Key facts
- Nominal said it has 80 commercial and government organizations as customers.
- Defense company Anduril, co-founded by Founders Fund's Trae Stephens, is one of Nominal's key customers, the company said.
- Nominal CEO and co-founder Cameron McCord is a former U.S. Navy submarine officer and an Anduril alum.
- Other investors in Nominal include Sequoia, General Catalyst and Lux Capital, the company said.
Nominal, a four-year-old Austin-based startup, said on November 9, 2026 that it raised a $240 million Series C at a $3 billion valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and Insight Partners co-led it, according to the company's announcement.
The valuation triples the $1 billion Nominal reached in March, when it announced a $155 million Series B extension led by Trae Stephens at Founders Fund. That round was a preemptive deal, meaning the investor initiated the offer rather than the startup. Other investors in the company include Sequoia, General Catalyst and Lux Capital.
Nominal sells an AI platform built for engineering and testing complex hardware such as aircraft, nuclear reactors and smart factories. The company said it has 80 commercial and government organizations as customers, among them Anduril, the defense company Stephens co-founded.
In October, the Air Force selected Nominal for a $71.2 million Strategic Funding Increase investment, a program that requires matching funds from outside the Air Force. CEO and co-founder Cameron McCord, a former U.S. Navy submarine officer and Anduril alum, is pictured in the report.