Key Takeaways
- • DriveNets raised $410 million in Series D funding at an $8.5 billion valuation, more than tripling its value from the $2.5 billion Series C valuation, with total cumulative investment now exceeding $1 billion.
- • The Israeli networking company is cash-flow positive with over $1 billion in orders and project backlog, positioning it to capitalize on accelerating global AI infrastructure investment in 2026-2027.
- • Bessemer Venture Partners and Atreides Management led the round, with participation from existing investors Pitango and D1 Capital Partners, strategic investor AMD, and new backer Red Dot Capital Partners.
- • DriveNets develops proprietary software-layered networking solutions that optimize AI infrastructure performance for telecommunications providers, cloud operators, and leading AI companies, with AT&T serving as a major deployed customer.
- • The company is exploring a secondary transaction later in 2026 as it scales deployment capacity to meet enterprise demand for high-performance AI compute cluster infrastructure.
Summary
DriveNets, an Israeli networking infrastructure company, has secured $410 million in Series D funding at an $8.5 billion valuation, reflecting significant momentum in AI infrastructure investment. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Atreides Management, with participation from existing investors Pitango and D1 Capital Partners, strategic investor AMD, and new investor Red Dot Capital Partners. Cumulative investment in the company since inception now totals approximately $1 billion.
The company's valuation represents a substantial appreciation from its Series C round, which valued DriveNets at over $2.5 billion. This trajectory underscores investor confidence in the company's positioning within the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market. DriveNets develops networking solutions that enhance end-to-end AI infrastructure performance for telecommunications providers, cloud operators, and leading AI companies building large-scale systems. The company's technology combines standard infrastructure with proprietary software layers designed to enable high-performance scaling across massive AI compute clusters.
A critical competitive advantage for investors is DriveNets' demonstrated financial strength: the company is already cash-flow positive with over $1 billion in orders and project backlog. This metric is rare among venture-backed infrastructure companies and suggests strong commercial traction. The new capital will support expansion of its AI infrastructure business, increase platform capacity for large-scale deployments, and address anticipated demand growth in 2026 and 2027 as global investment in AI infrastructure accelerates.
AT&T, the American telecommunications giant, represents a significant customer anchor for DriveNets, with the company's Network Cloud solution already widely deployed in AT&T's core network infrastructure. Additionally, AT&T previously acquired shares from employees and investors in July 2025 for $650 million, demonstrating the strategic importance of DriveNets within the telecom industry. The company's founders, CEO Ido Susan and Chief Strategy Officer Hillel Kobrinsky, bring substantial exit experience—Susan previously founded Intucell, which Cisco acquired in 2013 for $475 million after the company had raised only $6 million.
DriveNets is exploring a potential secondary transaction later in 2026, which may provide liquidity opportunities for early investors and employees while the company continues scaling operations to meet enterprise demand for AI-optimized networking infrastructure.
The company's valuation represents a substantial appreciation from its Series C round, which valued DriveNets at over $2.5 billion. This trajectory underscores investor confidence in the company's positioning within the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market. DriveNets develops networking solutions that enhance end-to-end AI infrastructure performance for telecommunications providers, cloud operators, and leading AI companies building large-scale systems. The company's technology combines standard infrastructure with proprietary software layers designed to enable high-performance scaling across massive AI compute clusters.
A critical competitive advantage for investors is DriveNets' demonstrated financial strength: the company is already cash-flow positive with over $1 billion in orders and project backlog. This metric is rare among venture-backed infrastructure companies and suggests strong commercial traction. The new capital will support expansion of its AI infrastructure business, increase platform capacity for large-scale deployments, and address anticipated demand growth in 2026 and 2027 as global investment in AI infrastructure accelerates.
AT&T, the American telecommunications giant, represents a significant customer anchor for DriveNets, with the company's Network Cloud solution already widely deployed in AT&T's core network infrastructure. Additionally, AT&T previously acquired shares from employees and investors in July 2025 for $650 million, demonstrating the strategic importance of DriveNets within the telecom industry. The company's founders, CEO Ido Susan and Chief Strategy Officer Hillel Kobrinsky, bring substantial exit experience—Susan previously founded Intucell, which Cisco acquired in 2013 for $475 million after the company had raised only $6 million.
DriveNets is exploring a potential secondary transaction later in 2026, which may provide liquidity opportunities for early investors and employees while the company continues scaling operations to meet enterprise demand for AI-optimized networking infrastructure.
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