The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: A Busy Time For Robotics, Defense Tech And AI
The pace of big funding rounds continued to hold up at brisk levels this past week, led by a $1.4 billion financing for “robot brain” developer Skild AI. More big rounds went to startups in sectors including AI chips, brain-computer interfaces, defense tech, biotech and airplanes, among others.
1. Skild AI, $1.4B, robotics: Skild AI, a robotics company building an “omni-bodied” brain to operate any robot for any task, announced it raised $1.4 billion, tripling its valuation to over $14 billion. SoftBank Group led the Pittsburgh-based startup’s latest financing, which comes just over seven months after it raised a Series B at a $4.5 billion valuation.
2. Etched.ai, $500M, AI and semiconductors: Etched.ai, a startup working on chips for AI superintelligence, reportedly secured $500 million in new funding. Stripes led the financing, which was said to set a $5 billion valuation for the Silicon Valley-based company.
3. Merge Labs, $252M, brain-computer interfaces: Merge Labs, a Sam Altman-founded startup based in San Francisco, which is working on brain-computer interfaces that interact with the brain at high bandwidth and integrate with advanced AI, reportedly locked up a $252 million seed round. According to reports, OpenAI was the largest backer.
4. Mirador Therapeutics, $250M, biotech: San Diego-based Mirador Therapeutics, a precision medicine startup developing therapies for immune-mediated inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, says it closed on $250 million in Series B funding. The company said the round brings total capital raised to more than $650 million since it launched in March 2024.
5. (tied) Onebrief, $200M, defense tech: Defense tech startup Onebrief has raised another $200 million and reportedly acquired a small battle simulation company, Battle Road Digital. Battery Ventures and Sapphire Ventures led the Series D funding for Honolulu-based Onebrief, which makes AI-driven collaborative and planning software used for military operations.
5. (tied) Beast Industries, $200M, media: Bitmine Immersion Technologies, an Ethereum treasury company, announced that it made a $200 million equity investment into Beast Industries — also known as MrBeast — the Greenville, South Carolina-based entertainment and consumer products company founded by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson.
7. JetZero, $175M, aerospace: Long Beach, California-based JetZero, a developer of planes with much higher fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions than existing commercial airliners, picked up $175 million in Series B financing led by B Capital. Founded in 2020, JetZero says it is looking to enter commercial service in the early 2030s.
8. Deepgram, $143M, voice AI: Deepgram, an API platform for voice AI, secured $130 million in Series C funding led by AVP at a $1.3 billion valuation. San Francisco-based Deepgram also announced that it acquired OfOne, an AI voice platform for restaurants and drive-thru operators.
9. Defense Unicorns, $136M, defense tech: Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Defense Unicorns, a provider of software delivery for national security mission systems, locked up $136 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities.
10. (tied) Mytra, $120M, robotics: Mytra, a developer of industrial robotics technology for warehouse operations, raised $120 million in a Series C round led by Avenir. Founded in 2022, Brisbane, California-based Mytra has raised close to $200 million to date, per Crunchbase data.
10. (tied) Tulip Interfaces, $120M, AI for manufacturers: Boston-based Tulip Interfaces, a developer of AI-enabled tools for manufacturers to digitize processes and improve production, says it secured $120 million in Series D funding backed by Mitsubishi Electric.