The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Robotics And E-Commerce Top The Ranks
Busy week, big checks, lots of AI and robotics. That, in ultra-brief synopsis form, characterized the general startup fundraising environment this week. Notably, the two largest global rounds were U.K.-based Nscale and Paris-based Advanced Machine Intelligence, which raised $2 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively.
In the U.S., meanwhile, e-commerce platform Quince, AI networking developer Nexthop AI and industrial automation startup Mind Robotics each picked up $500 million.
1. (tied) Quince, $500M, e-commerce: Quince, an online fashion and home goods retailer with an affordable luxury theme, said it secured $500 million in Series E financing led by Iconiq Capital. The round sets a $10.1 billion post-money valuation for the 8-year-old, San Francisco-based company.
1. (tied) Nexthop AI, $500M, AI infrastructure: AI networking startup Nexthop AI raised $500 million in Series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Andreessen Horowitz joining as a major investor alongside other backers. The Santa Clara, California-based company develops switching technology built on open-source operating systems for AI and cloud networking.
1. (tied) Mind Robotics, $500M, robotics: Rivian spin-out Mind Robotics closed on a $500 million Series A round, co-led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz. The Palo Alto, California-based company is developing an AI-enabled industrial robotics platform, with a focus on automating industrial and manufacturing tasks at scale.
4. Rhoda AI, $450M, robotics: Palo Alto, California-based robotics startup Rhoda AI emerged from stealth with $450 million in Series A funding reportedly led by Premji Invest. The startup trains robots using hundreds of millions of videos to develop intelligent models for operating in complex and changing environments.
5. Replit, $400M, AI software creation: Replit, an agentic AI software creation platform, picked up $400 million in Series D funding at a $9 billion valuation, up from $3 billion just six months ago. Georgian led the financing for the Foster City, California-based company, joined by a long list of venture and celebrity investors.
6. (tied) Eridu, $200M, AI networking: AI startup Eridu emerged from stealth with over $200 million in a newly announced Series A round led by Socratic Partners, John Doerr, Hudson River Trading, Capricorn Investment Group and Matter Venture Partners. Saratoga, California-based Eridu develops a high-performance network switch for AI data centers.
6. (tied) Axiom Math AI, $200M, artificial intelligence: Palo Alto, California-based Axiom Math AI, a developer of AI systems that can perform automated verification of computer code, raised $200 million in Series A funding at a $1.6 billion valuation. Menlo Ventures led the round, joined by Madrona, Greycroft, B Capital and Toyota Ventures.
8. Sunday, $165M, robotics: Sunday, a startup planning a beta launch for a household robot called Memo later this year, raised $165 million in Series B funding. Coatue led the financing, which set a $1.15 billion valuation for the Mountain View, California-based company.
9. Kai, $125M, cybersecurity: San Jose, California-based Kai, developer of an agentic AI cybersecurity platform, announced that it secured $125 million in funding led by Evolution Equity Partners.
10. Oro Labs, $100M, procurement: Oro Labs, developer of a procurement platform for enterprise customers, raised $100 million in Series C funding. Brighton Park Capital and Goldman Sachs Growth Equity led the financing, which the company said follows a year of 300% revenue growth.
Global financings
The week’s largest rounds went to European startups.
Nscale, $2B, AI infrastructure: Nscale, an AI infrastructure hyperscaler, secured $2 billion in Series C funding. Aker and 8090 Industries led the financing, which set a $14.6 billion valuation for the London-based company.
Advanced Machine Intelligence, $1.03B, artificial intelligence: Advanced Machine Intelligence, a startup co-founded by computer science pioneer and former Meta AI chief Yann LeCun, said it has raised $1.03 billion to develop “world models,” or AI designed to learn from and interact with the physical world. The funding for the Paris-based company represents the largest seed round ever for a European startup.