Nominal, a startup that makes AI software for testing hardware such as aircraft, rocket engines and drones, said Monday it raised $240 million at a $3 billion valuation, triple what it was worth in March.
Lightspeed Venture Partners and Insight Partners led the Series C round, with Lux Capital, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Avenir, Salesforce Ventures, M13 and Lockheed Martin Ventures also investing, SiliconANGLE reported. Nominal was valued at $1 billion in March after an $80 million round.
What it does
Hardware tests produce streams of sensor readings, logs, video and simulation results. Nominal's platform pulls that data together, automates testing and uses an AI agent called Nominal Analyst to help engineers find what went wrong. The company says more than 80 commercial and government groups use it, including five of the seven biggest defense contractors, and customers such as Anduril and shipbuilder HII.
Why it's growing
Nominal's revenue has more than tripled since the start of the year, helped by heavy spending on defense technology, Quartz reported, citing Bloomberg. The company plans to use the money to build out products, enter new markets and possibly make more acquisitions after two startup purchases earlier this year.
"Hardware engineering is getting its AI moment," co-founder and CEO Cameron McCord said.