This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.

Another big week for biotech, as startups in the sector scooped up multiple spots on this week’s list. However, there also were big rounds in industries like procurement, energy and robotics. All in all, a half-dozen companies raised rounds of $100 million or more. Not included in the top 10 this week was ‘s $5.6 billion round, as a majority of the round was reported back in July.

1. , $225M, biotech: Seaport Therapeutics isn’t new to this list. In April, the Boston-based startup launched with a $100 million Series A co-led by and . The company is back this week with a $225 million Series B led by . The biotech company focuses on medicines for depression, anxiety and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Seaport will use the new money to advance its clinical-stage pipeline of medicines.

2. , $190M, procurement: Procurement startup saw its valuation jump 47% after raising a $190 million Series D led by . The round values the San Francisco-based company at $2.2 billion. In May 2023, Zip locked up a $100 million Series C at a $1.5 billion post-money valuation. The startup helps companies with the burdensome process of buying new software and hardware, helping customers with sourcing, approving and paying for business tools. The company will use the new cash to invest in engineering and research and development, including a new internal AI lab to create AI-powered tools. The money also will be used to expand geographically. Founded in 2020, the company has raised more than $371 million, .

3. , $112M, biotech: Watertown, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage cell therapy startup AvenCell Therapeutics raised a $112 million Series B led by . The company focuses on advancing cell therapies for the treatment of a wide range of hematologic malignancies and auto-immune diseases. Founded in 2021, this is the company’s first announced raise, .

4. , $106M, robotics: Even in an uneven venture market, robotics is strong. More evidence of that came this week as Nimble, an AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment startup, closed a $106 million Series C led by and valuing the company at $1 billion. As part of the new deal, FedEx has entered into a commercial agreement to scale its FedEx Fulfillment service using Nimble’s technology and fully autonomous robotics model. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $221 million, .

5. (tied) , $100M, energy: Denver-based Redaptive, which funds and installs energy-saving and energy-generating equipment, raised a $100 million equity investment from . The company offers a platform that manages long-term energy efficiency programs, from project development to funding, project management and monitoring. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $1 billion in investment, .

5. (tied) , $100M, real estate: New York-based Valon, a mortgage servicing platform, raised a $100 million Series C led by . The company will use the new cash to accelerate its product development and market expansion. Founded in 2019, Valon has raised $230 million, per the company.

7. , $82M, biotech: Be Biopharma, a biotech firm developing engineered B-cell medicines, raised $82 million from several investors. Founded in 2020, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has received $264 million in funding, .

8. , $80M, education: Austin, Texas-based SchooLinks, a software platform providing college and career readiness resources for K-12 students, raised an $80 million Series B led by . Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $91 million, .

9. , $75M, fintech: Payment processing startup Finix closed a $75M Series C led by , and . Founded in 2015, the San Francisco-based company has raised more than $200 million, .

10. , $70M, agtech: Seattle-based Carbon Robotics, an AI-powered farming startup, locked up a $70 million Series D led by new investor . Founded in 2018, Carbon has raised $157 million, per the company.

Big global deals

The biggest deal of the week came from China.

• Beijing-based , a startup developing technologies for self-driving vehicles for rideshares, raised a $298 million Series C.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Oct. 19 to Oct. 25. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.

March did come in like a lion — at least compared to last week. Startups in cyber, defense and biotech all saw some large rounds in a week that for once was not dominated by artificial intelligence. Five VC-backed companies all saw nine-figure rounds this week, a strong start to the last month of the quarter.

1. , $300M, cybersecurity: Cybersecurity startup Wiz graduated to decacorn just this week, as the company based in the U.S. and Israel raised $300 million in fresh capital at a valuation of $10 billion. The Series D funding was led by . Founded in 2020, Wiz has now raised a total of $900 million, according to Crunchbase data. The funding for the cloud security startup came with other news; Wiz announced it won’t move any of that money to Israel due to ongoing unrest about proposed reforms to the country’s judicial system. Some fear the proposed judicial system reforms would undermine Israel’s democratic foundations and grant unchecked power to the government.

2. , $230M, drone: Drone startup Skydio locked up a $230 million Series E at a $2.2 billion valuation led by — more than double its valuation from just a couple of years ago. The new round comes almost exactly two years after the company raised a $170 million Series D at a valuation of more than $1 billion. Skydio produces drones for the consumer, enterprise and government sectors. Its drones are used by every branch of the , by over half of all , and it now has more than 1,200 enterprise customers. Founded in 2014, Skydio has raised $562 million in total, according to the company.

3. , $200M, biotech: A couple of biotech startups rank pretty high on the list this week. The first is Cargo Therapeutics, which closed a $200 million Series A co-led by , and Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund. The San Mateo, California-based company is developing CAR T-cell therapies for cancer. The startup is in phase 2 clinical trials for its treatment of large B-cell lymphoma. Founded in 2021, this is the biotech firm’s first outside funding, per Crunchbase.

4. , $135M, biotech: The second biotech firm with a nine-figure raise this week is on the opposite coast. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Chroma Medicine locked up a $135 million Series B led by (formerly Google Ventures). The startup’s gene editing platform does not rely on cutting or nicking DNA — which introduces risks — to regulate gene expression like most other therapeutic programs. Founded in 2021, the company has now raised $260 million, according to Crunchbase.

5. (tied) , $100M, health care: Companies offering fertility health care benefits are becoming more commonplace in the U.S. Kindbody is one of those startups that partner with companies to offer employees family-building benefits, and this week the New York-based firm raised $100 million in capital from . The new cash values Kindbody — founded in 2018 — at $1.8 billion. Kindbody, which owns and operates fertility clinics, has now raised more than $290 million in debt and equity, per the company.

5. (tied) , $100M, biotech: Bats have kind of been put through the ringer the past few years, what with the pandemic and all (although the new DOE report may dispute that). However, maybe they can also help human health. New York-based Paratus Sciences launched with a $100 million Series A co-led by , , , and . The startup is looking at what bats and other animals can tell researchers about human health. Paratus is focusing on developing human therapeutics in areas like inflammation.

7. , $80M, education: Fresno, California-based Bitwise Industries, which attempts to bring coding skills to historically underrepresented minorities, closed an $80 million round led by existing investors and . Founded in 2013, the company has now raised approximately $158 million, per Crunchbase.

8. , $76M, marketing: New York-based marketing tech startup Wunderkind raised a $76 million Series C led by , . Founded in 2012, the company has raised nearly $152 million, per Crunchbase data.

9. , $75M, software: Seattle-based Temporal, whose platform helps in application development, raised $75 million in a Series “B-Prime.” joined existing investors in the round. Founded in 2019, Temporal has raised more than $200 million, per the company.

10. , $67M, retail: San Francisco-based Shef, a chef-to-consumer marketplace, closed a Series B led by that included $66.5 million in equity and $7 million in debt. Founded in 2019, Shef has raised more than $100 million, according to the company.

Big global deals

Very surprisingly, the top nine rounds all occurred in the U.S. this week. The only large raise this week to crack the top 10 was:

• Tokyo-based space tech startup raised a $76 million Series G.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Feb. 25 to March 3. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

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