The AI sector kicked off 2025 with a robust start, showcasing significant momentum. In the previous year, a total of 49 startups secured funding rounds amounting to $100 million or more, as reported by TechCrunch. Among them, three companies even managed to raise multiple “mega-rounds,” while seven others successfully closed rounds exceeding $1 billion in size. The industry did not lose steam in 2025; although fewer companies secured rounds surpassing $1 billion, a notable increase in the number of companies closing multiple rounds, totaling eight, was witnessed in comparison to the previous year’s figures. As we look ahead to 2026, notable developments include Elon Musk’s xAI unveiling a $20 billion Series E round and Sam Altman’s brain-computer interface startup Merge Labs securing a $250 million seed round, with OpenAI leading the investment, within the initial weeks of 2026. These early indicators hint at another promising year. However, it is still early days, and observers will closely monitor to see if the positive momentum endures.
The AI industry entered 2025 with strong momentum.
There were 49 startups that raised funding rounds worth $100 million or more in 2024, per our count at TechCrunch; three companies raised more than one “mega-round,” and seven companies raised rounds that were $1 billion in size or larger.
The industry didn’t slow down in 2025. While less companies raised rounds larger than $1 billion, four — Anthropic raised two rounds over $1 billion — significantly more companies raised multiple rounds compared to 2024, eight.
How will 2026 compare? Elon Musk’s xAI announced a $20 billion Series E round and Sam Altman’s brain computer interface startup Merge Labs raised a $250 million seed round (with OpenAI as the lead investor) in the first few weeks of 2026, so signs point to another strong year. Of course, it’s still early; we’ll be watching to see if the momentum continues.
Here are all the U.S. AI companies that raised $100 million this year:
December:
- Austin, Texas-based Mythic, which builds power-efficient compute for AI, raised a $125 million venture round that was led by DCVC. The round was announced on December 17 and included SoftBank, NEA, and Linse Capital, among other investors.
- Chai Discovery announced a $130 million Series B round on December 15. The round valued the company that builds AI models for biotech and drug discovery at $1.2 billion. Oak HC/FT and General Catalyst co-led the round.
- Generative media platform Fal announced its third funding round of 2025 on December 9. This $140 million Series D round was led by Sequoia and valued the company at more than $4.5 billion.
- Unconventional AI announced a monster $475 million seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreesen Horowitz on December 8. The round valued the one-year-old startup, which is rethinking the foundation of computers in the age of AI, at nearly $4.5 billion.
- Boston-based 7AI, which builds cybersecurity AI agents, raised a $130 million Series A round that was announced on December 4. Index Ventures led the round with participation from Greylock, Spark Capital, and CRV, among others.
November
- All-in-one AI workspace platform Genspark announced a $275 million Series B round that valued the company at $1.25 billion on November 20. The round included Emergence Capital Partners, SBI Investment, and LG Technology Ventures, among others.
- Luma AI, which builds models used for photo and video creation, raised $900 million in a Series C round that valued the startup at $4 billion. The round was led by Humain with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, AMD Ventures, and Amplify Partners, among others.
- Anysphere, the maker of viral vibe-coding platform Cursor, raised $2.3 billion in a funding round that valued the company at $29.3 billion. The round was announced on November 13 and is the company’s second funding round this year.
- Parallel, which builds web infrastructure for AI agents, raised a $100 million Series A round that was announced on November 12. The round was co-led by Index Ventures and Kleiner Perkins.
- Healthcare AI agent startup Hippocratic AI raised a $126 million Series C round that valued the company at $3.5 billion. The round was the company’s second this year, was announced on November 3, and was led by Avenir Growth.
October
- Fireworks AI, a platform that allows users to build AI applications using open source models, raised a $250 million Series C round that was announced on October 28. The round valued the company at $4 billion.
- Enterprise AI startup Uniphore is valued at $2.5 billion after a $260 million Series F round that was announced on October 22. The round included Snowflake Ventures, Nvidia, Databricks Ventures, and AMD, among others.
- Sesame, a voice AI company, raised a $250 million Series B round co-led by Sequoia and Spark Capital. The round was announced on October 21 and also included SignalRank as a participant.
- Cambridge, Massachusetts’s based OpenEvidence, which builds an AI chatbot for the medical field, raised its second funding round of 2025. The $200 million Series C round was announced on October 20 and valued the company at $6 billion.
- Lila Sciences, which is looking to build a science superintelligence platform, announced its second funding round of 2025 on October 14. The $350 million Series A round was co-led by Braidwell and Collective Global.
- DeepSeek competitor Reflection AI announced its second mega-round of the year on October 9. The $2 billion Series B round valued the company at $8 billion and was led by Nvidia.
- EvenUp, which builds AI for the personal injury legal field, announced a $150 million Series E round that valued the company at more $2 billion on October 7. The round was led by Bessemer with participation from Lightspeed, Bain Capital, and SignalFire, among others.
September
- Periodic Labs, which is building an AI scientist, announced a $300 million seed round on September 30. Felicis and Andreessen Horowitz led the round with participation from Nvidia, Lightspeed, and Khosla Ventures, among others.
- Cerebras Systems, an AI infrastructure company, raised a sizable $1.1 billion Series G round that valued the company at $8.1 billion. The round was announced on September 30 and was co-led by Fidelity and Atreides Management.
- Modular announced a $250 million funding round on September 24. The round was led by US Innovative Technology Fund with participation from GV, Greylock, and General Catalyst, among others.
- Distyl AI, which builds AI enterprise software, raised a $175 million Series B round that was announced on September 23. This round valued the startup at $1.8 billion and included investors like Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed.
- AI infrastructure startup Upscale AI raised a sizable $100 million seed round that was co-led by Maverick Silicon and Mayfield. The round was announced on September 17 and also included StepStone Group, Stanford University, and Qualcomm Ventures, among others.
- Groq, an AI inference company, raised a $750 million Series D-3 round that valued the company at nearly $6.9 billion. The round was announced on September 17 and was led by Disruptive.
- AI training startup Invisible Technologies was valued at $2 billion after a $100 million fundraise that was announced on September 16. The raise was led by Vanara Capital with participation from Greycroft, Tallwoods Capital, and Freestyle Capital, among others.
- Cognition AI, the creator of vibe-coding agent Devin, raised a $400 million Series C round that was announced on September 8. The round was led by Founders Fund and valued the company at $10.2 billion.
- AI Infrastructure startup Baseten raised a $150 million Series D round that valued the company at $2.1 billion. The September 5 round was led by Bond with participation from CapitalG, IVP, and Spark Capital, among others.
- Bret Taylor’s customer service AI agent platform Sierra raised $350 million in a round led by Greenoaks Capital. This fundraise was announced on September 4 and valued Sierra at more than $10 billion.
- You.com, a personalized AI search engine, raised a $100 million Series C round led by Cox Enterprises. The round was announced on September 3 and valued the company at $1.5 billion.
- AI research lab Anthropic raised its second round of 2025 in September. Anthropic announced a $13 billion Series F round on September 2 that valued the company at $183 billion. The round was led by Iconiq, Fidelity, and Lightspeed.
August
- Healthcare and housing automation platform EliseAI raised $250 million in a Series E round that valued the startup at $2.2 billion. The round, which was announced on August 20, was led by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Decart, an AI research lab, raised $100 million at a $3.1 billion valuation. The round included Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, and Zeev Ventures, among others, and was announced on August 7.
July
- Generative media platform Fal raised a $125 million Series C round led by Meritech Capital Partners. The company announced the round, which values Fal at $1.5 billion, on July 31. Salesforce Ventures, Shopify Ventures, Google AI Futures Fund, and others joined the round.
