This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out the biggest funding rounds of last week here.

It was a good week for startups looking to raise big, as two companies raised rounds of well more than a half-billion dollars. While it鈥檚 not surprising AI led the way, other normally quiet sectors like accounting and sports also saw some investor love.

1. , $900M, artificial intelligence: Anysphere, which sells the popular Cursor application, has raised a $900 million round at a $9 billion valuation. The round 鈥� first reported by the 鈥� was led by and included investment from and . It was just last December when Anysphere raised a $105 million Series B led by Thrive Capital that valued it $2.6 billion. That was four months after raising a $60 million Series A. Artificial intelligence-powered coding has become a hit with investors as the use case seems to have taken off inside large enterprises as a way to save developers鈥� time. It seems to have also spurred M&A interest. Last month, it was is in talks to acquire AI-assisted coding tool 鈥� previously called Codeium 鈥� for $3 billion. The deal would be the generative AI giant鈥檚 biggest acquisition to date, . OpenAI tried to buy code-writing startup Anysphere before turning its attention to Windsurf. Founded in 2022, Anysphere has raised $1.1 billion, .

2. , $600M, food delivery: 鈥檚 food delivery startup is back again. Wonder made this column in June 2022, November 2023, and March and November 2024. Now the company has raised $600 million from investors including that values the company at more than $7 billion, . The company, which has bought others such as , is building what it calls a 鈥渟uper app for mealtime.鈥� Founded in 2018, Wonder has raised $2.5 billion, .

3. , $450M, human resources: San Francisco-based HR management company Rippling made waves late in the week by announcing it had raised $450 million in new financing and agreed to repurchase up to $200 million of shares from current and former employees. The new financing values the company at $16.8 billion. No lead investor was announced, but money came from the likes of and . Rippling is used to big raises, last April it raised a $200 million Series F at a $13.5 billion valuation and in March 2023 it raised a funding that valued the company at $11.25 billion. Founded in 2016, the company has raised $2.4 billion.

4. , $155M, database: DNA data storage 鈥� actually encoding digital information into genetic material 鈥� doesn鈥檛 get talked about a lot, but it saw a big seed round this week. spun off its DNA data storage technology application as an independent company, now called Atlas Data Storage. The company, based in South San Francisco, also raised a big $155 million seed financing from the likes of and . The company said it will focus on commercializing data storage products that 鈥渓everage the unique properties of synthetic DNA,鈥� such as extremely high data density and durability.

5. , $130M, biotech: South San Francisco-based NewLimit, which is developing ways to genetically program their cells to make people stay younger, locked up a $130 million Series B led by . The company claims it has made progress toward developing treatments to restore youthful characteristics and has discovered three prototype medicines to reprogram liver cells that process fat and alcohol. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $170 million, .

6. , $120M, sports: New York-based Unrivaled Sports, a youth sports brand, received a $120 million strategic investment led by . The new investment will help Unrivaled Sports expand its brands across youth sports properties and programming. Founded in 2024, this is the company鈥檚 first outside investment, .

7. (tied) , $100M, accounting: HubSync, a Franklin, Tennessee-based tax and accounting platform, raised a $100 million growth round from investment firm . Founded in 2019, the company has raised $101 million, .

7. (tied) , $100M, analytics: Statsig, developer of a data-driven product development platform, raised a $100 million Series C at a $1.1 billion valuation led by . Founded in 2021, the Bellevue, Washington-based company has raised $153 million, .

9. (tied) , $50M, biotech: San Diego-based Sirius Therapeutics, a biotech developing siRNA therapeutics for cardiometabolic disorders, raised a $50 million Series B2 financing led by an unnamed 鈥渞enowned corporate venture capital firm.鈥� Founded in 2021, Sirius says it has raised nearly $150 million to date.

9. (tied) , $50M, beauty: Beauty brand Wonderskin secured a $50 million Series A led by . Founded in 2020, this is the New York-based company鈥檚 first round raised, .

Big global deals

The biggest raise this week outside the U.S. was a big seed round from Asia.

• India-based , a healthcare platform that provides both services and insurance, raised a $218 million seed round

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 附近上门 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of May 3 to May 9. 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.

announced Thursday the biggest deal in the crypto industry to date when it said it would buy derivatives exchange in a $2.9 billion deal to move into the crypto options markets.

The deal is made up of $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase, per a

鈥淭his isn’t just another addition; it’s foundational to our vision of creating the most comprehensive, compliant, and user-friendly derivatives platform globally,鈥� the blog reads. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about the path ahead and look forward to welcoming Deribit into the Coinbase family as we shape the future of crypto markets together.鈥�

Deribit raised a $40 million venture round at a $400 million valuation from the likes of and in 2022, .

Big deal

The deal is just the latest big M&A move in crypto. While dealmaking numbers are small, size is increasing, as the reelection of President has reenergized the crypto market, with many expecting regulations to ease.

Last month, crypto payments firm said it would acquire brokerage house for $1.25 billion. In March, the dropped a Ripple that accused it of conducting an illegal securities offering.

In March, cryptocurrency exchange said it would buy retail futures trading platform for $1.5 billion.

Overall, venture funding to startups in the crypto and blockchain space rocketed to $3.8 billion in 220 deals in Q1, per 附近上门 . The dollar figure represents a 138% jump from the previous quarter, which saw only $1.6 billion go to Web3 startups in 242 deals.

However, those numbers were propped up by cryptocurrency exchange 鈥檚 massive $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi-based investment firm . The deal is the single-largest investment into a crypto company.

Related 附近上门 Pro list:

Related reading:

• Crypto And Blockchain Funding Sees Big Boost In Q1 Thanks To Binance
• Will The Ripple Deal Create Waves In Stagnant Web3 M&A?

Illustration:

April did not bring a shower of startup funding deals, as venture investors seemed to retreat.

The numbers for the most-active startup investors in the U.S. certainly bear that out, as and were the only two firms to break double digits for deal count in April.

While it鈥檚 not unusual for those two firms to lead the pack, it is unusual for so many other big-name firms to spend a month on the sidelines. Regardless, let鈥檚 dive into the most-active U.S. startup investing firms last month.

Andreessen Horowitz, 13 deals

Topping this list is nothing new for Menlo Park, California-based VC giant Andreessen Horowitz. However, the baker鈥檚 dozen of deals is the most the firm has consummated in one month since January.

Per normal, not only did a16z participate in a lot of deals involving U.S.-based startups, it also went pretty big.

The firm co-led 鈥檚 $200 million Series B along with , and. The Austin, Texas-based startup installs residential backup power systems 鈥� designed to charge batteries specifically when electric prices are low.

Andreessen Horowitz also led co-founder 鈥檚 residential real estate startup 鈥檚 $100 million-plus round at a $2.5 billion valuation, per a .听

Khosla Ventures, 10 deals

Khosla also has been relatively active. The 10 deals it made last month marks the most for the firm since April 2024.

Khosla also led a pretty interesting deal, being the primary backer for 鈥檚 $104 million round. The Alameda, California-based biotech is a competitor 鈥� and was founded by a Neurolink co-founder 鈥� and is working on both a brain implant system and a retina implant to treat eye diseases.听

Khosla also participated in some large rounds, including data detection and response startup 鈥檚 $100 million Series D that valued it at $1 billion, and 鈥檚 huge $258 million Series F. Mainspring builds generators, a business that has become appealing to investors as artificial intelligence continues to suck down energy.

General Catalyst, 9 deals

Speaking of that Mainspring Energy deal, the next firm on the list actually led it.

Unlike the previous two VC firms, actually slowed its pace of investment a little last month. The firm had taken part in 26 deals between February and March, but had its slowest month since January.

The Mainspring deal was by far the largest the firm took part in last month, but it also co-led much smaller deals for specialty insurance startup and hydrogen energy firm

Also notable:

• and came in next on the list with eight deals apiece.
• topped all firms for the most led or co-led deals last month with seven. Khosla and Andreessen Horowitz followed with five deals each that they led or co-led.
• led the list for rounds led or co-led with the highest dollar amounts, leading 鈥檚 massive $2 billion round at a $32 billion valuation.
• was the top investing incubator and accelerator once again, investing in 22 startups in April.

Methodology

This is a list of investors which took part in the most rounds involving U.S.-based startups. It does not include incubators or accelerators due to the fluctuations their investment numbers can have.

Illustration:

Venture investors have been more lukewarm this year on autonomous driving tech, seemingly letting big transportation and car companies battle it out for innovation.

The Uber deal will see the rideshare giant invest $100 million into the publicly traded robotaxi service, expanding the companies鈥� partnership and helping move WeRide services into another 15 cities through the next five years.听

Late last year, Uber and WeRide launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.

The new Uber deal comes just weeks after CEO pledged on an earnings call to launch commercial robotaxi operations soon 鈥� despite questions about the effort鈥檚 financial viability and timeframe.

Venture dollars down

Those same doubts may be why venture capitalists seem less willing to spend big on autonomous vehicle startups as of late.

So far this year, investment into VC-backed autonomous vehicle startups has totaled only $1.1 billion, per 附近上门 . That鈥檚 well off last year鈥檚 $12.1 billion, and even the $5.9 billion raised by autonomous vehicle startups in 2023.

In addition, the largest round this year did not go to a car tech developer but instead went to a drone maker, when startup locked up a $240 million F-1 strategic funding round at a $5.3 billion valuation.

Last year, the biggest round in the space went to autonomous vehicle company , which raised a $5.6 billion round in October from that valued the company at more than $45 billion and was the startup鈥檚 first raise since a $2.5 billion round in 2021.

After years of going big on autonomous driving technology, VCs seem willing to let huge public companies in the space spend their money in the sector instead 鈥� based on many past investments that may not be a bad idea.

Related 附近上门 Pro query:

Related reading:

• Defense Tech Startup Shield AI Hits $5.3B Valuation Mark

Illustration:

Venture capitalists are optimists by nature 鈥� one has to be optimistic (among other words) to invest millions of dollars in five or six 20-year-olds who think they can do something 肠补苍鈥檛.

That optimism was on full display at this year鈥檚 in San Francisco 鈥� where the cybersecurity gathering turned the city back to its pre-COVID days, with thousands of folks walking the streets of SoMa and packing bars and restaurants.

Hope and good vibes from VCs were almost as abundant as drinks. Deals like the giant $32 billion wedding of cloud security unicorn and parent and cyber giant 鈥� move to start the show made it seems their dreams of actual DPI 鈥� distributed to paid-in capital, or the capital paid to funds鈥� LPs after exits by those funds鈥� portfolio companies 鈥� may come true this year.

The numbers somewhat support that idea. A third through the year, 32 VC-backed cyber startups have been purchased. They include cyber risk firm and , which identifies threats in real time.

That puts it just under last year鈥檚 pace, which saw 105 cyber startups get scooped up 鈥� the best year since 2021. That, of course, included credit card giant has agreed to buy threat intelligence company from for $2.65 billion.

However, while the numbers paint an improving picture, some world events such as war, tariffs and the looming threat of a recession point toward a more uncertain future. Most investors, however, downplayed such concerns while acknowledging their existence.

鈥淟isten, we are optimists by nature,鈥� said , a general partner at investing in cyber. 鈥淏ut obviously with tariffs, international relations, there is instability.鈥�

, general partner at , a multistage global venture capital firm dedicated to cyber, said he sees the exit market picking up as well 鈥� with more unsolicited inbound calls about dealmaking happening.

Also, while the IPO market is still somewhat frozen, Palmer said his firm continues to prepare companies for when the pipeline is turned on 鈥� assuming that happens.

Nearly all investors agree the markets have not picked up in the way many hoped they would at the end of last year. Still, many believe the cybersecurity market and venture market in general are healthy when looking at both fundraising and M&A dealmaking.

鈥淐onflict and disagreement will always exist on a geopolitical level,鈥� said , co-founder and managing director at , which specializes in cybersecurity and infrastructure software investments. 鈥淏ut right now people are willing to invest and deals are happening. I don鈥檛 believe that will change as hopefully we see more stability.鈥�

Other things that caught our ear and eye:

• Similar to last year, AI was the key talking point at the conference. However, investors were conflicted when it came to both 鈥渟ecurity for AI鈥� or 鈥淎I for security.鈥� Per the latter, some investors see artificial intelligence agents in places such as security operations centers significantly helping with repeatable tasks. Others see it as a tech that will easily be commoditized, with identity and fraud being main use cases.
• On the other hand, security for AI seems to have a huge runway in areas such as the health and weaponization of data, but startups are few and the ones there are still young in the space. 鈥淪ecurity for AI is much more in the embryonic stage,鈥� Zilberman said.
• Another interesting note was the IPO market. Investors still talked openly about some of their portfolio companies going public 鈥� but not this year. That hope that this would be the year the IPO pipeline would be re-opened seems all but dashed. VCs are realizing and still think going public is a possible exit for the cream of their portfolio 鈥� just not anytime soon.

Related 附近上门 Pro query:

Related reading:

• Eye On AI: OpenAI鈥檚 Potential Windsurf Deal Could Be The Start Of A New M&A Trend
• Wiz鈥檚 Massive Deal Is Historic 鈥� But Will It Go Through?
• Mastercard Buys Insight Partners鈥� Recorded Future For $2.65B

Illustration:

The round 鈥� first reported by 鈥� was led by and included investment from and .

It was just last December when raised a $105 million Series B led by that valued the company $2.6 billion. That was four months after raising a $60 million Series A.

Founded in 2022, the company has raised $1.1 billion, .

Coding cash

Artificial intelligence-powered coding has become a hit with investors as the use case seems to have taken off inside large enterprises as a way to save developers鈥� time.听

It seems to have also spurred M&A interest. Last month, it was is in talks to acquire AI-assisted coding tool 鈥� previously called Codeium 鈥� for $3 billion. The deal would be the generative AI giant鈥檚 biggest acquisition to date, .

OpenAI tried to buy code-writing startup Anysphere before turning its attention to Windsurf.

Whether it鈥檚 coding, model design or security, big money continues to pour into AI. Per 附近上门鈥檚 global funding report, AI was the leading sector for venture funding in the first quarter, with $59.6 billion invested. The first quarter marked the strongest quarter for AI funding ever, with an astonishing 53% of global funding going to the AI sector alone.

Related 附近上门 Pro query:

Related reading:

• Global M&A Startup Dealmaking Sees Year-To-Year Boost In Q1
• Moveworks Delivers Big Exit For Early VCs
• AI鈥檚 Big Day 鈥� Startup Safe Superintelligence Raises $1B At Reported $5B Valuation
• Musk Merges xAI And X
• Eye On AI: OpenAI鈥檚 Potential Windsurf Deal Could Be The Start Of A New M&A Trend

Illustration:

The new round was led by and , with participation from , , and .

The Los Angeles-based startup specializes in advanced detection, monitoring and communication solutions for the defense and commercial sectors. The company鈥檚 Vanquish radar provides early warning and tracking capabilities against unmanned aerial systems, missiles and aircraft.

鈥淐HAOS Industries is delivering transformative solutions that address critical defense objectives,鈥� said founder and co-CEO in a statement. 鈥淭he future of our national security hinges upon our access to advanced defense technologies and our willingness to invest in their development. The latest funding round demonstrates our company鈥檚 commitment to this mission.鈥�

Founded in 2022, Chaos has raised $490 million, per the company.

Bigger money

Chaos was not the only defense tech startup to make news as the week ended.听

Mach Industries, which develops vertical liftoff vehicles and weapons that sit at the edge of space, is close to locking up a $100 million round co-led by new investor and existing investor , .

Funding to VC-backed startups in defense 鈥� defined here as the industries of military, national security and law enforcement 鈥� hit $3 billion in 102 deals last year, per 附近上门 . That鈥檚 only an 11% uptick from 2023, which saw $2.7 billion raised in 100 announced rounds.

This year could see another significant bump.

Related 附近上门 Pro list:

Related reading:

• Weapons Startup Castelion Strikes $100M Series A
• A16z And Founders Fund Lead The Way In Defense Venture Capital
• Parry Labs Raises $80M As Defense Tech Remains On A Tear
• Chaos Industries Locks Up $145M Series B As Defense Tech Continues To Heat Up
• Saronic Latest Defense Tech Startup To Hit Unicorn Status
• Chaos Industries Locks Up $145M Series B As Defense Tech Continues To Heat Up
• Defense Tech Venture Funding Gains Traction

Illustration:

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out the biggest funding rounds of last week here.

It was a big week for the space and defense sectors, as investors clearly were looking to the skies. However, other sectors including cyber, healthcare and even data orchestration also saw some big raises. While nothing came close to $1 billion, it was still a pretty good week for big rounds.

1.听, $275M, defense: Less than six months after raising $145 million in a Series B, defense and critical infrastructure tech startup locked up $275 million in a Series C that values the startup at $2 billion. The new round was led by and . Los Angeles-based Chaos specializes in advanced detection, monitoring and communication solutions for the defense and commercial sectors. The company鈥檚 Vanquish radar provides early warning and tracking capabilities against unmanned aerial systems, missiles and aircraft. Founded in 2022, Chaos has raised $490 million, per the company.

2.听, $260M, space: Centennial, Colorado-based True Anomaly, which develops hardware and software systems to help space security and readiness, is accustomed to large raises. Back in late 2023, the space tech startup raised a $100 million round led by . It鈥檚 back again after raising a $260 million Series C led by . The startup helps the government and commercial customers keep an eye on threats to assets they have in space, such as satellites. Founded in 2022, True Anomaly has raised $418 million, .

3. (tied) , $200M, space: Less than a year after landing a $95 million Series B, space manufacturing company locked up a $200 million Series C led by 1 and . The Los Angeles-based startup is helping streamline the approach to satellites with the ability to mass produce spacecraft buses 鈥� the main body and structural component of satellites 鈥� to help meet increasing demand from customers like the . Founded in 2022, the company has raised $322 million, per 附近上门.

3. (tied) , $200M, cybersecurity: Cybersecurity has proven pretty strong with investors recently, and this week was no exception. Verified identity platform Persona raised a $200 million Series D co-led by and that values the company at $2 billion. The San Francisco-based startup鈥檚 identity platform allows businesses to securely collect, verify, manage and make decisions about individuals’ and businesses’ identities. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $418 million, .

5. (tied) , $108M, software development: Miami-based Cast AI, which helps optimize workloads with automation, closed a $108 million Series C round led by and 2. While the company is mainly known for its work with Kubernetes workloads, it now is helping to optimize workloads for AI. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $181 million, per 附近上门.

5. (tied) , $108M, cybersecurity: Veza raised a $108 million Series D investment led by . The Redwood Shores, California-based identity security startup said it more than doubled its annual recurring revenue last year and the new round values it at $808 million. Founded in 2020, Veza has raised $235 million, per the company.

7.听, $107M, healthcare: Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Persivia, a developer of an AI-powered platform that helps healthcare decision making, completed a $107 million recapitalization with . Founded in 2005, Persivia鈥檚 platform turns data into real-time insights to help drive decisions and streamline workflows. It is used in more than 200 hospitals nationwide.

8.听, $93M, data orchestration: Astronomer, the developer of data orchestration platform Astro, locked up a $93 million Series D led by . The New York-based startup鈥檚 Astro platform has proven valuable as AI has exploded 鈥� as automating and processing data workflows across different systems has become a necessity for anyone wanting to produce AI applications. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $376 million,

9.听, $75M, predictive analytics: Columbus, Ohio-based AssetWatch, a predictive maintenance platform developer for the manufacturing industry, closed a $75 million Series C led by . Founded in 2014, the company has raised $166 million, .

10.听, $61.3M, artificial intelligence: Providence, Rhode Island-based Utilidata, a developer of an AI platform for the energy industry, secured a $60.3 million Series C led by . Founded in 2012, the company has raised $95 million, .

Big global deals

The biggest raise this week outside the U.S. again came from Singapore.

• Singapore-based , a developer of聽 global payments infrastructure, raised a $150 million Series D.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 附近上门 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of April 26 to May 2. 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:

The round, in which no valuation was announced, also included investment from 1 and existing investors including , and .

The New York-based startup鈥檚 Astro platform has proven valuable as AI has exploded 鈥� as automating and processing data workflows across different systems has become a necessity for anyone wanting to produce AI applications.

Astronomer said it鈥檚 experiencing 150% year-to-year annual revenue growth and has a two-year path to profitability.

鈥淲hile this is just one step in Astronomer’s journey to build a durable, lasting software company, we’re thrilled to have one of our earliest investors, Bain, leading the round,鈥� said CEO in a . 鈥淎ll of our investors are committed to Astronomer’s long-term vision because of our recent momentum, the massive market demand for the platform we’re building, and the macro tailwinds that support our vision.鈥�

Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $376 million, .

AI dollars

Astronomer鈥檚 round is just the latest large deal in the sector as big money continues to pour into AI. Per 附近上门鈥檚 global funding report, AI was the leading sector for venture funding in the first quarter, with $59.6 billion invested. The first quarter marked the strongest quarter for AI funding ever, with an astonishing 53% of global funding going to the AI sector alone.

Related 附近上门 Pro query:

Related reading:

• Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal聽聽
• Eye On AI: Massive OpenAI Deal Masks AI鈥檚 Slow Quarter
• AI Funding Explosion: Inflection AI Nabs $1.3B, Runway and Typeface Also Raise Big
• AI Image Startup Runway Raises At $3B

Illustration:

Last year saw big names including , and dive into the M&A pond and buy venture-backed AI-related startups.

This year, a new, younger set of buyers could emerge 鈥� considering their sizable war chests.

Last week, it was is in talks to acquire artificial intelligence-assisted coding tool 鈥� previously called Codeium 鈥� for a cool $3 billion. The deal would not be the generative AI giant鈥檚 first purchase 鈥� it has made a trio of acquisitions, 鈥� but it would be by far its biggest.

It鈥檚 also not that shocking, considering the massive $40 billion investment OpenAI received from the likes of in late March.

Apparently, OpenAI even tried to buy code-writing startup 鈥� which sells the popular Cursor application 鈥� per a before turning its attention to Windsurf.

That buy seems like it would have been even more costly, as Anysphere was in talks to raise funding at a valuation of close to $10 billion.

But hey, OpenAI has the money, even if it does burn a lot of cash for its modeling and compute needs, as do its competitors.

More deals

In fact, OpenAI was not the only generative AI giant to open up the checkbook last week. took part in $50 million Series A led by . San Francisco-based Goodfire helps enterprises understand and design AI models.

That investment was the first one Anthropic has made into a startup 鈥� aside from participating in Menlo鈥檚 . However, it wouldn鈥檛 shock anyone if it was not the last deal 鈥� investment or even an outright acquisition 鈥� considering it has raised $4.5 billion already this calendar year.

And lest we forget, it was just late March when 鈥檚 artificial intelligence startup, , bought , the social media platform he also owns, for $33 billion in an all-stock transaction. That was xAI鈥檚 second acquisition, .

xAI is now in talks to raise $20 billion after raising $12 billion in 2024 alone. It would only make sense it will become more acquisitive 鈥� especially as its biggest rival, OpenAI, has become more opportunistic.

Of course, none of this is to say massive public companies are going to pull back on acquiring AI startups. The big news early this week was $120 billion market cap cyber giant announcing its intent to buy , which specializes in securing AI applications, for an undisclosed sum. The company was valued at about $400 million last summer.

Those deals will undoubtedly still occur, but do expect some privately owned AI titans to also participate in the buying fun.

Related 附近上门 Pro list:

Related reading:

• Global M&A Startup Dealmaking Sees Year-To-Year Boost In Q1
• Moveworks Delivers Big Exit For Early VCs
• AI鈥檚 Big Day 鈥� Startup Safe Superintelligence Raises $1B At Reported $5B Valuation
• Musk Merges xAI And X

Illustration: