Another big month of big rounds. A startup had to boost at least $200 million to get on this list in the April edition. April also saw a half-dozen rounds value a quarter of a billion dollars or more, including a $1 billion round for AI-enhanced biotech. Let’s take a look.
1. Xair therapy$1 billion, biotechnology: The biggest round in April 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 he resigned last yr after questions were raised about his scientific research. Xaira is the latest – but probably the most well-funded – startup attempting to use artificial intelligence models to seek out latest drugs.
2. Pine Gate Renewable EnergyUSD 650 million, energy: Pine Gate Renewables has secured a $650 million investment Generate capital, Health care under the Ontario Pension Plan AND HORSES. The Asheville, North Carolina-based developer of solar and energy storage products plans to make use of the latest funds to finance the construction of three gigawatts of clean energy infrastructure in communities across the United States by next yr. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $1.7 billion, on Crunchbase.
3. PsiQuantum$620 million, quantum computing: PsiQuantum accomplished the largest-ever seed round for any quantum startup this yr with a win How muchraised $300 million in equity funding at a preliminary valuation of $5 billion in January. The Palo Alto, California-based company has received a $620 million financing package from the Commonwealth of Australia and Queensland governments to build a quantum computer at a strategically positioned site near Brisbane Airport in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 2016, the company has raised over $1.3 billion, on Crunchbase.
4. White$300 million, cybersecurity: While it is true that cybersecurity funding has declined significantly, it has definitely not dried up. Data security startup Cyera raised $300 million in Series C, led by: Coat at a valuation of $1.4 billion. This round nearly triples the New York startup’s valuation in comparison with its $100 million Series B in June last yr, which valued it at $500 million. Founded in 2021, Cyera has raised $460 million so far, in accordance with the company. Cyera offers a platform that helps enterprise security teams understand what data they have, the way it is getting used, and tips on how to secure it – all of which is becoming increasingly necessary for firms that rely on data to drive AI initiatives. The startup also uses artificial intelligence on its platform to evaluate the risks posed by company data in terms of security, privacy and regulatory compliance.
5. MeserUSD 290 million, biotechnology: New York-based Metsera, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical startup, emerged from obscurity last month with $290 million in funding led by Arch Venture Partners. The company is investigating drugs for obesity and metabolic diseases, offering oral and injectable incretin and non-incretin drugs and combination therapies.
6. Streams$250 million, semiconductors: Semiconductor startups are making big money, thanks in part to the explosion of generative artificial intelligence. Santa Clara, California-based startup Rivos raised greater than $250 million in Series A-3 funding in April, led by Matrix capital management. The company develops power-optimized chips for the data analytics and generative artificial intelligence markets. Of course, chip startups have been gaining more and more attention currently. Late last month, optical interconnection began going live in Santa Clara Celestial Artificial Intelligence raised a whopping $175 million in Series C funding, which she led Thomas Tull‘S American Fund for Innovative Technologies. Also last month Astera’s laboratory — a Santa Clara-based developer of data center connectivity technology with applications in generative artificial intelligence — has skyrocketed following its initial public offering on the platform Nasdaq.
7. Increase$227 million, artificial intelligence: AI coding startups are making waves. AI coding assistance startup Augment got here out of stealth last month and 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. The Palo Alto, California-based company helps developers and development teams by providing them with AI coding assistance. Set for 2022, Augment’s total funding now stands at $252 million per company, following a $25 million Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures in January.
8. Monad Laboratories$225 million, blockchain: New York-based Monad Labs raised Web3’s largest-ever funding round this yr, raising a $225 million funding round led by Paradigm. Monad is a Layer 1 blockchain that is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine but can process transactions faster using the same set of rules. The round is reminiscent of the 2021-22 era when Layer 1 protocols equivalent to Aptos Laboratories raised large. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $244 million, on Crunchbase.
9. (certain) Neurotech Blackrock$200 million, neuroscience: Stablecoin issuer Tether invested $200 million in Blackrock Neurotech to take a majority stake in the brain-computer interface startup. The Salt Lake City-based company creates brain-computer interfaces and implants that allow people to manage computers and neuroprostheses. Before the latest round from Tether, the company had raised only $10 million, in accordance with Crunchbase. The round values Blackrock Neurotech at roughly $350 million, in accordance with Reuters. The deal is also the latest headline for brain-computer interface technology to be pushed Elon Musk‘S Neuralink. The company recently live-streamed a quadriplegic man playing video games with its implant and raised nearly $700 million. on Crunchbase.
9. (certain) 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.
Great global offers
The biggest raise of the month was Xiara, but the runner-up got here from China.
- Hozonelectric vehicle startup has closed a enterprise financing round value $690 million.
Methodology
We have tracked the largest rounds raised by US-based firms in the Crunchbase database for April 2024. While most announced rounds are included in the database, there could also be a slight delay as some rounds are reported late in the month.