This week saw the second largest rate hike of the 12 months as Anduril Industry‘ the monster only increases its rank for xAIa whopping $6 billion in May. Additionally, this week saw several large rounds in cybersecurity, travel, and of course, biotech.
1. Anduril Industry$1.5 billion, defense: Anduril Industry tied its own record for the largest defense tech round in history. The Costa Mesa, California-based startup secured $1.5 billion in a Series F round that values the company at $14 billion — a 69% increase from the $8.5 billion valuation it received after its massive $1.5 billion Series E round in late 2022. The round was co-led by Founders Fund AND Capital Sands. The company will use some of the recent proceeds to develop Arsenal-1, greater than 5 million square feet of manufacturing space designed to supply tens of 1000’s of autonomous military systems per 12 months. After a slow begin to the 12 months, funding for defense tech startups has surged in the past few months. Just last month, Helsingwhich develops artificial intelligence software for defense purposes, has raised roughly $489 million in funding, led by General Catalyst which values the company at $5.4 billion. After Anduril’s massive round, defense tech startups raised $2.5 billion in 2024, in response to Crunchbase dataLast 12 months, such startups raised a total of just $2 billion.
2. Grok$640 million, semiconductors: AI and software semiconductor startup Groq began the week with a bang, announcing that it had raised $640 million in a Series D round at a valuation of $2.8 billion. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRockThe Mountain View, California-based company is helping to develop ways to optimize AI and reduce the massive computing power that is currently required to do so. The recent round nearly triples the company’s valuation from its 2021 Series C round. Founded in 2016, the company raised $1 billion, in response to Crunchbase.
3. Abnormal security$250M Cybersecurity: Abnormal security closed a $250 million Series D round that now values the San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup at $5.1 billion. The recent round was led by Wellington ManagementThe recent valuation is a greater than 28% increase over the $4 billion valuation Abnormal received after raising $210 million in Series C funding led by Insight Partners in May 2022. Founded in 2018, Abnormal seeks to stop attacks and find compromised accounts in emails and connected apps by using machine learning and artificial intelligence to grasp human behavior. According to the company, the startup has raised nearly $546 million in total funding. Abnormal also says it recently surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue. After a weak 2023, cybersecurity startups are seeing money again. Cybersecurity startups saw a solid $4.4 billion in investment in the second quarter of 2024, in response to Crunchbase data. The dollar amount represents a 63% increase from Q1, when $2.7 billion went to startups across 173 deals. It was the sector’s best quarter for funding since Q1 2022 and a 144% increase from Q2 2023.
4. Flying$225 million, travel: Travel startup Flyr has raised $225 million in equity and $70 million in debt in a recent round of funding, led by West Cap AND apparently values the startup at $900 million. The Santa Monica, California-based startup develops software for the travel industry, comparable to airlines. Founded in 2013, the company has raised $482 million, in response to Crunchbase.
5. IDRx$120 million, biotechnology: This week, a major biotech raise went to a Plymouth, Mass. startup. IDRx, a clinical-stage biotech developing precision therapies for cancer treatment, raised $120 million in a Series B round led by Commander’s Capital, RA Capital Management AND Black stone multi-asset investing. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $242 million, in response to Crunchbase.
6. Developing$100M, AI: Palo Alto, California-based DevRev, which develops artificial intelligence for customer support and other applications, has raised $100 million from Khosla’s ventures and other investors. Round apparently values the company at $1.15 billion. Founded in 2020, the company has raised $150 million, in response to Crunchbase.
7. Shinobi Therapy$68 million, biotechnology: Shinobi Therapeutics, a South San Francisco, California-based biotech company developing an immune-evading iPS cell therapy, has raised $68 million in a Series A round Mitsubishi UFJ Capital AND YosemiteFounded in 2023, Shinobi says it has already raised $119 million.
8. MBX Biosciences$64 million, biotechnology: MBX Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing precision peptide therapies for metabolic disorders, announced today that it has raised $63.5 million in Series C funding led by Deep capitalFounded in 2019, the Carmel, Indiana-based company has raised greater than $238 million, in response to Crunchbase.
9. Muon space$57 million, space: Mountain View, California-based Muon Space, a company that designs and operates low-Earth orbit satellite constellations, has raised $56.7 million in Series B funding led by Activate capitalFounded in 2021, the company has raised nearly $92 million, in response to Crunchbase.
10. Red Queen Therapy$55 million, biotechnology: Red Queen Therapeutics Emerges from Stealth with $55 Million Series A Funding Apple Tree Partners. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company develops antiviral drugs.
Large global transactions
While the biggest hikes got here from the US, a major AI funding round got here from Asia
- Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI raised $300 million in enterprise capital funding.
Methodology
We tracked the largest announced funding rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based corporations during the seven-day period from August 3 to August 9. While most announced rounds are included in the database, there could also be a slight delay as some rounds are reported late in the week.