Tenstorrent And Nuvig Top List

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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.

After a slow Thanksgiving week, investors made up for lost time with a slew of big-money rounds. VCs spread their cash around pretty liberally, notching big rounds in semiconductors, biotech, carbon capture and more.

1. Tenstorrent, $693M, semiconductor: Jim Keller’s chip startup Tenstorrent raised nearly $700 million in a Series D funding that gives it a $2.6 billion valuation. The cash infusion was led by Samsung Securities and AFW Partners, and included Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions and Fidelity Management & Research Co., among others. Tenstorrent says it plans to use the new capital to “build out open-source AI software stacks, hire developers, expand its global development and design centers, and build systems and clouds for AI developers.” The Santa Clara, California-based startup was founded in 2016 and has since raised more than $1 billion, per Crunchbase.

2. Nuvig Therapeutics, $161M, biotech: The big biotech round of the week went to Menlo Park, California-based Nuvig Therapeutics, which raised a $161 million Series B co-led by Sanofi Ventures, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities (formerly Cowen Healthcare Investments) and Norwest Venture Partners. The biotech startup is developing immunomodulatory therapeutics for patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases. The company currently has a therapy set to enter Phase 2 clinical development. Founded in 2021, the company has raised $208 million, per Crunchbase.

3. Heirloom, $150M, carbon capture: Direct air capture company Heirloom raised $150 million in Series B funding led by Future Positive and Lowercarbon Capital. The Brisbane, California-based climate tech firm uses modified limestone to pull CO₂ from the atmosphere. Heirloom’s new money comes amid a boom period for investment for carbon capture startups. Per Crunchbase data, funding to the space is on track to hit the highest or second-highest annual tally since we began tracking the category. Founded in 2020, the company has raised more than $204 million.

4. Tractian, $120M, manufacturing: Manufacturing AI startup Tractian is the latest company using the emerging tech to capture investors’ attention, snapping up a $120 million Series C funding led by Sapphire Ventures. The Atlanta-based company’s AI play is pretty straightforward. It is able to combine hardware, software and AI to help modernize manufacturing maintenance processes. The company — which describes itself as the “Industrial Copilot” — addresses the growing concern  of industrial maintenance, with unplanned downtime costing the world’s 500 largest companies 11% of their annual revenue, about $1.4 trillion. Founded in 2019, Tractian has raised more than $180 million, per Crunchbase. In August 2023, the company closed a $45 million growth capital round led by General Catalyst.

5. Maze Therapeutics, $115M, biotech: South San Francisco-based Maze Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical developing medicines for renal, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, completed a $115 million Series D co-led by investors Deep Track Capital and Frazier Life Sciences. The round did feature the conversion of issued convertible notes. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $496 million.

6. Cleerly, $106M, healthcare: Denver-based Cleerly, a cardiovascular imaging startup, raised a $106 million Series C extension led by Insight Partners. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $387 million, per Crunchbase.

7. Public, $105M, fintech: Investment platform Public raised $135 million in equity and debt financing as it looks to grow AI-enabled research features. The financing, which New York-based Public described as a Series D-2, included $105 million in equity and $30 million in debt, with Accel as the lead investor. Founded in 2019, the company has raised more than $300 million in venture funding.

8. Upwind Security, $100M, cybersecurity: Cloud security is big as more companies shift their massive amounts of data to the cloud. Cloud security firm Upwind was able to take advantage of that trend, raising a $100 million round led by Craft Ventures. The San Francisco-based startup reportedly is valued at $900 million after the new funding. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $180 million.

9. AMP Robotics, $91M, recycling: Denver-based AMP Robotics, which creates AI-powered sortation systems for the waste and recycling industry, raised a $91 million Series D led by Congruent Ventures. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $266 million, per Crunchbase.

10. Axiado Corp., $60M, cybersecurity: San Jose, California-based Axiado, a hardware security startup, raised a $60 million Series C led by Maverick Silicon. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $105 million.

Big global deals

It was a slow week for funding outside the U.S., as only one round hit nine figures.

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 Nov. 30 to Dec. 6. 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.

Illustration: Dom Guzman