Nominal has raised $240 million in a Series C round at a $3 billion valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and Insight Partners co-led it. The company announced the deal on November 9, 2026.
The new valuation is three times the $1 billion Nominal reached in March 2026. Nominal sells software that hardware makers use to test designs and track how their machines perform.
| Detail | Nominal |
|---|---|
| Product | Hardware intelligence platform |
| CEO | Cameron McCord (co-founder) |
| Round | Series C |
| Amount | $240 million |
| Valuation | $3 billion |
| Lead investor | Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| Co-lead investor | Insight Partners |
| Customers | More than 80 commercial and government organizations |
| Announced | November 9, 2026 |
Nominal Series C funding round and investors
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the $240 million Series C, with Insight Partners as co-lead. Lux Capital, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Avenir, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and M13 also invested, according to TokenPost.
Bloomberg first reported the round. Nominal did not say whether the $3 billion figure is a pre-money or post-money valuation.
Crunchbase lists Nominal as an Austin-based company. Its press release carried a Los Angeles dateline.
Nominal valuation growth: $1 billion to $3 billion in eight months
Nominal raised $80 million at a $1 billion valuation in March 2026, in a round led by Founders Fund. Eight months later, the company raised three times as much at three times the price.
| Metric | March 2026 | November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Valuation | $1 billion | $3 billion |
| Round size | $80 million | $240 million |
| Customer organizations | More than 60 | More than 80 |
Nominal told Quartz that its revenue has more than tripled since the start of 2026. The company has not disclosed revenue figures or headcount.
What Nominal’s hardware intelligence platform does
Hardware teams produce large amounts of test and sensor data. Much of the knowledge needed to read that data sits with individual engineers or in separate systems.
Nominal’s platform links the data to the engineering context behind it. Engineers use it to study complex systems, look into failures and make design decisions.
The platform covers aircraft, nuclear reactors, smart factories and other machines. Its Nominal Analyst agent reviews engineering data and ties each answer to the evidence behind it.
Developers can reach the platform through SQL, APIs and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). That lets teams connect their own tools and build custom agents, citybiz reported.
McCord said in the announcement that hardware engineering “is getting its AI moment.”
Nominal customers in defense and aerospace
More than 80 commercial and government organizations use Nominal. The list includes five of the seven largest defense contractors.
Named customers include Anduril Industries, shipbuilder HII and hypersonic aircraft developer Hermeus. Lockheed Martin backs the company through Lockheed Martin Ventures.
How Nominal will use the $240 million
Nominal plans to build more agents and applications for engineers. These will cover a machine’s full life, from checking design requirements to monitoring the health of fielded fleets.
The company will also expand into new industries and regions. Nominal’s sectors today include aerospace, defense, robotics, energy and advanced manufacturing.
Hardware engineering AI startups drawing large rounds
Nominal is one of several startups building AI for physical engineering this autumn. In October, chip and hardware design simulation company Vinci raised a $250 million Series B, as covered in our funding roundup for October 7 to 12.
Weeks later, Dulo raised a $130 million seed to build foundation models for hardware design. That deal is listed in the AI rounds tracked from October 26 to November 1.
Crunchbase News ranked Nominal’s Series C sixth among U.S. rounds announced from November 7 to 13, 2026.
| Company | Amount | Round | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirendil | $1 billion | Series A | Agentic AI for R&D |
| Mercor | $750 million | Series D | Human-led AI training |
| Torus | $500 million | Growth | Power and compute infrastructure |
| Path Robotics | $300 million | Series E | AI for manufacturing |
| LangChain | $300 million | Series C | AI agent platform |
| Nominal | $240 million | Series C | Hardware engineering tools |
| Mavria | $130 million | Pre-seed and seed | AI data center infrastructure |
FAQ
How much did Nominal raise in its Series C?
Nominal raised $240 million in a Series C round announced on November 9, 2026, at a $3 billion valuation.
Who led Nominal’s Series C round?
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and Insight Partners co-led it. Lux Capital, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Avenir, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and M13 also invested.
What does Nominal do?
Nominal sells a hardware intelligence platform. It connects test and operating data from machines such as aircraft and reactors with engineering context, so teams can investigate problems and verify designs.
How fast has Nominal’s valuation grown?
Nominal’s valuation tripled from $1 billion in March 2026 to $3 billion in November 2026. The company says its revenue has more than tripled since the start of the year.
Who uses Nominal?
More than 80 commercial and government organizations use Nominal, including five of the seven largest defense contractors. Named customers include Anduril Industries, HII and Hermeus.
