Beyond AI: 5 Startup Sectors Seeing Big Funding Growth

Last year, AI grabbed half of venture dollars globally. But the sector’s blockbuster growth hasn’t necessarily come at the expense of other startup industries. Rather, areas that benefit from AI-driven automation such as legal tech, or that combine AI software with physical tech, like robotics and defense tech, are seeing record-high funding levels as well, Crunchbase data shows.

With that, here are five areas where we’ve seen venture funding increase significantly in recent quarters.

Legal tech

The legal industry may have a reputation for stodginess, but when it comes to automating and streamlining, the sector has been quick on the uptake with new technologies. Venture funding to legal tech startups last year totaled more than $4 billion, per Crunchbase data. That’s a record, and nearly double the $2.2 billion the sector raised a year earlier.

Some of the larger funding recipients in the space last year include:

• Clio, which makes cloud-based practice management for law firms, raised $500 million in a New Enterprise Associates-led equity round in November, plus $350 million in debt.
• Harvey, a startup that makes AI tools for lawyers, raised $819 million over the course of four funding rounds in 2025.
• Filevine, a startup that offers a legal operating platform to integrate AI for case, document and lead management, raised $260 million in a September Series E.

Robotics

Robotics — both of the humanoid and non-humanoid variety — has likewise been on a tear, as investors move beyond AI software to the physical layer of artificial intelligence.

Last year, venture funding to robotics totaled nearly $14 billion, per Crunchbase data. That’s a 70% increase over 2024 and eclipses even the peak funding year of 2021.

In recent quarters, investors have backed a range of companies developing everything from robotic appendages that can be deployed on factory floors to general-purpose humanoid robots.

Among the largest robotics funding recipients in 2025 were:

• General-purpose robotics company Figure, which raised $1 billion in a September Series C led by Parkway Venture Capital.
• Humanoid robotics company Apptronik, raising a total of $734 million between its Series A and Series B rounds last year.
• Elon Musk-led brain-implant company Neuralink, which raised $649 million in a March Series E.

Defense tech

Defense tech, too, saw record funding last year, as companies such as Anduril Industries and Helsing raised massive rounds. Overall funding to the sector jumped to $8.5 billion in 2025, per Crunchbase data — an all-time high and more than double the prior year’s total.

The top defense venture funding recipients last year included:

Venture investment in defense tech only seems poised to grow. Active investors such as Andreessen Horowitz have earmarked billions of dollars for defense and law enforcement-related companies, and the U.S. Department of Defense has said it wants to purchase and deploy more next-generation technologies such as AI-driven battlefield decision-making, autonomous drone systems and satellite reconnaissance.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity funding also increased last year, though remains off its 2021 peak. Investment in the sector globally totaled more than $18 billion in 2025, up 26% year over year, with a particularly strong showing for early-stage startups.

It was also the third-highest annual funding total to the sector in the past decade.

Among the top cybersecurity funding recipients last year:

• AI-driven data security platform Cyera, which raised a total of $940 million in the course of two rounds, its Series E and Series F.
• Saviynt, another AI-based identity security platform, raised $700 million in a KKR-led Series B.
• Quantinuum, a quantum computing startup with a main focus on cybersecurity, raised $600 million in an NVentures-led Series B.
• NinjaOne, an IT platform for endpoint management, raised $500 million in a Series C led by CapitalG and Iconiq Growth.

Fintech

Funding to fintech and financial services startups rose 27% year over year to $51.8 billion, topping pre-pandemic numbers for the first time since 2022. (However, it’s worth noting that 2025’s sum is still a fraction of the 2021 peak.)

Among the largest fintech funding recipients globally last year were:

Investors we spoke with said they expect to see fintech-related funding and exit activity remain strong this year.

Another trend to keep an eye on: Strong funding for pre-IPO companies such as Plaid, Ramp, Monzo or Revolut. “The story of fintech funding this year will probably be dominated by those $100M+ rounds as these companies get ready to go public,” Nik Milanovic, general partner of The Fintech Fund, told us last month.

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Illustration: Dom Guzman