On January 9, 2025, DDN, a leader in AI and data intelligence solutions, announced a significant $300 million investment from Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, valuing the company at $5 billion. This funding aims to support DDN's rapid growth in meeting the increasing demands for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.
Founded in 1998, DDN serves a diverse clientele, including major players in financial services, life sciences, and public sectors, as well as AI hyperscalers and cloud providers like xAI and Lambda. The company’s high-performance data intelligence platform is integral to powering NVIDIA clusters, enabling organizations to efficiently process and analyze data with high throughput and low latency.
DDN's solutions are designed to enhance data accessibility and processing speed, which are essential for managing data-intensive AI and HPC workloads. The company has established itself as a trusted partner for organizations looking to implement scalable and secure AI applications that yield significant business results.
Alex Bouzari, CEO and Co-Founder of DDN, emphasized that Blackstone's investment will accelerate their mission to redefine enterprise AI infrastructure. He believes this partnership will empower organizations globally with advanced AI solutions that foster innovation and deliver substantial returns on investment.
Paul Bloch, President and Co-Founder of DDN, highlighted the company's focus on addressing real AI business challenges, such as speeding up large language model (LLM) deployments and improving inferencing capabilities. This focus aims to help customers unlock their data's potential and achieve quicker, tangible returns.
Jas Khaira, Head of Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, noted that the digital infrastructure supporting the AI revolution is a key investment theme for Blackstone. He expressed excitement about being the first institutional investor in DDN, recognizing the company's critical role in advancing transformative AI deployments.
John Watson, Managing Director at Blackstone, praised DDN's innovative approach and its potential to drive further growth in artificial intelligence. He expressed enthusiasm for partnering with DDN to expand its reach and solutions in the coming years.
Blackstone is recognized as a leader in investing in digital infrastructure that fuels AI innovation. The firm is the largest data center provider globally, with extensive holdings across various regions, and has recently invested in CoreWeave, a cloud infrastructure provider pivotal to the AI sector.
BofA Securities served as the exclusive financial advisor to DDN for this transaction. For more information about DDN and its mission to transform data intelligence, visit their website.
In summary, the investment from Blackstone marks a significant milestone for DDN, positioning the company to enhance its offerings in AI and data intelligence, while also reinforcing Blackstone's commitment to supporting the digital infrastructure essential for AI advancements.
