Want to keep track of the largest startup funding deals in 2024 with our curated list of $100 million-plus venture deals to U.S.-based companies? Check out The Crunchbase Megadeals Board.
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 slow week with only three companies raising rounds of more than $100 million. In fact, you didn’t even need to raise $50 million to make the list this week. Investors certainly put their money everywhere, from biotech to productivity tools, but they didn’t shell out a lot.
1. Grafana Labs, $270M, analytics: It does seem like companies are raising extensions of rounds from longer and longer ago. This week, New York-based Grafana Labs raised $270 million in a mix of growth equity and a secondary offering — so some money went to the company and some to shareholders. The company described it as an extension of its $240 million Series D in 2022. The new round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and values the company at $6 billion. Grafana’s open-source software platform helps monitor and visualize data. Founded in 2014, the company has now raised more than $805 million, according to Crunchbase data.
2. TickPick, $250M, ticketing: Ticketing startups are rare on this list, but this week TickPick landed a $250 million investment from Brighton Park Capital. While the ticketing space is competitive, the New York-based startup has increased its sales 8x through the past three years and now sells nearly $1 billion of tickets. TickPick is a ticket marketplace to buy, bid on and sell. It tries to differentiate itself by offering a no-fee pricing model so customers know what they are paying. Excessive fee add ons when buying tickets have frustrated many consumers for years, even leading to lawsuits against other marketplaces. Founded in 2011, the company has raised $290 million, per Crunchbase.
3. Pathalys Pharma, $105M, biotech: Raleigh, North Carolina-based Pathalys Pharma isn’t new to this list — it topped it early last year. This time the biopharma startup raised $105 million led by TCG Crossover. The company specializes in late stages of developing treatments for kidney disease. Founded in 2021, Pathalys has raised $266 million to date, per Crunchbase.
4. Fortera, $85M, climate: San Jose, California-based Fortera locked up an $85 million Series C from several investors, including the likes of Khosla Ventures and Temasek. The startup has developed a method to manufacture low-carbon cement within the existing production infrastructure. It plans to use the money to put its technology into existing cement manufacturing plants, with the goal of producing a “green cement” with 70% less carbon dioxide than ordinary varieties. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $115 million, per Crunchbase.
5. Story Protocol, $80M, blockchain: With AI creating new issues regarding theft of intellectual property, San Francisco-based startup Story Protocol raised an $80 million Series B to try to solve the increasing problem. The new round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Polychain and others. Founded in 2022, Story has raised $140 million to date, per the company. The new round reportedly values the company at $2.25 billion. IP theft is nothing new, but the rise of AI has heightened the stakes as generative AI models are ingesting copyrighted material — without permission — to train and learn. Story’s blockchain network allows IP owners to store their IP on the platform, embedding terms to use it — such as licensing fees — into smart contracts. Basically, the blockchain aims to ensure owners are compensated when their IP is used.
6. Openwater, $54M, healthcare: Newark, California-based Openwater, a developer of a medical technology system that treats diseases at the cellular level, reportedly raised $54 million. The new round brings Openwater’s funding to $100 million, per the company. Its investors include Khosla Ventures and Bold Capital Partners, among others.
7. Opkey $47M, productivity tools: Dublin, California-based Opkey, an AI platform to help organizations test for enterprise resource planning software, closed a $47 million Series B led by PeakSpan Capital. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $57 million, per Crunchbase.
8. XII Medical, $45M, biotech: Union City, California-based XII Medical, a clinical-stage medical company developing therapies for sleep apnea, closed a $45 million Series B led by Omega Funds. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $75 million, per Crunchbase.
9. Defcon AI, $44M, defense: McLean, Virginia-based Defcon AI, which developed an AI-powered decision tool for military logistics planning, raised a $44 million seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Founded in 2022, this is the company’s first disclosed funding, per Crunchbase.
10. AstroForge, $40M, space: Huntington Beach, California-based asteroid mining startup AstroForge locked up a $40 million Series A led by Nova Threshold. Founded in 2021, the company says it has raised $55 million.
Big global deals
The biggest deal outside the U.S. came from our neighbors to the north.
- Vancouver-based Borealis Biosciences, a company in the field of next-generation RNA medicines, launched with a $150 million round.
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 August 17 to 23. 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
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