its founders have relevant backgrounds from companies such as Palo Alto Networks, Innovium and Cavium, but investors must weigh how this experience may translate into Upscale AI stock performance.

Even with a thorough analysis across these types of areas, private market stock analysis can be highly subjective, especially considering private company data for key metrics like revenue and profit may not be available anytime soon. And in Upscale AI's case, data on private market activity is currently limited, so investors may have less of a reference point compared to some later-stage private companies.

Potential risks of investing in pre-IPO Upscale AI stock

Investing in private, pre-IPO companies such as Upscale AI involves risks that can affect company performance, valuation, liquidity and investment outcomes. The factors below provide context for those risks and are not exhaustive. Investors should conduct their own independent due diligence before making any decision:

• Company-specific risks: Upscale AI is an early-stage company that has not yet fully launched commercially. At this point, it is unclear how and when Upscale AI will ship products, win long-term customers, scale manufacturing and other aspects of execution that can affect its ability to generate sustained revenue at scale.
• Competitive pressures: The AI networking market includes established competitors such as Nvidia, as well as companies like Cisco and Broadcom that may adapt their offerings for AI workloads or potentially develop new products. Other startups also compete with Upscale AI, such as Nexthop AI.
• Execution and capital needs: Building custom silicon and scaling the company overall may require significant new capital and complex execution.
• Valuation considerations: The fast rise to a $2 billion valuation, before commercial deployment, arguably reflects high expectations for future growth. If the company misses milestones or market conditions change, that could affect its valuation.
• Private market risks: Private market shares are often illiquid, information is limited compared with public companies and transfer restrictions can constrain when and whether an investor can sell.
• Loss of capital: As with any investment, and especially with speculative pre-IPO holdings, investors could lose some or all of their capital.

Learn more about investing in Upscale AI on Forge

If you are interested in investing in Upscale AI before a potential IPO if/when shares become available, eligible investors can open a free Forge account. Once your account is active and your accreditation is verified, you may gain access to real-time private market data, context-rich insights and a marketplace built for self-directed investors.

Not sure where to begin? You can read our buyer's guide to investing in private market shares. And if questions come up along the way, Forge's experienced specialists are available to support you.