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Ollama raises $65M Series B to help developers run open-weight AI models

Created at 9 Jul · 1:20 PM1 source↑ Market-relevant
IN SHORT

Ollama, an open-source tool for running AI models on personal computers, has secured $65 million in Series B funding. The company has grown to nearly 9 million users and aims to simplify AI model accessibility for developers.

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Key Numbers

$65 millionSeries B funding raised
$88 millionTotal funding raised
2023Year Ollama launched
9 millionDevelopers using Ollama
14Ollama employees
85%Fortune 500 companies using Ollama
$100/monthMaximum subscription tier

Who's Involved

Ollama
Popular open source AI developer tool
Theory Venture
Led the $65 million Series B funding round
Jeff Morgan
Founder and CEO of Ollama
Peter Fenton
Led Ollama's previous $15 million Series A round
Benchmark
Venture capital firm that led Ollama's Series A
Michael Chiang
Co-founder of Ollama
Ollama raises $65M Series B to help developers run open-weight AI models

↳ Why This Matters

Ollama's substantial funding and user growth highlight the increasing demand for accessible open-source AI tools, signaling a potential shift in how enterprises and developers utilize AI models by favoring more cost-effective open-weight solutions.

Key facts

  • Ollama, an open-source AI developer tool, has raised $65 million in Series B funding.
  • The company has grown to nearly 9 million users.
  • Ollama helps developers run open-weight AI models on their PCs.
  • The funding round was led by Theory Venture.
  • Ollama's total funding now stands at $88 million.

Ollama, a popular open-source tool designed to help developers run AI models on their personal computers, has successfully raised $65 million in a Series B funding round led by Theory Venture. This latest investment brings the company's total funding to $88 million, following a previous $15 million Series A round. Launched in 2023, Ollama has rapidly gained traction among developers, boasting nearly 9 million users and significant adoption within 85% of Fortune 500 companies. The tool simplifies the process of setting up and running open-weight AI models, addressing a gap identified by its founders, who previously worked on Docker and Kitematic. Ollama offers various subscription tiers for accessing larger models hosted on its cloud infrastructure, with pricing based on GPU time rather than token limits. The company's success is seen as a validation of the growing trend towards open-weight AI models for enterprise use, complementing rather than replacing closed-source alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Ollama is an open-source tool that allows developers to easily run open-weight AI models on their personal computers.

Ollama has raised a total of $88 million, including a recent $65 million Series B round.

The founders are Jeff Morgan and Michael Chiang, who previously worked on Docker Desktop.

Open-weight models are seen as a more affordable alternative for companies with high inference costs, potentially driving enterprise adoption.

What Happens Next

01Ollama will continue to develop its open-source platform for running AI models.
02The company plans to leverage the new funding to expand its cloud offerings and user base.

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How It Developed

Ollama, an open-source AI tool, launched in 2023.
The company previously raised $15 million in a Series A round.
Ollama has now raised a total of $88 million.
The company has grown to nearly 9 million users.
Ollama announced a $65 million Series B funding round led by Theory Venture.

Sources

T1
Popular open source AI developer tool Ollama raises $65M, grows to nearly 9M usersTechCrunch

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