Upscale AI Raises $200M to Challenge Nvidia's NVLink with SkyHammer Platform

Upscale AI announced a $200 million funding round and launched SkyHammer, a full-stack networking platform targeting Nvidia's (NVDA) dominant NVLink technology in AI scale-up networks. The move challenges Nvidia's networking segment, which posted $8.19 billion revenue in fiscal Q3 2026, a 162% year-over-year increase. The startup, founded in 2024 by former Cavium executive Rajiv Khemani and ex-Juniper Networks veteran Barun Kar, designed SkyHammer as a purpose-built memory fabric ASIC. The chip delivers deterministic latency and high-radix switching while supporting open standards including UALink and Ultra Ethernet Consortium protocols, enabling heterogeneous computing across CPU, GPU, and accelerator vendors. Backed by Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm, Upscale AI addresses the projected $100 billion AI interconnect market by 2030. The company has partnered with hyperscale operators and GPU suppliers, allocating fresh capital toward commercial deployment of its technology.