# VAST Data

VAST Data is a privately held technology company focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning computing infrastructure. The company offers a data computing platform to help enterprises and cloud service providers manage and accelerate large-scale data-intensive applications.

## History

VAST Data was founded in 2016 by Renen Hallak, the former head of R&D at XtremIO (acquired in 2012 by Dell EMC), Shachar Fienblit, formerly of Kaminario, and Jeff Denworth, formerly of CTERA Networks. Mike Wing, formerly of Dell EMC, serves as company president.
In February 2019, VAST emerged from stealth mode, announcing $80 million of funding and the launch of its data storage software built on a new distributed systems architecture called DASE (Disaggregated and Shared Everything).
VAST ranked No. 5 on the 2022 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and No. 3 on the 2023 Financial Times list of The Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies.
In December 2023 VAST announced it had surpassed $1 billion in cumulative software bookings; had surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR); and had maintained positive cash flow for the previous 12 quarters with a gross margin of nearly 90 percent.
In 2024 VAST was included in the Forbes Cloud 100, a list of the top private cloud computing companies, and was named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for File and Object Storage Platforms.

## Funding

VAST Data has raised $381million in funding.
In December 2023 VAST announced a Series E funding round led by Fidelity Management and Research Co. that raised $118 million at a valuation of $9.1 billion.
| Series | Date | Amount (million $) | Lead Investor(s) |
| A | 2016 | 15 | 83North, Norwest |
| A1 | 2018 | 25 | Dell Technologies Capital, 83North, Norwest |
| B | 2019 | 40 | Greenfield, 83North, Norwest |
| C | 2020 | 100 | Next47 |
| D | 2021 | 83 | Tiger Global Management |
| E | 2023 | 118 | Fidelity Management and Research Co. |

## Product

The VAST Data Platform enables organizations to store, manage, and process large amounts of structured and unstructured data for AI and deep learning initiatives. The platform comprises several:
* VAST DataStore (formerly known as Universal Storage), an unstructured data storage solution
* VAST DataBase, a database management system (DBMS) that includes the constructs of a traditional database, data warehouse, and data lake
* VAST DataEngine (scheduled to be generally available in 2025), a global function execution engine
* VAST DataSpace, a global namespace that permits every location to store, retrieve, and process data
* VAST InsightEngine with NVIDIA, a real-time retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solution
The platform is deployable in on-premises data centers, public clouds, and edge environments, and is delivered as a subscription-based service.

## Operations

VAST operates globally with a strong presence in key international markets, including Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. VAST is a no-headquarters company with offices in New York City; Durham, North Carolina; Campbell, California; and Yafo, Israel.
VAST partners with several systems technology vendors worldwide, including Arista, Cisco, Equinix, HPE, Lenovo, NVIDIA, and Supermicro.