Front-end development startup Vercel Inc. is reportedly raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding.

Sources told Bloomberg today that Accel is leading the investment. The cash infusion is expected to value Vercel at about $9 billion, nearly triple what it was worth following its most recent $250 million raise last May. That funding round was also led by Accel.

The company commercializes Next.js, a popular open-source framework for building web application interfaces. The technology can offload processing tasks that are usually done in the user’s browser to website operators’ servers. That allows those tasks to be completed faster, which reduces webpage loading times.

Vercel provides a cloud service that allows developers to quickly update Next.js-based websites. According to the company, its software can complete code rollouts that usually take minutes in a few seconds. It achieves that speedup partly by removing the need to change a website’s configuration settings before an update.

It also offers several other development tools. According to the company, those products ease tasks such as managing the database in which a web application keeps its information and rolling back faulty software updates.

Reports that Vercel is seeking new capital first emerged two weeks ago. The Information reported at the time that the fundraising push comes amid a “growth spurt” across the company’s services, including its lineup of artificial intelligence tools. Vercel’s AI suite has emerged as a core focus of its product development efforts. 

Earlier this month, the company launched an AI programming assistant called v0. It can surface interface design ideas and turn those ideas into functioning code. Additionally, v0 can scan an existing website interface’s code for technical issues.

In May, Vercel debuted a service called AI Gateway. It enables developers to quickly change the AI model used by a web application. If the large language model that powers a chatbot goes offline, AI Gateway can reroute requests to a different algorithm.

Another recent addition to the company’s lineup of AI services provides developers with access to graphics processing units. According to Vercel, its pricing is up to 90% lower than what the competition charges. The company only bills customers for GPUs assigned to a web applications when those chips are actively used.

The new funding round reportedly in the works should make it easier for Vercel to procure GPUs. Additionally, it could enable the company to accelerate its product development efforts by making acquisitions. In January, Vercel bought the startup behind Tremor, a popular open-source tool for building website interfaces.

Image: Vercel