Fireworks raised $1.5bn on a bet that companies will build AI, not rent it

Fireworks, a San Mateo startup, raised $1.5bn in Series D funding at a $17.5bn valuation to promote companies building their own AI models rather than renting from big labs. Its platform specializes models on company data, serving over 40 trillion tokens daily, surpassing Google and OpenAI in token volume. Fireworks aims to expand its team and capitalize on the shift toward cheaper, specialized AI models.