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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding deal roundup here.
The pace of big funding rounds continued to hold up at brisk levels this past week, led by a $1.4 billion financing for “robot brain” developer Skild AI. More big rounds went to startups in sectors including AI chips, brain-computer interfaces, defense tech, biotech and airplanes, among others.
1. Skild AI, $1.4B, robotics: Skild AI, a robotics company building an “omni-bodied” brain to operate any robot for any task, announced it raised $1.4 billion, tripling its valuation to over $14 billion. SoftBank Group led the Pittsburgh-based startup’s latest financing, which comes just over seven months after it raised a Series B at a $4.5 billion valuation.
2. Etched.ai, $500M, AI and semiconductors: Etched.ai, a startup working on chips for AI superintelligence, reportedly secured $500 million in new funding. Stripes led the financing, which was said to set a $5 billion valuation for the Silicon Valley-based company.
3. Merge Labs, $252M, brain-computer interfaces: Merge Labs, a Sam Altman-founded startup based in San Francisco, which is working on brain-computer interfaces that interact with the brain at high bandwidth and integrate with advanced AI, reportedly locked up a $252 million seed round. According to reports, OpenAI was the largest backer.
4. Mirador Therapeutics, $250M, biotech: San Diego-based Mirador Therapeutics, a precision medicine startup developing therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, says it closed on $250 million in Series B funding. The company said the round brings total capital raised to more than $650 million since it launched in March 2024.
5. (tied) Onebrief, $200M, defense tech: Defense tech startup Onebrief has raised another $200 million and reportedly acquired a small battle simulation company, Battle Road Digital. Battery Ventures and Sapphire Ventures led the Series D funding for Honolulu-based Onebrief, which makes AI-driven collaborative and planning software used for military operations.
5. (tied) Beast Industries, $200M, media: Bitmine Immersion Technologies, an Ethereum treasury company, announced that it made a $200 million equity investment into Beast Industries — also known as MrBeast — the Greenville, South Carolina-based entertainment and consumer products company founded by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson.
7. JetZero, $175M, aerospace: Long Beach, California-based JetZero, a developer of planes with much higher fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions than existing commercial airliners, picked up $175 million in Series B financing led by B Capital. Founded in 2020, JetZero says it is looking to enter commercial service in the early 2030s.
8. Deepgram, $143M, voice AI: Deepgram, an API platform for voice AI, secured $130 million in Series C funding led by AVP at a $1.3 billion valuation. San Francisco-based Deepgram also announced that it acquired OfOne, an AI voice platform for restaurants and drive-thru operators.
9. Defense Unicorns, $136M, defense tech: Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Defense Unicorns, a provider of software delivery for national security mission systems, locked up $136 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities.
10. (tied) Mytra, $120M, robotics: Mytra, a developer of industrial robotics technology for warehouse operations, raised $120 million in a Series C round led by Avenir. Founded in 2022, Brisbane, California-based Mytra has raised close to $200 million to date, per Crunchbase data.
10. (tied) Tulip Interfaces, $120M, AI for manufacturers: Boston-based Tulip Interfaces, a developer of AI-enabled tools for manufacturers to digitize processes and improve production, says it secured $120 million in Series D funding backed by Mitsubishi Electric.
Methodology
We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Jan. 10-16. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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