The past week has seen a remarkable surge in major funding rounds, signaling robust investor confidence and an accelerating pace of innovation across several transformative sectors. Robotics, defense technology, and artificial intelligence emerged as particularly hotbeds of activity, attracting significant capital injections that reflect a growing conviction in their potential to redefine industries and national capabilities. This sustained briskness in large-scale venture deals underscores a broader market trend where strategic investments are gravitating towards technologies poised for high impact and rapid scalability, especially those addressing critical operational efficiencies, national security imperatives, and the ever-expanding frontiers of AI. The aggregate capital deployed in these top rounds points to an enthusiastic embrace of deep tech, where complex engineering and cutting-edge research are translating into compelling commercial and strategic opportunities.

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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 pioneering robotics company headquartered in Pittsburgh, captured headlines with an astounding $1.4 billion funding round. This massive infusion of capital has propelled its valuation to over $14 billion, tripling its previous assessment in just seven months. Skild AI is dedicated to building what it describes as an “omni-bodied” brain – a universal AI operating system designed to control any robot for virtually any task. This ambitious vision aims to transcend the current limitations of task-specific robotic programming, paving the way for highly adaptable and versatile robotic systems capable of learning and performing diverse functions across various environments. SoftBank Group, a formidable investor with a long-standing interest in robotics and AI, led this significant financing. SoftBank’s continued backing of Skild AI underscores a strategic belief in the company’s potential to revolutionize the robotics industry, driving automation and intelligence into an unprecedented array of applications, from manufacturing and logistics to service industries and beyond. The substantial investment will undoubtedly accelerate Skild AI’s research and development, scale its platform, and solidify its position at the forefront of the intelligent robotics revolution.

  2. Etched.ai, $500M, AI and Semiconductors: In the fiercely competitive arena of AI hardware, Etched.ai emerged as a formidable player, reportedly securing $500 million in new funding. This substantial investment has catapulted the Silicon Valley-based startup to a $5 billion valuation, highlighting the immense investor appetite for specialized AI chips. Etched.ai is focusing on developing advanced chips specifically designed for AI superintelligence, aiming to provide more efficient and powerful alternatives to general-purpose GPUs that currently dominate the market. The financing round was led by Stripes, indicating a strong belief in Etched.ai’s innovative approach to tackling the escalating computational demands of next-generation AI models. This investment signifies a critical push to diversify the AI chip ecosystem, reduce reliance on incumbent giants like Nvidia, and foster specialized hardware solutions tailored for the extreme requirements of future AI workloads. As AI models grow in complexity and scale, the demand for custom silicon that can deliver superior performance-per-watt becomes paramount, and Etched.ai is positioning itself to be a key enabler of this future.

  3. Merge Labs, $252M, Brain-Computer Interfaces: San Francisco-based Merge Labs, a startup co-founded by influential tech figure Sam Altman, made waves by reportedly closing an astonishing $252 million seed round. This extraordinary sum for an early-stage company underscores the groundbreaking potential and investor confidence surrounding its mission: developing high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that seamlessly integrate with advanced AI. Merge Labs aims to create a direct link between the human brain and AI systems, promising unprecedented levels of interaction and augmentation. The fact that OpenAI, where Altman also serves as CEO, was reported as the largest backer, highlights a strategic synergy between BCI development and cutting-edge AI research. This collaboration could pave the way for a future where human intelligence is enhanced by AI, and vice versa, blurring the lines between thought and digital action. The investment reflects a long-term vision for human-computer interaction, addressing complex challenges in fields ranging from neuroprosthetics and communication for individuals with disabilities to potentially unlocking new forms of human-AI collaboration and cognitive enhancement.

  4. Mirador Therapeutics, $250M, Biotech: San Diego-based Mirador Therapeutics announced a successful close of its Series B funding round, raising an impressive $250 million. This brings the precision medicine startup’s total capital raised to over $650 million since its launch in March 2024, demonstrating an incredibly rapid ascent and strong investor confidence. Mirador Therapeutics is dedicated to developing targeted therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, leveraging a precision medicine approach to identify specific patient populations most likely to respond to their treatments. This strategy aims to improve drug efficacy and reduce side effects, ultimately delivering better outcomes for patients suffering from chronic and often debilitating conditions. The substantial Series B funding will enable Mirador to accelerate its multi-asset clinical pipeline, advancing its innovative drug candidates through various stages of development. The continued investment in companies like Mirador reflects a broader trend in biotech towards personalized medicine, where genomics, AI, and advanced diagnostics are being used to tailor treatments and unlock new therapeutic avenues for complex diseases.

  5. (tied) Onebrief, $200M, Defense Tech: Defense technology startup Onebrief, based in Honolulu, secured an additional $200 million in Series D funding, signaling robust growth and investor interest in modernizing military operations. This round was co-led by prominent venture capital firms Battery Ventures and Sapphire Ventures. Onebrief specializes in developing AI-driven collaborative and planning software, which is critical for military operations, enabling more efficient, informed, and rapid decision-making in complex scenarios. In a strategic move to bolster its capabilities, Onebrief also reportedly acquired Battle Road Digital, a smaller company specializing in battle simulation. This acquisition is expected to integrate advanced simulation tools into Onebrief’s platform, providing military planners with enhanced capabilities for scenario analysis and strategic execution. The substantial investment in Onebrief underscores the urgent need for digital transformation within defense sectors globally, with AI playing a pivotal role in enhancing readiness, intelligence, and operational effectiveness against evolving geopolitical challenges.

  6. (tied) Beast Industries, $200M, Media: Beast Industries, widely known as MrBeast and founded by YouTube sensation Jimmy Donaldson, received a significant $200 million equity investment from Bitmine Immersion Technologies. Based in Greenville, South Carolina, Beast Industries encompasses a rapidly expanding empire of entertainment content and consumer products. This substantial capital injection highlights the immense financial power and strategic interest in the creator economy, recognizing MrBeast’s unparalleled reach and innovative business model. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, an Ethereum treasury company, making such a substantial investment in a media and consumer products entity, indicates a diversification strategy and a belief in the long-term value and growth potential of leading digital entertainment brands. The funding will undoubtedly fuel MrBeast’s ambitious plans for expansion, enabling the creation of new content formats, the development of additional consumer product lines, and potentially broadening its global footprint across various media platforms, further solidifying its position as a dominant force in digital entertainment and entrepreneurship.

  7. JetZero, $175M, Aerospace: Long Beach, California-based JetZero, a company at the forefront of sustainable aviation, secured $175 million in Series B financing, led by B Capital. Founded in 2020, JetZero is focused on developing revolutionary aircraft designs, specifically blended wing body (BWB) planes, which promise significantly higher fuel efficiency and drastically lower carbon emissions compared to traditional commercial airliners. The BWB design integrates the fuselage and wings into a single lifting surface, enhancing aerodynamic efficiency and allowing for larger cargo and passenger capacities. This substantial investment reflects the growing imperative within the aerospace industry to address climate change and reduce its environmental footprint. B Capital’s leadership in the round signals strong investor confidence in JetZero’s innovative engineering and its potential to disrupt the commercial aviation market. While the company aims to enter commercial service in the early 2030s, a highly ambitious timeline for the capital-intensive aerospace sector, this funding will be crucial for advancing its prototype development, testing, and navigating the rigorous certification processes required for commercial flight.

  8. Deepgram, $143M, Voice AI: Deepgram, a San Francisco-based API platform specializing in voice AI, successfully raised $143 million in Series C funding, led by AVP. This round values the company at $1.3 billion, underscoring the explosive growth and strategic importance of voice artificial intelligence. Deepgram’s platform provides developers with powerful tools to integrate highly accurate and scalable speech-to-text and speech-to-speech capabilities into their applications, enabling a wide range of use cases from customer service automation and transcription to voice assistants and real-time analytics. In a strategic move to expand its market reach and capabilities, Deepgram also announced the acquisition of OfOne, an AI voice platform specifically designed for restaurants and drive-thru operators. This acquisition allows Deepgram to immediately tap into the burgeoning hospitality automation sector, offering tailored voice AI solutions to improve order accuracy, speed, and overall customer experience. The combined funding and acquisition position Deepgram for accelerated innovation and market leadership in the rapidly evolving voice AI landscape.

  9. Defense Unicorns, $136M, Defense Tech: Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Defense Unicorns, a critical enabler of modern national security systems, secured $136 million in a Series B funding round. The investment was led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, highlighting a growing trend of private capital flowing into companies that are modernizing government and defense IT infrastructure. Defense Unicorns specializes in providing advanced software delivery solutions for national security mission systems, helping government agencies adopt agile development practices, DevOps methodologies, and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. In an environment where software is increasingly central to military advantage, Defense Unicorns addresses the complex challenges of securely and rapidly deploying mission-critical applications in highly regulated and sensitive environments. This funding will enable the company to further scale its platform, expand its team of expert engineers, and accelerate the development of tools that enhance software resilience, security, and velocity for its defense and intelligence agency clients, ultimately bolstering national security capabilities through digital transformation.

  10. (tied) Mytra, $120M, Robotics: Mytra, a developer of advanced industrial robotics technology tailored for warehouse operations, successfully closed a $120 million Series C round. The funding was led by Avenir, bringing Brisbane, California-based Mytra’s total capital raised to close to $200 million since its founding in 2022, according to Crunchbase data. Mytra’s solutions are designed to address the increasing demand for automation in logistics and e-commerce, driven by labor shortages, rising operational costs, and the need for greater efficiency and throughput in warehousing. Their robotics technology aims to streamline various warehouse tasks, from picking and packing to inventory management and material handling, optimizing workflows and reducing human error. This substantial investment signifies strong investor confidence in the growth trajectory of the warehouse automation market and Mytra’s innovative approach to industrial robotics. The capital will enable Mytra to scale its manufacturing, expand its product portfolio, and broaden its market reach, helping more businesses enhance their supply chain resilience and operational efficiency through advanced automation.

  11. (tied) Tulip Interfaces, $120M, AI for Manufacturers: Boston-based Tulip Interfaces, a leading developer of AI-enabled tools designed to empower manufacturers, announced it secured $120 million in Series D funding. This round notably saw backing from Mitsubishi Electric, a global industrial giant, indicating a strategic alignment and strong endorsement of Tulip’s technology. Tulip Interfaces provides a "front-line operations platform" that helps manufacturers digitize their processes, connect workers, machines, and systems, and leverage AI to gain real-time insights and improve production efficiency. Their platform allows companies to build apps and workflows without coding, enabling rapid deployment of digital solutions on the shop floor. The investment from Mitsubishi Electric is particularly significant, as it suggests a deepening partnership that could integrate Tulip’s AI capabilities with Mitsubishi’s extensive industrial automation solutions, creating a powerful synergy for smart manufacturing initiatives. This funding will accelerate Tulip’s product development, expand its global footprint, and further its mission to drive digital transformation and enhance operational excellence across the manufacturing sector, ushering in a new era of Industry 4.0 adoption.

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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