U.S. Startups Secure Major Funding in Defense and Tech Sectors
Startup investors announced several large funding rounds in the week of March 28-April 3, with the largest being a $1.75 billion Series D for Austin-based Saronic, a developer of autonomous vessels, according to Crunchbase News. Other significant rounds spanned sectors like fitness wearables, nuclear energy, and cybersecurity, highlighting ongoing investment in defense and technology companies.
Leading Rounds in Defense and Wearables
Saronic raised $1.75 billion in its Series D round, led by Kleiner Perkins, which brought the company’s total funding to around $2.6 billion and set a $9.25 billion valuation. Whoop, a Boston-based provider of wearable fitness technology and a subscription platform for physiological data, secured $575 million in Series G funding led by Collaborative Fund, resulting in a $10.1 billion valuation. Valar Atomics, a nuclear energy startup in El Segundo, California, reportedly raised $340 million in equity and $110 million in debt at a $2 billion valuation, as cited in a Bloomberg article referenced by Crunchbase News.
Additional Funding in Energy and Cybersecurity
EnerVenue, a Fremont, California-based developer of grid-scale energy storage technology, closed a $300 million extension of its Series B round led by Full Vision Capital and appointed Henning Rath as its new chief executive officer. Tenex.AI, a Sarasota, Florida-based AI-enabled cybersecurity startup, obtained $250 million in Series B funding from Crosspoint Capital Partners, with plans to hire over 250 employees to enhance efficiency using AI technology. Also, an electric mobility company from Palo Alto, California, spun out of Rivian, raised $200 million in a Series C round backed by Greenoaks, DoorDash, and Prysm Capital for its lineup of bikes and autonomous EVs.
Space Tech and Other Investments
Starcloud, a Redmond, Washington-based space infrastructure startup focused on orbital data centers, secured $170 million in Series A funding led by Benchmark and EQT, achieving a $1.1 billion valuation just 17 months after its Y Combinator demo day. ScaleOps, a New York-based cloud and AI infrastructure company, landed $130 million in Series C funding from Insight Partners, setting a valuation over $800 million for the four-year-old firm. Ambrosia Biosciences, a Boulder, Colorado-based developer of oral therapeutics for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Blue Owl, Redmile Group, and Deep Track Capital. OpenFX, a provider of cross-border money transfer platforms, obtained $94 million in Series A funding from investors including Accel, Atomico, M13, Northzone, and Pantera Capital.
Crunchbase News tracked these as the largest announced rounds for U.S.-based companies during the specified week, noting that some rounds might be reported with a delay.
