U.S. and Canadian companies secured a staggering $252.6 billion in seed- through growth-stage funding rounds per 附近上门 data. That鈥檚 more than 3x the total raised in the prior quarter, and the largest quarterly total of all time.

Predictably, artificial intelligence was the driver. More than 87% of Q1 investment went to companies in 附近上门 AI-related categories.

To say these are record funding tallies is somewhat of an understatement. It鈥檚 more like Q1 smashed the prior quarterly record 鈥� $95.7 billion 鈥� set in Q3 2021.

Just a single financing for was bigger than the prior quarterly record for all startup funding rounds put together. And the four next-largest financings totaled almost as much as the prior quarter, which at the time we considered a very strong period for startup funding.

So, in summary, it was a lot of money. For a more detailed picture, we drill down more deeply into how that largesse was distributed across stages and sectors. We also take a look at exits for the quarter, including both IPOs and acquisitions.

Table of contents

• AI
• Later stage and technology growth
• Early stage
• Seed
• Exits
• Big picture: A paradigm shift
• Methodology
• Glossary of funding terms

AI

We鈥檒l start with AI, since that鈥檚 where the overwhelming majority of the money went.

A staggering $221 billion went to North American companies in 附近上门 AI-related categories in the first quarter. That鈥檚 about 6x the AI investment total from the prior quarter, which was itself no slacker on this front.

For perspective, we charted out AI-related funding over the past 13 quarters to compare.

A few megarounds for high-profile companies accounted for most of the quarter鈥檚 AI funding, led by OpenAI, , and .

Later stage and technology growth

These same names factor heavily in tallies for late-stage and technology-growth funding, which comprised the vast majority of total startup investment.

Per 附近上门 data, $222.4 billion 鈥� or 88% of all North America startup investment 鈥� went to rounds at these stages. That鈥檚 more than 5x the prior quarter鈥檚 tally, and more than triple year-ago levels.

The gains were driven by bigger deals, not more of them. Later- and growth-stage round counts were actually down a smidge sequentially in Q1. For perspective, below we chart round counts and investment totals at this stage for the past five quarters.

Enormous rounds for AI companies accounted for a majority of the late- and growth-stage totals. The biggest of these was OpenAI鈥檚 record-setting $110 billion February financing led by , and . The generative AI giant topped it off with a raise in March.

Anthropic secured the quarter鈥檚 next-biggest late-stage financing 鈥� a $30 billion February Series G 鈥� followed by xAI, which announced a $20 billion Series E in January. landed another of the quarter鈥檚 very big deals, with a $16 billion February Series D.

Early stage

Early-stage investment was also running high in Q1, albeit not setting records.

Overall, investors put $25.1 billion into deals around Series A and Series B stage in the first quarter. That鈥檚 up 17% from the prior quarter and 56% from year-ago levels. It鈥檚 also the highest quarterly total in over three years, though still below peaks scaled in 2021.

Early-stage round counts, meanwhile, were down a bit, indicating investors鈥� increasingly concentrating their bets among perceived star performers.

As usual, a few jumbo-sized deals significantly boosted the early-stage totals. For Q1, this included four rounds of $500 million or more.

Of these, Austin-based humanoid robotics startup was the biggest fundraiser, pulling in $520 million in a February Series A. Three other companies secured $500 million financings: AI infrastructure developer , semiconductor startup , and industrial robotics-focused .

Seed

Seed-stage investment, meanwhile, did not show an upswing but remained at historically robust levels.

Per 附近上门 data, an estimated $5.1 billion went to seed and pre-seed investments in Q1. That鈥檚 roughly flat with the prior quarter and up a bit from year-ago levels.

Seed round counts declined in Q1, both sequentially and year over year. However, we expect these tallies to rise some over time, along with investment totals, as seed deals commonly get added to the data set weeks after they close.

Exits

Exit activity was fairly staid in comparison to the high-rolling startup fundraising environment.

That said, the IPO market did boast a few sizable startup debuts. Of these, the largest was the January IPO of construction equipment rental marketplace , followed by space tech company , and crypto platform .

Below, we aggregated a list of 12 private, venture-backed companies that carried out IPOs on U.S. exchanges.

Acquirers also announced several large deals to purchase venture-backed private companies.

The priciest planned M&A deal was 鈥檚 agreement to purchase business credit card provider for $5.15 billion. Biotech also delivered some large outcomes, including 鈥檚 planned acquisition of RNA therapeutics startup , and 鈥� purchase of allergy treatment startup .

Below, we put together a list of five of the quarter鈥檚 biggest M&A deals.1

Big picture: A paradigm shift

Having written many of these funding reports over the years, it鈥檚 common for one quarter to quietly blur into another. Not so for Q1 of 2026.

The just-ended quarter cemented a notion that startup insiders have been circling for some time: Private markets now have the capital stores and appetite for ultra-high valuations to rival public markets. For evidence, look no further than OpenAI鈥檚 $122 billion raise at a valuation higher than all but a handful of the largest large-cap technology companies.

IPO enthusiasts may pine for a future period when these most sought-after foundational AI names finally do make it to public markets. But for now, they鈥檝e demonstrated there are plenty of investors willing to shell out billions in private offerings as well.

Related 附近上门 queries:

Methodology

The data contained in this report comes directly from 附近上门, and is based on reported data. Data is as of March 31, 2026.

Note that data lags are most pronounced at the earliest stages of venture activity, with seed funding amounts increasing significantly after the end of a quarter/year.

Please note that all funding values are given in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. 附近上门 converts foreign currencies to U.S. dollars at the prevailing spot rate from the date funding rounds, acquisitions, IPOs and other financial events are reported. Even if those events were added to 附近上门 long after the event was announced, foreign currency transactions are converted at the historic spot price.

Glossary of funding terms

Seed and angel consists of seed, pre-seed and angel rounds. 附近上门 also includes venture rounds of unknown series, equity crowdfunding and convertible notes at $3 million (USD or as-converted USD equivalent) or less.

Early-stage consists of Series A and Series B rounds, as well as other round types. 附近上门 includes venture rounds of unknown series, corporate venture and other rounds above $3 million, and those less than or equal to $15 million.

Late-stage consists of Series C, Series D, Series E and later-lettered venture rounds following the 鈥淪eries [Letter]鈥� naming convention. Also included are venture rounds of unknown series, corporate venture and other rounds above $15 million. Corporate rounds are only included if a company has raised an equity funding at seed through a venture series funding round.

Technology growth is a private-equity round raised by a company that has previously raised a 鈥渧enture鈥� round. (So basically, any round from the previously defined stages.)

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Nonetheless, the first couple months of the year have brought a steady stream of market entries from companies in sectors such as construction tech, space tech and biotech. Noticeably absent, however, are new offerings from SaaS companies, long an IPO market staple.

Per 附近上门 data, 11 venture- or seed-backed U.S. companies went public on major exchanges so far this year, raising just over $3 billion. Comparatively, that鈥檚 a fairly robust showing for the first couple months of the year, which tends to be a reasonably active period for IPOs.

Looking at recent years charted below, the first couple months of 2026 are well above the bottom ranks, but still far below the 2021 market peak for volume of offerings and total raised.

Leading offerings weren鈥檛 your typical VC-backed deals

The lineup of companies going public so far this year, however, includes many that don鈥檛 look like your typical VC-backed offering.

This includes the year鈥檚 largest VC-funded IPO: , a service that provides construction equipment rentals and support for building projects. The 11-year-old, Columbia, Missouri-based company raised more than $700 million in its January offering and had a recent market cap of over $7 billion.

The second-largest debut was also somewhat of an outlier: space tech company , which is majority-owned by private equity firm . It鈥檚 down from its initial trading price but recently valued around $3.4 billion.

Per 附近上门 data, there have been six IPOs of venture-backed companies this year that raised $200 million or more, which we list below.

SaaS squashed

It鈥檚 also noteworthy who isn鈥檛 on the list. For years, enterprise software companies have been among the more reliable IPO market entrants. This year, however, they鈥檝e been notably absent as the sector contends with an extended selloff fueled partly by concerns of AI-abetted disruption.

We鈥檙e also not seeing SaaS companies in the immediate IPO pipeline. A perusal of so far this year showed no venture-backed SaaS unicorns that submitted a new IPO filing in 2026.

It鈥檚 a sharp contrast to just a few months ago. One of last year鈥檚 splashiest IPOs 鈥� design software platform 鈥� is now down more than two-thirds from its peak. Another of the more recent big SaaS offerings 鈥� business travel and expense platform 鈥� has shed more than half its value.

Meanwhile, -backed , which provides tools for marketers and app developers, withdrew its planned IPO this month, amid the software route. It鈥檚 likely a delay, as that Liftoff filed a new confidential plan shortly afterward.

IPO market in an odd place

Overall, the IPO market is in an odd place at the moment. It鈥檚 an unfriendly scene for companies with business models viewed as vulnerable to AI-driven displacement. At the same time, there鈥檚 still continued buzz around the potential for record-setting offerings from , and .

Of those, the one rumored to be closest on the horizon is SpaceX, newly combined with at a reported $1.25 trillion valuation. The company is said to be eyeing a market debut as early as this summer.

If that happens, and the current SaaS squeeze continues, it wouldn鈥檛 be surprising to see a pattern of record-setting IPO returns coinciding with a very small number of actual debuts.

Related 附近上门 queries:

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• 附近上门 Predicts: 15 Companies That Could Go Public In 2026 As The IPO Market Gains Momentum
• SpaceX IPO At $1.5T Valuation Would Be 10x Larger Than Biggest VC-Backed Listing Of All Time
• Yes, I鈥檓 Biased. But Still, Leading Unicorns Like Anthropic Should Be Prepping For IPOs

Illustration:

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

The San Francisco Bay Area, long the dominant region for startup investment, took a step back in this week鈥檚 tally of the largest funding rounds. The biggest investments went to companies based in the Seattle area, Southern California, New York and Austin, Texas, while only two of this week鈥檚 top 10 are Silicon Valley startups.

But while the geography may look different this week, investors鈥� appetite for AI remained a dominant theme. One exception, however, was the week鈥檚 largest round, for , a developer of advanced silicon battery materials.

1. , $463M, batteries: Group14 Technologies, a developer of advanced silicon battery materials, $463 million in a Series D round led by and included a long list of existing investors. The Woodinville, Washington-based company also obtained full ownership of a South Korean factory launched as a joint venture with SK.

2. , $405M, robotics and AI: Field AI, developer of a 鈥渟ingle software brain鈥� used to power robots in a variety of environments, that it secured $405 million in two consecutive rounds of $314 million and $91 million. , and co-led the financing for the Irvine, California-based company.

3. , $250M, AI: New York-based EliseAI, a provider of AI automation tools for the housing and healthcare sectors, landed $250 million in a Series E backed by , , and . The company also said it plans to triple the size of its team.

4. , $230M, security: Ontic, a provider of intelligence tools for corporate security, raised $230 million in a Series C round led by funds managed by . The Austin, Texas-based company will use the money to invest in AI technology for threat detection and automation for security teams.

5. , $105M, supply chain: Austin, Texas-based Overhaul, provider of an in-transit supply chain risk management platform, locked up $105 million in Series C funding led by . The round brings total funding to date for the 9-year-old company to more than $304 million, per .

6. (tied) , $100M, nuclear energy: Aalo, an Austin, Texas, startup planning to build nuclear power facilities with an initial focus on supplying energy to data centers, closed a $100 million Series B financing led by .

6. (tied) , $100M, sleep tech: Eight Sleep, a startup developing 鈥渟leep fitness鈥� products, announced that it has raised $100 million in a Series D led by . The round brings funding to date for the 11-year-old, New York-based startup to more than $260 million, per .

8. , $97M, autonomous vehicles: Mountain View, California-based Nuro, a developer of autonomous driving technology and software, that it picked up $97 million in a Series E extension at a $6 billion valuation.

9. , $65.5M, real estate finance: Phoenix-based Bonus Homes, a provider of financing for homeowners in lieu of selling their homes, raised $65.5 million in early-stage funding from backers including , , and .

10. , $47M, AI agents: TinyFish, a developer of enterprise web agents, or AI infrastructure systems that carry out workflows on the web, launched publicly with $47 million in committed funding. led the financing for the Palo Alto, California-based startup.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 附近上门 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Aug. 16-22. 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:

Likewise, postponing or canceling a planned debut is never a flippant choice. Sometimes there鈥檚 a positive reason, like an acquirer swooping in with an attractive offer. More commonly, it鈥檚 a negative one, like a market downturn.

Over the past couple weeks, as we鈥檝e seen , and others scheduled pre-IPO roadshows, it appears markets are to blame. It was tough to feel good about going public in a week in which posted its third-largest in history.

That鈥檚 reasonable enough. But for market watchers, the questions remain: Where do IPO candidates go from here? Will they resume roadshows? Is the new offering market in for a long freeze?

What history tells us

鈥淥bviously it depends upon what happens in the markets,鈥� said , a emeritus professor known for IPO research.

So far, not too much time has passed since the most recent IPO delays. Companies could presumably restart roadshow plans without too many hurdles should they deem conditions acceptable.

The longer the delay, however, the less likely it becomes that a onetime IPO candidate will actually carry out its debut. Ritter, for example, found it difficult to come up with high-profile companies that publicly filed, delayed for a long interval, and went on to carry out successful offerings.

附近上门 research also provided few examples. One that stood out was construction tech company , which initially filed to go public in early 2020 and made its debut over a year later.

There鈥檚 also an unsuccessful famous example: . The coworking company filed for an IPO in 2019, but delayed after its valuation plummeted and later withdrew. WeWork eventually went public via SPAC in 2021 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy two years later.

Delaying a public filing is more common

More commonly, companies delay making a public filing in the first place when conditions become less inviting.

for example, put off plans for a 2020 IPO when the pandemic hit. It made its eventual, well-received debut in late 2021. filed to go public in 2022, but put off for over a year.

More recently, AI chip developer hit pause on its planned debut, after submitting its IPO in September. Its offering has faced delays in part due to .

We鈥檝e also seen companies file confidentially to go public but delay making a public filing.

Digital bank is one such example, having reportedly submitted its confidential paperwork in December, but no public prospectus yet. A more distant case is business travel and expense platform , which filed confidentially to go public a few years ago.

On a brighter note, we saw a new confidential filing this week as design software platform plans a public listing following its scuttled sale to .

When does a delay turn into a withdrawal?

It鈥檚 possible to delay an offering for quite some time after submitting initial paperwork. However, eventually a company must choose whether to proceed or withdraw.

It鈥檚 a weighty decision, and no company takes bowing out of the process lightly. Furthermore, such a move makes it more difficult to go public in the future.

鈥淭he act of withdrawing casts a ‘scarlet letter’ on the withdrawn firm such that entering the public markets at a future date is much more difficult and less lucrative,鈥� said , a assistant professor who published a last year on the consequences of withdrawing an IPO.

Per Humphrey, between 1997 and 2021, approximately 1 in 6 IPOs attempted on the and were withdrawn. Collectively, that amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars in unrealized growth capital.

Probably the most recent high-profile example is peer-to-peer car rental platform , which withdrew its long-planned IPO in February. The decision followed a dismal start to the year for the San Francisco company, whose public image took a hit after attackers used vehicles rented on its platform in two separate New Year鈥檚 Day attacks.

Will further withdrawals follow? Hard to say, of course. Markets have offered some encouragement in recent days, with major tech indices trading well above their near-term lows. We鈥檒l see if it lasts.

Related reading:

• Procore Goes Public After Putting IPO On Hold
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Even so, there were a few countries with smaller startup scenes that saw sharp year-over-year gains in venture funding. Below, we look at four of the standouts.

Philippines

Startup investment in the Philippines was up in 2024. Reported funding totaled across stages, an increase of 67% from the prior year.

There was no single giant round that fueled the gains, but rather a number of good-sized investments.

One of the larger deals was a $30 million Series A extension for Manila-based installment loan provider . Other noteworthy rounds included a $25 million growth equity investment for , a discount grocery retailer, and a $12.5 million Series B for , a platform for buying and selling homes.

The funding rise last year comes off a low base. Venture investment to the Philippines hit a multiyear low in 2023. Even at 2024鈥檚 elevated levels, we鈥檙e still far below the market peak in 2022.

Ireland

Irish startups had something to smile about last year. Venture funding totaled nearly in 2024 鈥� roughly double year-earlier levels.

Leading the pack was Dublin-headquartered , a startup focused on securing supplies of critical minerals for battery and energy tech, which landed a $180 million August financing.

Biotechs also did well. , which is working on neurostimulation therapy for low back pain, picked up $125 million in a February equity financing . And , which is developing therapies to treat tumors in the soft tissue around joints, landed $92 million for its Series B.

Still, as with the Philippines, Ireland鈥檚 investment was rising off a comparatively low base, as the 2023 venture funding total was the lowest in years. In each of the three years prior to that, Ireland startups pulled in over $2 billion annually.

Argentina

Argentina was a standout in 2024, with in reported startup investment. That鈥檚 more than triple year-earlier levels.

Drilling down, however, it鈥檚 clear that the gain principally came from a single round. , a Buenos Aires-based neobank, raised $300 million in a November round led by , the investment arm of German insurer .

If it weren鈥檛 for that financing, investment would have been relatively flat year over year.

While no other round came close to Uala鈥檚, other Argentina-based startups did manage to secure sizable rounds. Two were payments infrastructure companies: , which raised $40 million in a January Series B, and , which closed on $22 million in Series A funding.

Notably, last year鈥檚 funding rise came amid a time of dramatic governance changes affecting Argentina’s currency and economy. In December 2023, the newly elected government of President Javier Milei announced a 50% devaluation of the national currency. Last summer, it laying out a series of incentives to draw foreign investment.

Czech Republic

With a low unemployment rate, growing economy and large tech talent base, the Czech Republic, or Czechia, has plenty of attributes that make for an attractive startup hub. Plus, of course, there鈥檚 its capital city, Prague, long ranked among the world鈥檚 most livable and architecturally impressive cities.

That desirability may be reflected in recent funding tallies. For 2024, Czech startups pulled in in reported funding across stages 鈥� a more than fourfold increase from the prior year.

Roughly half of last year鈥檚 total came from a single round: A $170 million growth financing for , an online grocery delivery service.

, a Prague-based hotel property management system purveyor, picked up the next-biggest round, pulling in $110 million in a March at a $1.2 billion valuation.

Notably, all other reported rounds were below $10 million, and primarily seed-stage. That could lead one to think that the high 2024 tally may have been something of a fluke, with two domestic unicorns securing big rounds.

Looking further back, however, it appears 2023 was an exceptionally weak year for funding, and 2024 was still far below recent highs. In the two years from 2021 and 2022, for instance, Czech companies pulled in over $1.5 billion, per 附近上门 data.

Surprises in store for 2025?

Crunching the numbers for these country-specific datasets, their unpredictability is always striking. Who would have guessed that this particular subset of nations would have outperformed their peers?

This time around, another surprise was that of the major African startup hubs, none that we surveyed showed a large year-on-year funding rise. This stood out in particular considering that Africa is the continent with the world鈥檚 fastest-growing population.

Of course, all it takes is a few big unicorn rounds to change the narrative for countries with smaller startup scenes. We鈥檒l be keeping an eye out for those in coming quarters.

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• Startup Funding Regained Its Footing In 2024 As AI Became The Star Of The Show

Illustration:

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

Another big week for biotech, as startups in the sector scooped up multiple spots on this week鈥檚 list. However, there also were big rounds in industries like procurement, energy and robotics. All in all, a half-dozen companies raised rounds of $100 million or more. Not included in the top 10 this week was ‘s $5.6 billion round, as a majority of the round was reported back in July.

1. , $225M, biotech: Seaport Therapeutics isn鈥檛 new to this list. In April, the Boston-based startup launched with a $100 million Series A co-led by and . The company is back this week with a $225 million Series B led by . The biotech company focuses on medicines for depression, anxiety and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Seaport will use the new money to advance its clinical-stage pipeline of medicines.

2. , $190M, procurement: Procurement startup saw its valuation jump 47% after raising a $190 million Series D led by . The round values the San Francisco-based company at $2.2 billion. In May 2023, Zip locked up a $100 million Series C at a $1.5 billion post-money valuation. The startup helps companies with the burdensome process of buying new software and hardware, helping customers with sourcing, approving and paying for business tools. The company will use the new cash to invest in engineering and research and development, including a new internal AI lab to create AI-powered tools. The money also will be used to expand geographically. Founded in 2020, the company has raised more than $371 million, .

3. , $112M, biotech: Watertown, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage cell therapy startup AvenCell Therapeutics raised a $112 million Series B led by . The company focuses on advancing cell therapies for the treatment of a wide range of hematologic malignancies and auto-immune diseases. Founded in 2021, this is the company鈥檚 first announced raise, .

4. , $106M, robotics: Even in an uneven venture market, robotics is strong. More evidence of that came this week as Nimble, an AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment startup, closed a $106 million Series C led by and valuing the company at $1 billion. As part of the new deal, FedEx has entered into a commercial agreement to scale its FedEx Fulfillment service using Nimble’s technology and fully autonomous robotics model. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $221 million, .

5. (tied) , $100M, energy: Denver-based Redaptive, which funds and installs energy-saving and energy-generating equipment, raised a $100 million equity investment from . The company offers a platform that manages long-term energy efficiency programs, from project development to funding, project management and monitoring. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $1 billion in investment, .

5. (tied) , $100M, real estate: New York-based Valon, a mortgage servicing platform, raised a $100 million Series C led by . The company will use the new cash to accelerate its product development and market expansion. Founded in 2019, Valon has raised $230 million, per the company.

7. , $82M, biotech: Be Biopharma, a biotech firm developing engineered B-cell medicines, raised $82 million from several investors. Founded in 2020, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has received $264 million in funding, .

8. , $80M, education: Austin, Texas-based SchooLinks, a software platform providing college and career readiness resources for K-12 students, raised an $80 million Series B led by . Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $91 million, .

9. , $75M, fintech: Payment processing startup Finix closed a $75M Series C led by , and . Founded in 2015, the San Francisco-based company has raised more than $200 million, .

10. , $70M, agtech: Seattle-based Carbon Robotics, an AI-powered farming startup, locked up a $70 million Series D led by new investor . Founded in 2018, Carbon has raised $157 million, per the company.

Big global deals

The biggest deal of the week came from China.

• Beijing-based , a startup developing technologies for self-driving vehicles for rideshares, raised a $298 million Series C.

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 Oct. 19 to Oct. 25. 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.

These newly minted unicorns raised a total of $3.2 billion over time, and added $19 billion in value to the board.听

This signals a big change in the venture markets from August a year ago when 45 companies joined the board, adding $82 billion in value at that time.听

New unicorn counts are also slightly down month over month from July when 14 newly valued unicorn companies joined the board.

Of the 12 new unicorns, seven hail from the U.S., two from China, and one each from India, Indonesia and South Korea. Companies are from varied sectors, from real estate to car hailing, wallets to marketplaces, and electric vehicles to shipping.听

‘s is one of the companies to join the board this past month with a $350 million investment from that valued the company north of $1 billion. It has yet to build a website, but plans to build a company that reinvents the rental market experience in a world of remote work.听

The most highly valued unicorn from this past month is Shanghai-based , an electric vehicle company jointly created by and . Zhiji was valued at $4.4 billion in a Series A funding.听

Funding in 2022

Unicorn startups have raised just over $102 billion this year as of the end of August. This contrasts with the peak in unicorn funding in 2021, where unicorn companies raised $305 billion in private financing, with 85% of that in late-stage and private equity rounds. 1

Exits

Three companies exited the board via the public markets in August 2022. They include South Korea-based car sharing company , last valued at $1 billion in a corporate round in March, and more recently valued around $632 million as of Aug. 31 in the public markets.听

Kentucky-based waste and recycling company went public via a SPAC deal. It was last valued at a billion dollars in 2017, and its current value is around $258 million on the public markets.听

And Washington, D.C.-based predictive analytics company went public via a SPAC merger. It was last valued at $1.4 billion in 2021. Its current valuation on the public markets is close to $1 billion.听

Despite the slowdown, the keeps growing in size and currently hosts 1,395 private companies.听

Update: The new unicorns of August 2022 now count 12 companies adding $19 billion in value to the board. Seven of the new unicorns are U.S.-based companies.

附近上门 Pro queries for this article

All 附近上门 Pro queries are dynamic, with results updating over time. They can be adapted by location and/or timeframe for analysis.

• (1,395)
• (697)
• (433)
• (189)
• (355)
• (404)
• ($104B)

Methodology

Funding rounds included in this report are seed, angel, venture, corporate-venture and private-equity rounds in venture-backed companies. This reflects data in 附近上门 as of Sept. 1, 2022.听

The 附近上门 附近上门 is a curated list that includes private unicorn companies with post-money valuations of $1 billion or more and is based on 附近上门 data. New companies are as they reach the $1 billion valuation mark as part of a funding round.听

Funding to unicorn companies includes all private financings to companies that are tagged as unicorns, as well as those that have since graduated to .听

Please note that all funding values are given in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. 附近上门 converts foreign currencies to U.S. dollars at the prevailing spot rate from the date funding rounds, acquisitions, IPOs and other financial events are reported. Even if those events were added to 附近上门 long after the event was announced, foreign currency transactions are converted at the historic spot price.

Illustration:

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Founded in Europe in 2013, Blueground formally launched in the U.S. in the summer of 2018. The company has a unique strategy. It leases apartments and then upgrades, and fully furnishes them, making them available for renters looking for 鈥渢urnkey鈥� rentals. Blueground typically leases apartments before they hit the market, with a goal of holding them for many years. The startup, which has partnered with more than 2,000 landlords, leases those apartments to 鈥渧etted鈥� renters for time periods ranging from 30 days to a year, or longer.

It caters to business travelers and remote workers primarily. In addition to offering WiFi, blueground with smart TVs, 鈥渉igh-end gadgets鈥� and guest support through a Blueground app.

CEO and co-founder said he founded the company after having spent five years traveling from city to city as a consultant, living almost exclusively in hotel rooms.

鈥淎s you can imagine, being confined to such a small space gets old fairly quickly, not to mention the amount of money my employer at the time was spending on accommodations, an amount that exceeded $10,000 per month in some cases,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淗owever, alternative options were limited and hardly made sense for my situation. It was impossible to find an apartment to lease for less than a year, and even if you could, you鈥檇 have to furnish the place or compromise with the few available, typically unattractive furnished options.鈥�

The experience sparked the Blueground concept, which Chatzieleftheriou said offers users an option that is about 30 to 50 percent less expensive than hotels, with about 鈥渢hree times the space.鈥� The app also offers a聽relocation function that allows renters “to experience new apartments in different neighborhoods and cities on demand.”

To date, the company has built a portfolio of more than 2,800 apartments in nine cities around the world, including NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Dubai, Istanbul and Athens, Greece. Blueground said its revenue grew 200 percent year-over-year in 2018 (although we don鈥檛 know the base from which it grew), a metric Chatzieleftheriou expects to meet again in 2019.

He also said Blueground has 鈥渟urpassed more than one million nights spent by over 10,000 guests鈥� in its rentals. The company currently has more than 400 employees, up from 280 at the time of its last raise in March, and from 200 a year ago.

Blueground also plans to keep hiring with the goal of doubling its headcount over the next 12 months as it adds new markets and grows its staff in existing markets. In particular, it鈥檚 looking to hire engineers and data scientists, Chatzieleftheriou said.

鈥淥ur guests are typically relocating into a new city as part of a work-related or other move,鈥� Chatzieleftheriou said. 鈥淭he idea of one鈥檚 home being a fixed, long-term commitment is changing as more people are choosing to live in multiple cities.鈥�

Blueground plans to use its new capital in part to further expand its presence in both the United States and Europe. Specifically, by year鈥檚 end, Blueground plans to begin offering rentals in London, Paris and Seattle. Its goal is to be in over 50 鈥渂usiness and tech hubs鈥� by 2023. The company also plans to use the money toward technology development, product design and 鈥済uest experience.鈥�

WestCap Partner will be joining Blueground鈥檚 board as part of the new financing.

In general, the real estate tech space is heating up. In July, we covered raising $503 million for its second fund to invest almost exclusively in real estate tech companies. And just last month, we reported on 聽$43 million Series B round it raised to help in its mission to help more Americans 鈥渕ove from renters to [home]owners.鈥�

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Well, not really. But that鈥檚 what it feels like.

Today, announced a $43M Series B round to help in its mission to help more Americans 鈥渕ove from renters to [home]owners.鈥�

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Divvy differentiates itself from the slew of real estate tech companies claiming to be digitizing 鈥渢he archaic, data-heavy processes buyers encounter along the way鈥� by taking things 鈥渇urther.鈥� The company works with renters who want to become homeowners by buying the home they want and renting it back to them for three years 鈥渨hile [they build] the savings needed to own it themselves.鈥�

Every company has a mission. Divvy claims to be working to 鈥渃reate a world where every person can own their forever home;鈥� or, essentially, it wants to make homeownership more accessible.

The startup鈥檚 combined equity and debt raised since its inception in 2017 is now 鈥渘earing $200 million,鈥� it said. Divvy also raised $10 million in an a16z-led last October.

The San Francisco-based company also had previously raised more than $120 million in a debt facility from + It started off as a $20M debt facility raised along with the company鈥檚 Series A in 2018, but聽 increased over the last year as Divvy has 鈥減roven鈥� its performance, according to the company.

Growing Fast

New investors , a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, and homebuilder (via its venture arm) joined existing investors (a16z), , and CEO in putting money into the latest round.

Investors are naturally bullish.

In a statement, , a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said a16z was 鈥渃onfident鈥� that Divvy would 鈥渃ontinue causing meaningful disruption in the real estate space, given its unique business model and real impact on wealth creation in America.鈥�

The company saw its revenue grow 10 times in August year-over-year, according to CEO and co-founder . It鈥檚 also grown its headcount by five times to 40 compared to the same time last year. Divvy makes money聽off of 鈥渕arket rate rent,” and claims to charge no hidden fees or impose “extra costs.”

Divvy plans to use the new capital to (of course) do more hiring, increase investment in technology and purchase more homes.

鈥淧roptech is flooded with startups targeting high net-worth individuals, but Divvy鈥檚 model addresses the needs of the vast majority of Americans, often ignored by Silicon Valley,鈥� said Levchin,聽 founder of , where Hefets and co-founder incubated Divvy.

Divvy was co-founded by Hefets (formerly of ), and Ma (previously of ), along with co-founders Nick Clark (previously ) and .

How It Works

Buying a home with Divvy starts with a five-minute application that results in an approved home-buying budget and an introduction to a real estate agent.

Once found, Divvy purchases the property, while the renter contributes an initial 2 percent of the home value. About 25 percent of each subsequent rent payment goes toward saving for a traditional mortgage, so the new residents have a down payment to buy their home in three years. If the renters change their mind, they can just get cashed out for their savings. Or, if they want to buy it faster, they can speed up the process.

The company claims to have helped customers save, on average, more than $5,000 per household.

Divvy currently operates in Atlanta, Ga.; Cleveland, OH; and Memphis, Tn; and will expand into new markets in the future.

鈥淲e’re looking at metros generally in Tier 2 and 3 cities where we think we could have a large impact on homeownership,鈥� Hefets said.

We鈥檝e been paying attention to this space, which has seen some massive funding rounds from the likes of Knock and Compass this year alone. In July, we covered raising $503 million for its second fund to invest almost exclusively in real estate tech companies. Buying a home appears to still be the American dream for many. And as long as that’s the case, there will likely be demand for services that companies like Divvy offer.

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