After a slow Thanksgiving week, investors made up for lost time with a series of big-money rounds. VCs are dividing their money quite freely, with large investments in semiconductors, biotech, carbon capture and more.
1. TensorrentUSD 693 million, semiconductors: Jim KellerChip startup Tenstorrent has raised nearly $700 million in Series D funding, giving it a valuation of $2.6 billion. The money injection led Samsung Securities AND AFW Partnersand included Jeff Bezos‘ Bezos expeditions AND Fidelity Management and Research Co.among others. Tensorrent says plans to make use of the recent capital to “build open-source AI software stacks, hire developers, expand its global development and design centers, and build systems and clouds for AI developers.” The Santa Clara, California-based startup was founded in 2016 and has since raised over $1 billion. via Crunchbase.
2. Nuvig therapyUSD 161 million, biotechnology: The notable biotech round of the week got here from Menlo Park, California-based Nuvig Therapeutics, which raised $161 million in a Series B co-led by: Sanofi venturesBlue Owl Health Care Opportunities (formerly Cowen Healthcare Investments) I Norwest Venture Partners. The biotech startup is developing immunomodulatory drugs for patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases. The company currently has a therapeutic pipeline that can enter Phase 2 clinical trials. Founded in 2021, the company raised $208 million, via Crunchbase.
3. Heirloom$150 million, carbon capture: Direct air capture company Heirloom raised $150 million in Series B financing led by: A positive future AND Low-emission capital. The Brisbane, California-based climate technology company uses modified limestone to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Heirloom’s recent money comes amid an investment boom for carbon capture startups. According to Crunchbase dataspace funding is on track to attain its highest or second-highest annual performance since the category began tracking. Founded in 2020, the company has raised over $204 million.
4. TractorUSD 120 million, production: Artificial intelligence startup Tractian is the latest company to make use of emerging technology to draw investor attention, raising $120 million in Series C funding led by Sapphire ventures. The Atlanta-based company’s AI game is pretty easy. It is capable of mix hardware, software and artificial intelligence to assist modernize manufacturing maintenance processes. The company – which calls itself “Industrial Copilot” – addresses the growing problems of commercial maintenance and unplanned downtime costing the world’s 500 largest corporations 11% of their annual revenuesroughly $1.4 trillion. Founded in 2019, Tractian has raised over $180 million, via Crunchbase. In August 2023, the company closed a $45 million growth capital round led by Generic catalytic converter.
5. Therapeutic MazeUSD 115 million, biotechnology: South San Francisco-based Maze Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing drugs for kidney, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, accomplished a $115 million Series D co-authored by investors Deep capital AND Frazier’s Natural Sciences. The round included the conversion of issued convertible notes. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $496 million.
6. Clearly$106 million, health care: Denver-based cardiovascular imaging startup Cleerly raised $106 million in Series C expansion led by Insight partners. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $387 million, via Crunchbase.
7. Public$105 million, fintech: Investment platform Public has raised $135 million in equity and debt financing because it plans to expand its AI-enabled research capabilities. The financing, which the New York-based public company described as Series D-2, included $105 million in equity and $30 million in debt, with Speed up as the major investor. Founded in 2019, the company has raised over $300 million to finance the enterprise.
8. Safety upwind$100 million, cybersecurity: Cloud security is high as more and more corporations move their massive amounts of information to the cloud. Cloud security company Upwind was capable of capitalize on this trend, raising a $100 million round led by Craft ventures. The San Francisco-based startup is reportedly valued at $900 million following the recent funding. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $180 million.
9. AMP Robotics$91 million, recycling: Denver-based AMP Robotics, which creates AI-powered sorting systems for the waste and recycling industry, raised $91 million in Series D, led by: Coherent projects. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $266 million, via Crunchbase.
10. Axiado company.$60 million, cybersecurity: San Jose, California-based hardware security startup Axiado raised $60 million in Series C, led by: Silicon maverick. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $105 million.
Great global offers
It was a slow week for non-U.S. funding, with only one round reaching nine figures.
Methodology
We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were reported by U.S.-based corporations over the seven-day period from November 30 to December 6. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could also be a slight delay as some rounds are reported late in the week.