Nominal, an Austin-based startup that provides an AI platform for engineering and testing complex hardware, has raised a $240 million Series C at a $3 billion valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, and Insight Partners co-led it.
The valuation is three times the level set in March, when Nominal announced a $155 million Series B extension at $1 billion. Trae Stephens of Founders Fund led that round, which was a preemptive deal, meaning the investor initiated the offer rather than the company. Sequoia, General Catalyst and Lux Capital are also among Nominal's investors.
Four years old, the company builds software for engineering and testing hardware such as aircraft, nuclear reactors and smart factories. It says it has 80 commercial and government organizations as customers.
Anduril, the defense company co-founded by Stephens, is one of its key customers. In October, the U.S. Air Force selected Nominal for a $71.2 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) investment, a programme that requires matching funds from outside the Air Force.
Nominal is led by co-founder and CEO Cameron McCord, a former U.S. Navy submarine officer and an Anduril alumnus.
