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Chroma vs Nebius

Side-by-side on valuation, funding, investors, founders & more

Comparison updated: April 2026

Nebius is valued at $25B — more than 3x Chroma's N/A.

Head-to-Head Verdict

Nebius leads on 3 of 4 metrics

Chroma

1 win

-Funding
-Awaira Score
-Team Size
+Experience

Nebius

3 wins

+Funding
+Awaira Score
+Team Size
-Experience

Key Numbers

Valuation
N/A
$25B
Total Funding
$18M
$2B
Awaira Score
45/100
84/100
Employees
1-50
1,000
Founded
2022
2023
Stage
Seed
Private
ChromaNebius
Chroma logo
Chroma

🇺🇸 United States · Jeff Huber

SeedAI InfrastructureEst. 2022

Valuation

N/A

Total Funding

$18M

Awaira Score45/100

1-50 employees

Full Chroma Profile →
Winner
N
Nebius

🇳🇱 Netherlands

PrivateAI InfrastructureEst. 2023

Valuation

$25B

Total Funding

$2B

Awaira Score84/100

1,000 employees

Full Nebius Profile →
Market Context

As AI Infrastructure players, Chroma and Nebius target overlapping customers despite operating from different countries. The stage gap — Chroma at Seed vs Nebius at Private — shapes how each company allocates capital and talent.

🔬

Analyst Summary

Built from real data · Updated April 2026

Companies

Chroma and Nebius both operate in AI Infrastructure, though their strategies diverge significantly. Chroma builds an open-source AI-native vector database designed specifically for storing, indexing, and querying the high-dimensional embeddings that power retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, semantic search, and LLM memory layers. Nebius is a Dutch AI infrastructure company that provides full-stack AI cloud computing services, from GPU clusters to managed machine learning platforms.

Funding & Valuation

Nebius carries a disclosed valuation of $25B, while Chroma remains privately valued. With $2B raised, Nebius has attracted substantially more capital than Chroma ($18M).

Growth Stage

Established in 2022, Chroma has a modest 1-year head start over Nebius (2023). Chroma is at Seed while Nebius stands at Private, indicating different levels of maturity and investor risk. Team sizes also differ: Chroma employs 1-50 people versus Nebius's 1,000.

Geography & Outlook

Geography separates them: Chroma in 🇺🇸 United States and Nebius in 🇳🇱 Netherlands, each benefiting from local ecosystems. On Awaira's 0-100 scale, Nebius leads decisively at 84 compared to Chroma's 45. The competitive dynamics between these two companies are likely to intensify as the AI market matures.

Funding Velocity

Chroma

Total Rounds1
Avg. Round Size$18M

Nebius

Total Rounds1
Avg. Round Size$2B

Funding History

Chroma has completed 1 funding round, while Nebius has gone through 1. Chroma's most recent round was a Seed of $18M, compared to Nebius's Strategic ($2B). Chroma is at Seed while Nebius is at Private — different points in their growth trajectory.

Team & Scale

Nebius has the bigger team at roughly 1,000 people — 1000x the size of Chroma's 1-50. They're close in age — Chroma started in 2022 and Nebius in 2023. Geographically, they're in different markets — Chroma operates out of United States and Nebius from Netherlands.

Metrics Comparison

MetricChromaNebius
💰Valuation
N/A
$25B
📈Total Funding
$18M
$2BWINS
📅Founded
2022
2023WINS
🚀Stage
Seed
Private
👥Employees
1-50
1,000
🌍Country
United States
Netherlands
🏷️Category
AI Infrastructure
AI Infrastructure
Awaira Score
45
84WINS

Key Differences

📈

Funding gap: Nebius has raised $2B more ($2B vs $18M)

📅

Market experience: Chroma has 1 year more (founded 2022 vs 2023)

🚀

Growth stage: Chroma is at Seed vs Nebius at Private

👥

Team size: Chroma has 1-50 employees vs Nebius's 1,000

🌍

Market base: 🇺🇸 Chroma (United States) vs 🇳🇱 Nebius (Netherlands)

⚔️

Direct competitors: Both operate in the AI Infrastructure market segment

Awaira Score: Nebius scores 84/100 vs Chroma's 45/100

Which Should You Choose?

Use these signals to make the right call

Chroma logo

Choose Chroma if…

  • More market experience — founded in 2022
  • United States-based for regional compliance or proximity
  • Chroma builds an open-source AI-native vector database designed specifically for storing, indexing, and querying the high-dimensional embeddings that power retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, semantic search, and LLM memory layers
N

Choose Nebius if…

Top Pick
  • Higher Awaira Score — 84/100 vs 45/100
  • More established by valuation ($25B)
  • Stronger investor backing — raised $2B
  • Netherlands-based for regional compliance or proximity
  • Nebius is a Dutch AI infrastructure company that provides full-stack AI cloud computing services, from GPU clusters to managed machine learning platforms

Funding History

Chroma raised $18M across 1 round. Nebius raised $2B across 1 round.

Chroma

Seed

Jun 2022

$18M

Nebius

Strategic

Mar 2026

Lead: NVIDIA

$2B

Investor Comparison

No shared investors detected between these two companies.

Unique to Nebius

NVIDIA

Users Also Compare

FAQ — Chroma vs Nebius

Is Chroma bigger than Nebius?
Nebius has a disclosed valuation of $25B, while Chroma's valuation is not publicly available, making a direct size comparison difficult. Nebius employs 1,000 people.
Which company raised more funding — Chroma or Nebius?
Nebius has raised more in total funding at $2B, compared to Chroma's $18M — a gap of $2B. Combined, the two companies have completed 2 known funding rounds.
Which company has a higher Awaira Score?
Nebius leads with an Awaira Score of 84/100, while Chroma sits at 45/100. That 39-point gap reflects real differences in funding, scale, and traction — it's not a vanity metric.
Who founded Chroma vs Nebius?
Chroma was founded by Jeff Huber in 2022. Nebius's founder information is not currently available in our database.
What does Chroma do vs Nebius?
Chroma: Chroma builds an open-source AI-native vector database designed specifically for storing, indexing, and querying the high-dimensional embeddings that power retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, semantic search, and LLM memory layers. The database is designed to be simple to embed in Python applications with minimal configuration, making it the default choice for developers prototyping AI products.\n\nThe company raised approximately 18 million USD and has accumulated significant open-source adoption among AI developers building LLM applications who need a lightweight, locally runnable vector store that can also scale to cloud deployments. Chroma usage grew rapidly in parallel with the LangChain ecosystem, where it became a default integration for document retrieval workflows.\n\nVector databases are foundational infrastructure for the retrieval-augmented generation architecture that dominates production LLM application design. Chroma competes with Pinecone, Weaviate, Qdrant, and Milvus, and while it faces stronger enterprise competition from well-funded rivals, its developer-first positioning and open-source distribution give it deep penetration at the prototyping stage where tool choices frequently persist into production. Nebius: Nebius is a Dutch AI infrastructure company that provides full-stack AI cloud computing services, from GPU clusters to managed machine learning platforms. Originally spun out of Yandex, Nebius has established itself as a major AI infrastructure provider with strategic partnerships including a $2 billion investment from NVIDIA and a $27 billion infrastructure deal with Meta covering dedicated GPU capacity and compute resources over a five-year period. The company operates AI-optimized data centers and offers cloud services that span the entire AI stack — from bare-metal GPU access through high-level managed AI services. Nebius competes in the rapidly growing AI cloud market alongside CoreWeave, Lambda, and the major hyperscalers, differentiating through deep engineering expertise across hardware and software layers.
Which company was founded first?
Chroma got there first, launching in 2022 — that's 1 year of extra runway. Nebius didn't arrive until 2023. In AI, that kind of head start means more training data, deeper customer relationships, and a bigger talent moat.
Which company has more employees?
Chroma has about 1-50 employees; Nebius has about 1,000. A bigger team usually means more revenue or heavier VC backing, but in AI, small teams can build at massive scale.
Are Chroma and Nebius competitors?
Yes — they're direct rivals. Both Chroma and Nebius compete in AI Infrastructure, targeting many of the same buyers. If you're evaluating one, you should be looking at the other.

Bottom Line

Nebius has a clear lead here — Awaira Score of 84 vs Chroma's 45. The difference comes down to funding depth and strategic focus.

Who Should You Watch?

Nebius is in the stronger position — better score and deeper pockets. But Chroma has room to surprise, especially if they land a marquee investor. Follow both profiles on Awaira to track funding rounds, team changes, and score updates.

Deep Dive