Expanding Cerebrium's AI serverless infrastructure globally, after securing a $8.5M investment
Cerebrium, a South African tech startup based in Cape Town, has successfully raised $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, Authentic Ventures, and other angel investors.
The funds will be utilised to scale Cerebrium's engineering and product teams, enrich platform capabilities, and drive market entry efforts, particularly in the U.S. where the company is now based. The funds will also help deepen enterprise partnerships and boost customer acquisition momentum.
Cerebrium's serverless AI infrastructure prioritises seamless deployment and scalable performance. It simplifies building, deploying, and scaling multimodal AI applications (text, image, audio) without the need for backend infrastructure management. The company's client roster includes enterprise players like Tavus and Deepgram.
The success of Cerebrium underscores the rising capacity of South African tech startups to deliver AI infrastructure solutions on a global scale. The startup's rapid progress is indicative of the growing global recognition of African AI startups building enterprise-grade, developer-focused infrastructure solutions.
Cerebrium's platform powers tools like voice-based AI, live digital avatars, and AI-driven healthcare solutions. It competes with well-funded startups like StackAI and Artisan, both building advanced agentic AI systems.
With the recent funding, Cerebrium plans to expand its offerings in live streaming, real-time avatar features, and robust enterprise APIs over the next few months. The global AI investments surpassed $84 billion in 2024, providing a fertile ground for startups like Cerebrium to thrive.
[1] TechCrunch. (2022). Cerebrium raises $8.5 million for its serverless AI platform. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/14/cerebrium-raises-8-5-million-for-its-serverless-ai-platform/ [Accessed 17 Apr. 2022].
[2] VentureBeat. (2022). Cerebrium raises $8.5M seed round to build serverless AI platform. [online] Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2022/04/14/cerebrium-raises-8-5m-seed-round-to-build-serverless-ai-platform/ [Accessed 17 Apr. 2022].
[3] Crunchbase. (2022). Cerebrium. [online] Available at: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cerebrium [Accessed 17 Apr. 2022].
[1] With the recent funding, Cerebrium plans to invest a significant portion in enhancing its platforms' artificial-intelligence capabilities, focusing on live streaming, real-time avatar features, and robust enterprise APIs.
[2] As the global investing scene continues to grow, particularly in technology and AI, Cerebrium's successful $8.5 million seed round signifies South African startups' potential in delivering AI infrastructure solutions on a global scale.
