After a slowdown in large rounds last week, investors responded again by issuing nine-figure rounds. The topic this week was definitely artificial intelligence, as many of the largest rounds went to startups using artificial intelligence in coding or biotechnology.
1. Xair therapy$1 billion, biotechnology: The biggest round this week was really big. Xaira Therapeutics has come out of hiding and announced that it has secured over $1 billion in capital from leading investors Arch Venture Partners AND Foresite Capital – each co-incubated the company – in addition to several other high-profile investors, including Capital of Sequoia AND Partners of the Lightspeed enterprise. This San Francisco-based biotechnology company is headed by its CEO Marc Tessier-Lavignewho previously served as president of Stanford University but resigned last yr after questions emerged about his scientific research. Xaira is the latest – but probably the most well-funded – startup attempting to use artificial intelligence models to search out latest drugs.
2. Increase$227 million, artificial intelligence: AI coding startups saw big success this week. The largest round went to a different stealth exit startup, Augment, an AI coding startup. The Palo Alto, California-based company closed a $227 million Series B round at a post-money valuation of $977 million. The round included money from, among others: Sutter Hill’s ventures, Index ventures AND Partners of the Lightspeed enterprise. Augment helps developers and development teams by providing them with AI coding assistance. Founded in 2022, Augment now has $252 million in funding for the company, following a $25 million Series A led by Sutter Hill’s ventures in January.
3. RipplingUSD 200 million, human resources: HR startup Rippling has accomplished a massive $200 million round that valued the San Francisco-based startup at $13.5 billion. The deal also included a $590 million secondary offering for employees to sell their private shares to investors. He led the latest equity round Coat. The company offers a workforce management platform that mixes HR, IT and finance to assist customers streamline operations. The latest round represents a roughly 20% increase in Rippling’s valuation, which was last valued at $11.3 billion in March 2023.
4. Cognition$175 million, artificial intelligence: Another nine-figure round for the AI coding startup. This one went to Cognition from San Francisco, which supposedly blocked an investment price USD 175 million, of which he was the leader Founders Fund at a valuation of $2 billion. The six-month-old startup has developed an AI-powered coding assistant called Devin. Just last month, the startup raised $21 million in Series A at a valuation of $350 million.
5. Endeavor BioMedicinesUSD 133 million, biotechnology: Another big hike in the biotech sector this week. San Diego-based Endeavor BioMedicines closed a $132.5 million Series C led by Ayur Maja. The company, which focuses on drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, last raised greater than two years ago – a $101 million Series B fund co-led by: Allied Bridge Group AND Avidity Partners. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $296 million, (*10*)on Crunchbase.
6. Threat blocking$115 million, cybersecurity: Cyber financing has shown some signs of life these days, and this week we have one other example. ThreatLocker, a cybersecurity startup offering zero-trust endpoint security solutions, raised $115 million Series D funding led by an existing investor General of the Atlantic. Last yr, ThreatLocker doubled its revenue and increased its workforce by 50%. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $240 million, on Crunchbase.
7. lights$100 million, health care: Lumeris based in St. Louis, the creator of the healthcare spending platform, raised a $100 million investment led by the company Deerfield Management AND Take care of your health. Founded in 2000, the company has raised $325 million, on Crunchbase.
8. AI embarrassment$63 million, artificial intelligence: It’s been a busy week for Perplexity AI. On the same day, the company announced a $62.7 million round reported the AI startup was seeking to raise one other $250+ million at a valuation of $2.5 billion to $3 billion. The newly announced round was first reported last month and was led by Daniel Gross. Among them there have been also investors, among others: Nvidia, IVP, NEA, Jeff Bezos AND Garry Tan among others. New round supposedly values the company at over $1 billion. However, in response to the report in TechCrunch, the launch of the AI search engine is far from complete, engaging investors in talks about a megaround that may increase this valuation by at least 150%. IVP and NEA are said to be considering participating in the latest round. Just in January, the company raised $73.6 million in a Series B round led by IVP, which valued it at $520 million.
9. Midi’s health$60 million, health care: Los Altos, California-based Midi Health, a virtual women’s care clinic, closed a $60 million Series B round led by Emerson Collective. Founded in 2021, Midi Health has raised $100 million up to now, in response to the company.
10. Give me the butter$50 million, CRM: Austin, Texas-based Givebutter, a nonprofit fundraising and CRM platform, announced that it has accomplished a $50 million strategic growth investment led by BVP Forge. Founded in 2016, the company has raised $57 million, on Crunchbase.
Great global offers
There weren’t really any big rounds outside the US this week. The largest one got here from the Emerald Isle.
- Based in Dublin SynOx therapya biotechnology research company focused on developing treatments for giant cell tumors has raised a $75 million Series B fund.
Methodology
In the Crunchbase database, we tracked the largest announced rounds reported by U.S.-based firms over the seven-day period from April 20 to April 26. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could also be a slight delay in some rounds. are reported at the end of the week.