The slowdown from last week continued as big rounds were hard to come back by this week. One big AI round likely helped drive more dollars – and interest – but outside of that much funding, the rounds have dried up. It was a holiday week, so that could possibly be the reason – or possibly enterprise capitalists’ checkbooks are weakening after a strong begin to the 12 months with nine-figure rounds.
1. xAI$6 billion, artificial intelligence: Elon MuskGenerative AI startup xAI has officially announced its long-awaited fundraising, making it the second most beneficial generative AI company in the world, behind its only competitor OpenAI. The round value $6 billion included investments in, among others: Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Capital of Sequoia AND Fidelity Management and Research Co., among others. The latest financing values the company at $24 billion post-money, well below OpenAI Valued at $86 billion but long before the $18 billion generative artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is currently valued at the level after the last increase. There has been talk of an xAI round for months. The company was announced last July and released its ChatGPT competitor Grok last November and launched its latest AI model, called Grok-1.5, just earlier this 12 months. Grok is trained based on data from one other company owned by Musk, X, formerly Twitter.
2. Solutions by text$110 million, fintech: Over the last few a long time, paying bills has turn into much easier due to online and mobile payments. However, the Dallas startup went a step further. Solutions by Text is exactly what it feels like, and the startup raised $100 million in latest funding this week. The raise is a mixture of equity and debt, although the exact ratio was not disclosed. Edison’s partners AND StepStone Group co-managed the capital part. The startup enables its customers to offer a range of economic services via text, including lending, debt collection and bill payment. Founded in 2008, the company has raised $145 million, on Crunchbase.
3. Frore systems$80 million, mechanical engineering: One aspect of AI that is more likely to receive more funding is some of the peripheral technologies that make it possible. Frore Systems secured an $80 million Series C at the helm Fidelity Management and Research Co. The San Jose, California-based startup has developed a semiconductor lively cooling chip – AirJet – that permits users to leverage AI even at the fringe of the network or on edge devices. Because AI applications generate more heat than many devices can handle, the chip allows them to remain cool and not lose performance. Founded in 2018, Frore has raised $196 million for the company.
4. Mavenir$75 million, network software: Mavenir may look familiar to some on this list. After raising $250 million in 2022, the networking software provider has locked one other large tranche of cash, closing a $100 million round led by Siris Capital Group about a 12 months ago. The Richardson, Texas-based company raised $75 million in investment from an “existing investor” again this week, based on the company. Mavenir creates cloud-native software that permits enterprises and service providers to administer complex networks without relying on legacy telecommunications equipment resembling routers and switches. This allows customers to scale cloud operations faster and without having to buy hardware. Founded in 2005, the company has now raised $1 billion, on Crunchbase.
5. CinRx PharmaUSD 73 million, biotechnology: This week’s top biotech round is not as big as most weeks, but that is consistent with the general trend. CinRx Pharma has accomplished a $73 million deal from undisclosed investors. The Cincinnati-based company has a diverse portfolio of corporations developing a variety of medicine and therapies. In early 2023, one of its former portfolio corporations – CinCor Pharma — was acquired after the IPO by AstraZeneca in a deal value $1.3 billion upfront. Founded in 2015, CinRx has raised $176 million for the company.
6. BabylonChain$70 million, blockchain: Palo Alto, California-based BabylonChain, a developer of security protocols for decentralized systems, closed a $70 million round led by Paradigm. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $103 million, on Crunchbase.
7. (sure) Square circles$40 million, consumer: Los Angeles-based Squared Circles, a consumer-focused consumer brand incubator studio, has closed a $40 million Series A funding round led by L Catterton. This is the first disclosed fundraising amount for the company, founded in 2020, on Crunchbase.
7. (sure) Cross over$40 million, privacy: Transcend, a San Francisco-based data protection platform, raised $40 million in Series B funding led by a latest investor StepStone Group. Founded in 2017, Transcend has raised nearly $90 million for the company.
9. gameteUSD 33 million, biotechnology: Gameto, a New York-based women’s health biotechnology company, raised $33 million in Series B, led by: Two Sigma ventures AND RA Capital Management. Founded in 2020, the company raised $73 million, on Crunchbase.
10. To people$30 million, industry: Atlanta-based independent metals marketplace Reibus raised a $30 million round with a combination of equity and debt from existing investors, including Partners from Canaan AND The capital of Nosara. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $132 million, on Crunchbase.
Great global offers
No company has even come near elevating what xAI has done. The largest round outside the United States got here from a Nordic country.
- Based in Sweden Cloverwhich provides embedded energy solutions to facilitate a successful energy transition, has raised a seed round of roughly $114 million.
Methodology
We tracked the largest announced rounds reported by U.S.-based corporations over the seven-day period from May 25 to May 31 in the Crunchbase database. While most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could also be a slight delay as some rounds are reported late in the week.