Funding round
Ayar Labs Series E
Ayar Labs, which works in optical i/o technology development in San Jose, raised $500M in a Series E round announced on 3 Mar 2026, led by Neuberger Berman, at a $3.75B post-money valuation. 15 firms took part. It is Ayar Labs' sixth venture round on record; the one before was a Series D in Dec 2024.
$500M
Amount raised
$3.75B
Post-money valuation
$3.25B pre-money
15
Investors
1 lead
3.8x
Step-up from the Series D
$1.00B in Dec 2024
13%
Stake sold
new money over the post-money
Valuation
What this round says about the price
This round priced Ayar Labs at $3.75B after the new money, 3.8 times the $1.00B of its Series D (Dec 2024). The $500M bought investors about 13% of the company. It came 15 months after Ayar Labs' Series D. It is 59% of the $847M Ayar Labs has raised in the venture rounds on record. No later venture round is on record for Ayar Labs.
Ayar Labs' funding rounds
Ayar Labs has 6 venture rounds on record and 1 other deal. This one is highlighted.
- Seed 1 Aug 2016 $2.5M
- Series A 7 Nov 2018, led by Playground $24M
- Debt not a venture round 1 Apr 2019 $3.0M
- Series B 5 Nov 2020, led by Downing Ventures and BlueSky Capital $35M
- Series C 1 Apr 2022, led by Boardman Bay $130M
- Series D 11 Dec 2024, led by Advent International and Light Street Capital $155M$1.00B post-money
- Series E this round 3 Mar 2026, led by Neuberger Berman $500M$3.75B post-money
Investors
Who put money in
Neuberger Berman led the round with 14 other firms.
Lead investor
- Neuberger Berman new investor
Also in the round
- ARK Invest backs 29 venture-backed companies new investor
- Insight Partners backs 548 venture-backed companies new investor
- Qatar Investment Authority backs 71 venture-backed companies new investor
- Sequoia Capital backs 589 venture-backed companies new investor
- 1789 Capital new investor
- AMD new investor
- Alchip Technologies new investor
- MediaTek new investor
- NVIDIA new investor
- Advent International backs 36 venture-backed companies new investor
- backs 7 venture-backed companies new investor
- backs 35 venture-backed companies new investor
- Light Street Capital new investor
- backs 51 venture-backed companies new investor
Joined the board: Gabe Cahill (Neuberger Berman).
Use of proceeds
What the money is for
According to the announcement, the money goes to product development, geographic expansion, scaling operations and working capital.
- Product development
- Geographic expansion
- Scaling operations
- Working capital
Comparable rounds
How it compares
The closest in time: 2 in Electronical Components Manufacturing, then Series E rounds in any sector within 6 months:
| Company | Announced | Amount | Post-money | Led by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronical Components Manufacturing | 9 Mar 2026 | $174M | $1.45B | 浦东创投集团 |
| Electronical Components Manufacturing | 2 Apr 2025 | $22M | $110M | 57 Stars |
| Quince Clothing Stores | 11 Mar 2026 | $500M | $10.10B | ICONIQ Capital |
| Tech Companies | 24 Mar 2026 | $220M | $2.00B | Founders Fund |
| Payment Processing & Point of Sale | 11 Mar 2026 | $81M | not disclosed | Prysm Capital and Left Lane Capital |
| Automobile Dealers & Manufacturers | 24 Mar 2026 | $47M | not disclosed | Lightrock |
| Medical Supply Manufacturers | 12 Mar 2026 | $28M | not disclosed | InnovaHealth Partners and Birchview Capital, LP |
| Golf Courses & Country Clubs | 17 Mar 2026 | undisclosed | not disclosed | Coral Tree Partners |
Sources
Where this comes from
Reported by 6 sources. The deal data marks this round as not yet confirmed by an official announcement. Unconfirmed
Questions
Frequently asked
How much did Ayar Labs raise in its Series E round?
Ayar Labs raised $500M in its Series E round, announced in Mar 2026.
Who led Ayar Labs' Series E round?
Neuberger Berman led it, with ARK Invest, Insight Partners, Qatar Investment Authority, Sequoia Capital and 1789 Capital and 9 more.
What was Ayar Labs' valuation at the Series E round?
$3.75B post-money ($3.25B pre-money).