This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 Top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding deal roundup here.

After a week of multiple billion-dollar-plus rounds, startup investors have reduced the number of zeroes on their funding checks. This past week, the largest U.S. startup funding rounds were in the hundreds of millions, topped by a $550 million financing for AI infrastructure company and a $308 million investment in space vehicle developer .

The remaining list of big rounds featured mostly AI-focused companies in sectors including investment management, networking, coding and marketing as well as some energy and biotech. Data center developer , also made official its previously reported $3 billion-plus raise, co-led by , and .

1. , $550M, AI infrastructure: Temporal Technologies, developer of an open source platform for building and operating long-running AI agents and other enterprise systems, secured $550 million in Series E funding at a $12.55 billion valuation. , , , and led the financing for the Bellevue, Washington-based company.

2. , $308M, space tech: Redondo Beach, California-based Impulse Space, a developer of space vehicles for moving payloads across and between orbits, secured $308 million in Series D extension funding. The financing brings the combined round total to $808 million.

3. , $250M, investment management: Ridgeline, an AI-enabled investment management platform, picked up $250 million in a Series E funding round. The financing, led by founder and chairman , set a $1.45 billion valuation for the Incline Village, Nevada-based company.

4. , $205M, networking: Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Cornelis Networks, a developer of networking technology for AI and high-performance computing workloads, closed on $205 million in new funding backed by .

5. , $200M, AI software development: San Francisco-based Factory, a provider of AI tools for enterprise software development, announced a $200 million funding round at a $5 billion valuation, backed by a long list of venture firms and individual investors.

6. , $180M, AI marketing: Profound, a startup offering marketing software to help users appear more prominently in AI results, raised $180 million in Series D funding at a $1.8 billion valuation. and led the financing for the New York-based company.

7. (tied) , $150M, foundational AI: Arcee AI, a developer of open-weight AI models, closed on $150 million in Series B funding at a valuation of more than $1 billion. , and led the round for the San Francisco-based company.

7. (tied) , $150M, gaming: Nex, a developer of family-oriented digital games that rely on body motion rather than controllers, secured $150 million in new equity and debt financing, including a Series E led by and . The San Francisco company did not break out how much of the round consisted of equity.

9. , $135M, geothermal energy: Mazama Energy, a Seattle-based geothermal energy developer specializing in superhot rock geothermal power, picked up $135 million in a Series B round led by and .

10. , $123M, biotech: Sling Therapeutics, developer of a small-molecule therapy for thyroid eye disease, closed on $123 million in Series C funding. led the financing for the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the SA国际传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Sept. 12-18, 2026. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

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U.S. venture-backed technology聽1 companies have secured nearly $90 billion in domestic public offerings this year, per SA国际传媒 data. That鈥檚 already the second-highest annual tally on record, and we鈥檝e still got a few months to go.

However, virtually all the money went to two companies. alone accounted for 83% of the $90 billion raised this year, while AI infrastructure company scooped up another 6%. A potential offering from , meanwhile, could be even bigger.

The remaining field is comparatively modest. Just 21 other venture-backed technology companies went public this year in sizable or offerings 2, per SA国际传媒 data. Collectively, their offerings, which include traditional IPOs and SPAC deals, pulled in less than $10 billion.

This small cohort is intriguing for what it excludes as well as what it includes. Enterprise software, long a staple industry among venture-backed IPOs, was essentially a no-show this year. Energy, defense and space tech, by contrast, were well-represented. We also saw smaller offerings from other sectors, including medical devices and consumer-facing startups.

Here are some of the key findings in more detail:

Energy powers the most IPOs: About a quarter of this year鈥檚 tech startup offerings hail from the energy sector. The largest of these was from geothermal energy provider . Several nuclear power-focused startups also made their debuts, including and , developers of small modular nuclear reactors, as well as , focused on advanced nuclear fuel.

A dash of quantum, defense, aerospace, devices and consumer: Beyond energy, quantum computing company delivered one of the year鈥檚 larger debuts, as did equipment rental platform . Defense tech and aerospace were also strong performers, with offerings from satellite intelligence provider and spacecraft developer . And on the consumer front, e-bike and scooter platform finally made its market entrance, albeit at a valuation below its one-time .

An IPO SaaS-pocalipse: But what about SaaS? Mostly MIA. The paucity of enterprise software offerings this year isn鈥檛 entirely surprising given the impact of AI on the sector. VCs are pouring capital into a newer generation of AI-first platforms in legal tech, accounting and other enterprise software sectors. Existing SaaS unicorns are also moving fast to incorporate more AI in their offerings.

One end result is there are an awful lot of SaaS unicorns and former unicorns that have concluded this year is not the time to pursue an IPO.

Winner-takes-almost-all

Another end result is that investment returns are looking more concentrated than ever.

Of course, winning big or not at all is far from a new thing in the startup world. Tech venture returns have always been propped up largely by a few enormous wins, with the remainder of portfolio companies producing either losses or smaller profitable exits. But lately, the winner-take-almost-all-the-IPO-proceeds tilt is more pronounced than ever.

The pipeline of tech companies that have filed for future IPOs doesn鈥檛 offer much consolation that this pattern will change. Giant potential market debuts from Anthropic and still dominate IPO chatter. Enterprise SaaS offerings do not.

Related SA国际传媒 query:

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Always-busy was the most active backer of U.S.-based startups by deal count, while led or co-led the most rounds of $5 million or more, SA国际传媒 data shows.

Chip giant , meanwhile, sharply accelerated its dealmaking, ranking among the most active and highest-spending investors for the month. The chip giant participated in nine disclosed rounds of at least $5 million 鈥� marking its busiest month for investing since at least the beginning of 2025 鈥� and led or co-led financings collectively valued at $1.3 billion.

The flurry of activity came as global venture funding reached $42 billion in August, up 122% year over year, with seven companies raising billion-dollar-plus rounds last month.

Below, we rank August鈥檚 most active startup investors across several categories, including lead backers, prolific venture dealmakers, highest spenders and seed investors.

Active lead investors

San Francisco-based General Catalyst ranked as the most active lead investor in rounds of $5 million or more, leading or co-leading five such deals. Its largest was the $1.1 billion Series A for, which provides custom AI fine-tuning for businesses. General Catalyst also led or co-led a $116 million Series E for, along with three seed rounds ranging from $10 million to $25 million, SA国际传媒 data shows.

, and tied for second, with four lead or co-lead deals each.

The scale of those rounds varied considerably. The four deals that Andreessen led or co-led totaled more than $1.15 billion, driven by an $800 million Series C for defense tech company and a $300 million Series A for AI infrastructure startup .

Sequoia鈥檚 four led or co-led deals totaled $1.3 billion, including a $1 billion Series B for nuclear energy startup .

Busiest venture investors

When we widen the ranking to include both lead and non-lead participation in rounds of $5 million or more, Y Combinator once again takes the top spot.

The accelerator participated in at least 18 such deals in August, per SA国际传媒 data. As we鈥檝e noted in previous rankings, Y Combinator commonly invests as a non-lead backer in follow-on rounds for companies that previously went through its program.

Andreessen Horowitz ranked second with 13 deals, followed by General Catalyst with 10. and Nvidia tied for fourth with nine each.

Nvidia鈥檚 rise in the investor rankings is particularly notable. The Santa Clara, California-based chip giant participated in only four U.S. rounds of $5 million or more in July and one in August 2025. Seven of its nine qualifying investments last month went to companies categorized as AI-focused in SA国际传媒, including River AI, , , and .

The August burst extends a notable increase in Nvidia鈥檚 venture dealmaking pace this year. SA国际传媒 data shows that by mid-August, it had participated in a record 59 known startup funding rounds in 2026, already surpassing its 53 investments in all of 2025. It had also led or co-led at least 11 private-company financings this year, underscoring its growing role as both a technology supplier to and financial backer of the AI startup ecosystem.

and Sequoia were next in our August rankings, each with seven U.S. startup investments of $5 million or more. RA Capital鈥檚 portfolio reflected its life sciences focus, with August deals including , , , and .

Highest-spending investors

The rankings change again when we look at lead investors associated with the highest aggregate deal values.

For August, was the apparent spendiest lead investor, thanks to its role leading 鈥� $5 billion deal. The round, the month鈥檚 largest, valued the data and AI company at $190 billion.

and followed, each leading or co-leading rounds with an aggregate value of $2.37 billion, as both were listed as lead investors in defense manufacturing startup鈥檚 $1.37 billion Series D and home battery provider鈥檚 $1 billion Series D.

Nvidia and Sequoia came next, each with $1.3 billion in led or co-led rounds. Nvidia鈥檚 total came from Poolside鈥檚 $1 billion financing and Volta鈥檚 $300 million Series A, while Sequoia led or co-led four rounds, topped by the Valar Atomics financing.

General Catalyst and Andreessen also crossed the $1 billion mark, with approximately $1.26 billion and $1.15 billion, respectively, in aggregate led round value.

As always, this is an approximation of spending rather than a tally of capital actually contributed. Investors rarely disclose how much each participant put into a round, although lead investors generally contribute a substantial share.

Seed dealmakers

At seed, Y Combinator was again the most prolific investor, backing at least 12 U.S.-headquartered companies in August.

ranked second with eight seed investments, all announced as part of the same August cohort. and followed with six seed deals each, while 1聽recorded five. (It’s important to note that seed rankings are especially subject to change, since smaller financings often take longer to be reported and added to the SA国际传媒 dataset.)

Big checks, familiar names

August鈥檚 rankings tell a now-familiar story: A relatively small group of large venture firms continues to dominate by deal count, while a handful of megadeals determines who tops the spending ranks. But Nvidia鈥檚 acceleration this year also illustrates how corporate investors 鈥� particularly those with a direct stake in the AI ecosystem 鈥� are becoming increasingly prominent alongside traditional venture firms.

Related reading:

• Global Venture Funding Jumps 122% In August As Streak Of Billion-Dollar Deals Continues
• No Summer Doldrums For Active Startup Investors In July

Methodology

This analysis covers reported investments in U.S.-headquartered companies and is based on SA国际传媒 data pulled Sept. 10, 2026. Rankings for active venture and lead investors include rounds of $5 million or more. Seed rankings include angel, pre-seed, seed and equity crowdfunding rounds.

Funding data is subject to reporting lags, which are typically most pronounced at the seed stage.

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 Top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding deal roundup here.

It was a monster week for U.S. startup funding, with four companies each raising $1 billion or more. 鈥檚 tunnel-drilling company led with a $3 billion Series D, followed by AI coding startup at $2 billion. Joining them near the top was , which landed $1.3 billion for its AI platform for physical operations, while reusable rocket developer raised another $1 billion.

Big checks also flowed to U.S. solar manufacturing, defense tech, legal AI and companies building the chips and networking infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence.

1. , $3B, transportation and infrastructure: Musk鈥檚 Bastrop, Texas-based tunneling company raised a $3 billion Series D led by the, with participation from investors including, and. The company is developing underground tunnel networks designed to move passengers and vehicles while reducing surface traffic, and already operates its Vegas Loop system beneath Las Vegas. The latest deal values it at $23 billion and brings its total funding to nearly $3.9 billion, .

2. , $2B, artificial intelligence: San Francisco-based Cognition raised a $2 billion Series E led by,,, and. The company is best known for Devin, its autonomous software-engineering agent, and is part of a highly funded crop of startups betting AI agents will take over increasingly complex coding and development work. Cognition has raised nearly $3.9 billion to date and was valued at $48 billion in the latest round, our shows.

3. , $1.3B, AI for physical operations: San Francisco-based Motive raised $1.3 billion in private equity funding led by. The company, formerly known as KeepTruckin, has an AI-driven platform used by trucking, construction and other physical-economy businesses to manage fleets, monitor driver safety, and automate operations and spending. The latest deal brings Motive鈥檚 total funding to just over $2 billion, according to .

4. , $1B, aerospace: Kent, Washington-based Stoke Space raised a $1 billion Series E co-led by and, with among the additional investors. The company is developing fully reusable rockets, including its Nova launch vehicle, as it looks to lower the cost of transporting satellites and other payloads to orbit. The latest round values Stoke at $10 billion and brings total funding to . Its raise adds to the already record-setting sums for space tech startup investment this year.

5. , $835M, solar energy: Norcross, Georgia-based Suniva raised $835 million from investors including, and. The longtime U.S. solar manufacturer produces high-efficiency solar cells and plans to use new capital to expand domestic production, including a new South Carolina facility that would more than quadruple its manufacturing capacity. Suniva has raised nearly .

6. , $600M, defense tech: Huntington Beach, California-based Mach Industries raised a $600 million Series C from investors including and. Founded in 2022, the defense manufacturer develops unmanned aircraft, long-range weapons, propulsion technology and the infrastructure needed to produce defense systems at scale. Mach is part of a broader surge in venture investment into defense companies looking to bring Silicon Valley-style development and manufacturing speeds to military hardware. The latest round values the company at $3.7 billion and brings its total funding to .

7. , $550M, legal AI: San Francisco-based Harvey raised a $550 million Series H co-led by and, with investors including and also participating. Harvey builds generative AI tools for lawyers and other professional-services workers, with products for legal research, document analysis and contract work. The company was valued at $15.5 billion in the latest deal, which brings its total funding to date to nearly . That makes it one of the most well-funded players in the legal tech space, which has seen robust investment this year, though slightly lower than last year鈥檚 all-time high.

8. (tied) , $500M, semiconductors: Fab2 raised a $500 million Series A led by, with among the other investors. Formerly known as Atomic Semi, Fab2 is trying to rethink semiconductor manufacturing by designing its own fabrication tools, components and software with the goal of building smaller chip factories faster and more cheaply. The funding is the first disclosed round for the company, which maintains headquarters in California and Kentucky, and values it at $3.7 billion.

8. (tied) , $500M, AI infrastructure: Reno, Nevada-based Positron raised a $500 million Series C led by and, with among its other investors. The startup develops purpose-built hardware for AI inference, where models actually process queries after they have been trained, and is one of a growing crop of chip companies challenging GPUs in particular AI workloads. The latest financing values Positron at $5 billion and brings its total funding to nearly $1.2 billion, .

10. (tied) , $275M, AI networking infrastructure: Laguna Beach, California-based Celero Communications raised a $275 million Series C led by, and. Celero develops coherent digital signal processor technology that helps move enormous quantities of data between chips and data centers while using less power, an increasingly critical bottleneck as AI clusters grow. The round values the company at $3 billion and brings total funding to roughly , according to SA国际传媒.

10. (tied) , $275M, biotechnology: South San Francisco, California-based Encoded Therapeutics raised a $275 million Series F led by, with investors including, and also participating. The clinical-stage biotech develops precision genetic medicines for severe neurological disorders, with its lead therapy targeting Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic epilepsy. Encoded has raised $514.1 million to date, .

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the SA国际传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Sept. 5-11, 2026. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Related reading:

• Sector Snapshot: Space Tech Startup Funding Orbits New Highs聽
• Anduril Raises Another $5B As Defense Tech Startups Shatter Funding Records
• Sector Snapshot: Legal Tech Funding Down Slightly From All-Time High聽
• Sector Snapshot: Semiconductor Startup Funding Still Running Hot

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After completing medical school in London, decided not to pursue a residency. Her father was disappointed.

But she didn鈥檛 change her mind because she lost interest in healthcare. Instead, Abuzeid realized she wanted to work on problems affecting more people than she could treat individually.

鈥淲orking as a doctor is great, but you鈥檙e only working with one patient at a time,鈥� she said in an interview with SA国际传媒 News. With software, 鈥測ou have millions of users using your products.鈥�

Abuzeid went on to co-found , a San Francisco-based healthcare hiring platform that has raised about $97.5 million from investors such as , , , and . It says its products are used by 1.5 million healthcare professionals 鈥� including 1 in 2 U.S. nurses 鈥� and 1,500 healthcare employers.

Before launching Incredible Health in 2017, Abuzeid trained as a doctor, advised healthcare companies at and , and worked as a product manager at a health tech startup, but didn’t know how to code software.

An M.D. who chose not to practice

Originally from Sudan, Abuzeid was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and also lived in the United Arab Emirates. She moved to London at 18, where she completed her undergraduate education and medical school.

Her interest in business predated her medical career. Both of her grandfathers were entrepreneurs in Sudan, and she grew up hearing about the companies they built. By medical school, she was increasingly drawn to the reach that entrepreneurship and technology could offer.

After earning her medical degree, Abuzeid immigrated to New York at age 24. Her time in healthcare consulting at Booz Allen and McKinsey exposed her to the strategy, operations and economics behind the healthcare system, she said.

She later earned an MBA from the specializing in healthcare and entrepreneurship, and moved to San Francisco in 2013.

There, she joined an early-stage healthcare technology company as a product manager. The role taught her how to work with engineers, data scientists and designers, as well as how software products are built and grown.

It was also where she met , the software engineer who would become her co-founder at Incredible Health.

Abuzeid still does not code, although she has experimented with newer AI-assisted coding tools. Portlock, an -trained engineer who she calls 鈥渢he best engineer I鈥檝e ever worked with,鈥� has led Incredible Health鈥檚 engineering and data teams from the beginning.

But Abuzeid, the startup鈥檚 CEO, argues that a software founder’s central job isn’t writing code.

鈥淎t the end of the day, when it comes to creating software companies, it鈥檚 about solving problems,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about identifying the markets, understanding the problems customers are facing and figuring out ways to solve them.鈥�

A mismatch in healthcare hiring

The problem behind Incredible Health surfaced through conversations the founders were having with people they knew.

Doctors in Abuzeid鈥檚 family and circle of friends frequently complained about understaffing. At the same time, nurses in Portlock鈥檚 family described applying to numerous jobs and often receiving no response.

The two accounts did not line up. Healthcare is the largest U.S. labor sector by number of workers, Abuzeid said, and it faces severe staffing shortages. Yet experienced nurses were struggling to get the attention of employers that urgently needed them.

鈥淲e started to dig into it more, and we were like, 鈥楾his doesn鈥檛 make any sense,鈥欌�� she recalls.

The founders discovered that hospital recruiting teams were often small, overwhelmed by applicant volume, and reliant on manual processes.

Incredible Health鈥檚 marketplace reverses the usual hiring process so that employers are actually the ones applying to healthcare workers. The software automates screening and matching for permanent jobs at hospitals, surgery centers, home health organizations and other healthcare facilities.

The service is free for healthcare professionals. Employers pay an annual subscription to use the marketplace and the company鈥檚 other hiring software. Customers include , , and .

A selective approach to fundraising

Incredible Health has raised approximately $97 million across seed, Series A and Series B rounds.

It was a process, she admits. She spoke with about 70 investors while raising the company鈥檚 seed round. Eight invested, including and .

At that stage, Abuzeid said, she had to educate investors about the healthcare labor market and persuade them that she and Portlock were the right founders to address it.

鈥淚 think it was the vision and the mission and the team,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t that point, you鈥檙e really investing in the founders.鈥�

Each of Incredible Health鈥檚 funding rounds was oversubscribed, Abuzeid said. She attributes that partly to raising from a position of financial strength. The company generally operates close to cash-flow break-even and at times has been cash-flow positive.

Overall, Abuzeid said she is selective about which investors she approaches. Specifically, she prefers firms with marketplace experience and partners who have previously operated companies. She also prioritizes investors who have already backed women or founders of color.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be the first,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not here to overcome someone鈥檚 bias. That鈥檚 not a good use of my time.鈥�

While she acknowledges structural disparities in venture funding, Abuzeid said she didn’t choose to work with Portlock because she believed she needed a male co-founder. Rather, she recognized that a strong technical partner would balance her own skills and abilities.

Overall, Abuzeid believes female founders generally need to emphasize ambition. In her view, investors are used to hearing expansive visions from male founders, and women should be equally vocal about the size of the companies they intend to build.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to be ambitious and to be very clear about your vision and what you鈥檙e trying to achieve,鈥� she said.

Automating the first interview

In 2025, like many other startups, Incredible Health incorporated AI into its product lineup.

The company developed the agents with healthcare systems including , , Johns Hopkins and . Working with customers during the development process made it easier for Incredible Health to incorporate the technology into established enterprise workflows, Abuzeid noted.

One agent, Lyn, conducts the initial recruiter interview, asks clinical and behavioral questions, explains an employer鈥檚 value proposition, and discusses available roles. It then hands the candidate off for a possible interview with a hiring manager.

A second agent, Gail, helps healthcare professionals create r茅sum茅s and practice for interviews.

Abuzeid said Lyn has reduced hiring time by 30%. Three-quarters of interviews now occur within 24 hours of a candidate applying, compared with up to two weeks previously. About 40% take place at night or on weekends, when recruiters are less likely to be available.

The AI products clearly extend Incredible Health鈥檚 initial mission of removing hiring delays in the healthcare industry. They also reflect the founders鈥� complementary roles. Portlock continues to oversee engineering, data and technical architecture, while Abuzeid鈥檚 work draws on her experience across medicine, healthcare consulting and product management.

For Abuzeid, that distinction shows why she does not consider technical chops a prerequisite for founding a software company.

鈥淎t the end of the day, when it comes to creating software companies,鈥� she said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 about solving problems.鈥�

Related SA国际传媒 queries:

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• Craft鈥檚 Ilya Levtov Never Learned To Code. He Built A Software Company Anyway.
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As a partner at Menlo Park, California-based venture firm Norwest, Jacobsohn focuses on enterprise software, drawing on his background in finance, sales and business development. His 15 active portfolio companies range from pre-revenue startups to businesses generating more than $300 million in revenue. Much of his portfolio falls within finance and HR software, although he also invests in supply chain and construction technology 鈥� often in companies building finance applications for those industries.

The common thread, he explained, is a focus on next-generation business applications taking on entrenched providers that have struggled to keep up. Jacobsohn has found particularly fertile ground in finance, where companies already have software budgets and many categories remain dominated by aging systems.

Norwest, founded in 1961, manages $15.5 billion and is investing out of its 17th fund, a $3 billion vehicle raised in 2024. Over time, the global venture and growth equity firm has backed more than 700 companies in sectors spanning enterprise, consumer and healthcare.

In an interview with SA国际传媒 News, Jacobsohn discusses where he still sees openings in the crowded market for finance software, how far companies should trust AI with accounting work, why HR startups may be better off attacking the secondary products of large platforms, and why he tests a CEO’s sales ability before investing.

The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

SA国际传媒 News: The office of the CFO is an area where you’ve invested fairly extensively. Why is there still so much room for startups when finance software is already such a crowded market? Where is the opportunity right now?

Jacobsohn: I’m focused a lot on companies that are disrupting legacy players, and there are a lot of legacy players in the office of the CFO. We had more than 500 companies on our Office of the CFO market map, and probably three-quarters of those are legacy players.

What’s interesting about finance is that the CFO approves all software purchases across the organization, but CFOs also buy software for themselves. There’s actually one less layer of approval when they’re buying their own software, so it is a little easier to replace it when they’re the direct buyer.

I’ve found a lot of opportunities in both finance software that sells to every industry and software focused on specific industries. I’ve invested in a lot of horizontal applications, and so far the vertical solutions have been in construction and manufacturing. We’ve also invested in the healthcare space, but that’s not my area of focus. I’m also looking at companies in transportation and logistics.

Are there specific finance workflows that still strike you as surprisingly manual and therefore more ripe for disruption?

Jacobsohn: I actually think most workflows have been automated, but some are being automated by legacy solutions. Some could still be on-premise. Some could be companies making the transition from on-premise to the cloud that are still very legacy. You might even call them SaaS 1.0, because a company can be considered legacy and be only five to 10 years old now that a lot of the new generation is AI-native.

Every company wants to buy AI-native products these days. Some legacy companies have done a better job of reinventing themselves, and others are having more difficulty. Since most everything has been automated by someone, I’m focused on new-generation disruptors of legacy solutions.

What are some of the areas you think are ripe for disruption?

Jacobsohn: I have a portfolio company in some of these categories, and not in others.

One area where I do not have a company is ERP. I think there’s a potential opportunity to disrupt and Those companies have been around for a very long time. I’m seeing more disruption downmarket, and some of these companies will eventually move upmarket.

I think sales tax is another category with some ancient legacy players where there’s an opportunity to disrupt them. Treasury management also has some very old legacy players. Another area I’ve invested in is procurement.

Finance is particularly sensitive when it comes to accuracy and audits. Is that affecting how much work companies will actually hand over to AI agents, especially in accounting?

Jacobsohn: We think about this a lot. Finance people are risk-averse, and they need consistent answers. There’s some concern that there could be errors with AI, and there are.

It’s important to infuse AI into your finance products, but you have to be careful about what you’re giving AI to do. You don’t want AI doing calculations because it is not good at math. There are certain workflows it can handle where it doesn’t produce precise numbers. But when you need precision, accuracy and calculations, you can’t rely on AI for that.

In Norwest鈥檚 recent , you mentioned that categories including payroll, benefits and workforce management can be difficult to disrupt because of the time and expense associated with switching. If a startup wants to take business from Workday or ADP, how can it make switching more enticing?

Jacobsohn: I think it would be very hard to disrupt the core products of Workday, , SAP, and Dayforce. But it’s easier to disrupt some of their secondary products, where the category isn’t their core business. Those companies have really good distribution. Often, the best distribution wins, not necessarily the best product.

Workforce management is a category I’ve invested in through . UKG has a product in the space, but it started as an on-premise company and moved to the cloud. We’ve been a cloud-native AI player, and we’ve done well against it in the market.

Another company I invested in that complements these players is , which is in the benefits space. What’s interesting to me is that I worked at WageWorks, a legacy player in the space. Elevate is disrupting my old employer. Benefits isn’t the core business of the suite players I mentioned, but it’s a big enough market where a specialist can do well.

That’s how I look at it: What are some big markets where suite players aren’t putting much effort behind the product because they can only focus on so many things at once?

Is AI making it easier or harder to build a durable software company? Features and products can be built faster, but they can also be copied faster.

Jacobsohn: I do think it’s making it easier to build companies. We’re going from products that store data and automate some workflows to really smart solutions that understand, predict and execute work for you. It’s changing employees’ jobs. Employees can focus on higher-value work and automate some of their tasks with agents that can work really quickly.

As for whether anyone can vibe-code something, I think if you’re building a simple horizontal workflow for small businesses that isn’t very complex, it could be easy to build the product yourself, or it could lead to a lot of competition.

If you’re building something complex for the midmarket or enterprise, something that needs deep domain expertise or something vertical in nature, any of those areas would be really hard for a lot of people to build internally or for too many startups to compete in. Those solutions would also be really hard to maintain. I’m not seeing much competition from people wanting to build internally at my portfolio companies that are focused upmarket, where you need deep domain expertise.

The IPO market has improved, but it certainly isn’t where it was. How does the current exit environment affect what you’re willing to fund today, if at all?

Jacobsohn: It doesn’t impact our interest in funding. Our primary entry point is seed and Series A. I’ve done some Series B and C deals, so we can be opportunistic at the later stage.

We’re focused on backing entrepreneurs with deep domain expertise who are going after big markets with legacy players ripe for disruption, and we don’t worry about the exit environment. At some point, the IPO market will open up more, and maybe that will help us in the future. But more companies get acquired than go public.

I do want to invest in a company that, if it executes well, someday has the option to go public. But I’m realistic that most companies get acquired before that can happen.

How do you feel about an acquisition as an outcome?

Jacobsohn: You have to support your entrepreneurs and what’s in their company’s best interest. M&A can be a very good outcome, especially since we come in so early. If a company is acquired for less than $1 billion, it still could be a great outcome for us and the company.

The challenge is entering late, at a valuation above $1 billion. Not many companies will acquire another company for billions of dollars. We like to come in early so that if a company sells for less than $1 billion, which is where most buyers have budgets, it can be a really good outcome.

Is there a fundamental belief you have about funding or building startups that you think other investors might disagree with?

Jacobsohn: Something that’s different about me from most VCs is that I come from a sales background, and I think the CEOs I back need to be good at sales.

Just about every CEO I back comes from a product and engineering background, but that’s not enough. You need to be good at selling. You need to sell to customers, partners, investors and employees. Before I invest, I’ll go on a lot of sales calls I set up with the CEO to see how good they are at selling.

To me, that’s a big way of assessing the potential of a company.

Have you ever passed on a CEO or startup because you felt the founder didn’t have strong sales skills?

Jacobsohn: Yes. When I go on sales calls and people aren’t interested in a second meeting, and that’s a consistent theme, it often leads me to walk away.

Tell me about your Failure Museum. What are some of the biggest findings you’ve learned in building out the Failure Museum?

Jacobsohn: I have built a that includes more than 1,500 items from failed companies and products. I have them all on my website, where I study why they failed.

People are eager to share their successes and their failures. The museum evokes more optimism than one might think. People shouldn鈥檛 be afraid to take risks. Failure can be a springboard to success.

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

AI infrastructure dominated the largest venture rounds this week, with two multibillion-dollar deals in the sector taking the top spots. Data center and cloud provider led with a massive $3 billion financing, followed by 鈥檚 $1.5 billion raise. Further down the list, AI inference startup landed $300 million, joining a diverse group of big fundings spanning cybersecurity, robotics, food, HR software, payments and healthcare.

1. , $3B, AI infrastructure: Denver-based Crusoe raised a $3 billion Series F co-led by and, with also participating. Originally founded to use stranded natural gas to power cryptocurrency mining, Crusoe has transformed into a major AI cloud and data center provider serving customers including , and . The company has raised nearly $7.2 billion to date, and the latest financing values it at $30 billion 鈥� triple its valuation less than a year ago 鈥� according to SA国际传媒.

2. , $1.5B, AI infrastructure: New York-based Fluidstack raised $1.5 billion in a private equity round led by, bringing the AI infrastructure company鈥檚 total funding to just over $2.6 billion. Fluidstack provides large-scale GPU and data center infrastructure for demanding AI workloads and has emerged as one of a growing group of companies spending heavily to meet soaring compute demand for AI. The financing values the company at $18 billion.

3. (tied) , $300M, AI infrastructure: San Francisco-based Gimlet Labs raised a $300 million Series B led by, with investors including ,, and . Gimlet is building an AI inference cloud that distributes workloads across different types of chips, an approach aimed at making the increasingly compute-intensive process of running AI models faster and more efficient. The company has raised $392 million to date and was valued at $3 billion in the latest round, .

3. (tied) , $300M, cybersecurity: San Francisco-based Upwind Security raised $300 million in new funding co-led by and. Other investors included 1,, and . The company鈥檚 platform uses real-time cloud runtime data to identify threats and vulnerabilities, putting it at the intersection of two particularly well-funded areas: cloud security and AI. Upwind has raised $730 million to date and was valued at $3.8 billion in this latest deal.

5. , $250M, food and nutrition: New York-based high-protein food company David raised a $250 million Series B co-led by and., and company co-founder also participated. Best known for its high-protein, low-calorie bars, David has expanded into other protein-focused foods as consumers continue gravitating toward products marketed around protein and metabolic health. The company has raised $335 million and was valued at $2.25 billion in the latest round.

6. , $166M, HR software: New York-based HiBob raised $166 million in a round led by, with also participating. HiBob鈥檚 Bob platform combines HR, payroll, benefits and employee-management tools, and the company is increasingly positioning its workforce data as a foundation for enterprise AI applications. The latest deal brings its total funding to $740 million and values the company at $3.2 billion.

7. , $165M, robotics and physical AI: Sunnyvale, California-based Lyte AI raised a $165 million Series C led by, with participation from,, and. Founded by former engineers, Lyte develops custom silicon, sensors and AI software that help robots perceive and understand their surroundings, the kind of technology that underpins the fast-growing physical AI sector. Lyte has now raised $272 million to date, , and was valued at $1.6 billion in the Series C.

8. , $155M, fintech and payments: Mountain View, California-based TabaPay secured $155 million in growth financing led by. The company provides money-movement infrastructure that helps banks and fintech companies instantly disburse, collect and transfer funds. The company announced the latest funding as it also of federally chartered , a move that could deepen its role in payments infrastructure. TabaPay鈥檚 new round follows a Series A of an undisclosed amount back in 2022.

9. , $125M, health care and oncology: Nashville, Tennessee-based Thyme Care raised a $125 million Series E led by , the healthcare investment arm of . Other backers included, and, among others. Thyme Care works with health plans, employers and providers to coordinate cancer treatment and manage oncology care, part of a broader shift toward value-based specialty care. The company has now raised $399 million in total and was valued at $2 billion in the latest round.

10. , $100M, AI cybersecurity: Austin-based HiddenLayer raised a $100 million Series B led by.,, and also participated. HiddenLayer builds security tools designed specifically to protect AI models, agents and workflows from attacks and vulnerabilities, a category gaining urgency as enterprises move AI systems into production. The company has raised $156.2 million to date, .

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the SA国际传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Aug. 29-Sept. 4, 2026. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

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颁谤耻苍肠丑产补蝉别鈥檚 predictive intelligence tools flags a handful of well-funded private companies with at least a 40% probability of going public within the next six months. , arguably the most closely watched IPO prospect, sits just outside that near-term screen: SA国际传媒 considers an eventual listing very likely, but the model favors a six- to 12-month timeline.

Together, Anthropic and the other seven companies noted below make up a varied watchlist spanning artificial intelligence, fintech, crypto, consumer health and climate technology, ranging from smart-ring maker to enterprise productivity platform .

A record IPO sets the stage

In the first half of this year, 58 venture-backed companies listed at $1 billion or above, per SA国际传媒 data. That compares with 27 that did so in the first half of 2025 and 69 in all of last year.

On a dollar basis, this year has also far surpassed recent IPO years, thanks to SpaceX鈥檚 historic IPO in June that launched it onto the and raised $86 billion in the process. Through the first half of 2026, venture-backed startups globally raised $110.8 billion collectively via IPO listings, SA国际传媒 data shows, well above the $12.6 billion raised in the first half of 2025.

With the year鈥檚 end now in sight, a small window remains for other startups to launch 2026 IPOs. With that, here鈥檚 a look at notable venture-backed startups that 颁谤耻苍肠丑产补蝉别鈥檚 predictive intelligence suggests are potential IPO candidates within the next six months.

Venture-backed IPOs to watch

: Anthropic, the most valuable venture-backed startup in the world, has indicated it plans to beat rival to the public markets. The company could debut as soon as September or October and raise up to $100 billion via the offering, according to a in last week. 颁谤耻苍肠丑产补蝉别鈥檚 predictive intelligence tools, meanwhile, pin a slightly longer timeline on an Anthropic IPO, saying it鈥檚 more likely to happen in six to 12 months. Anthropic has already raised $125 billion from private-market investors since its founding in 2021, and whenever it happens its IPO would mark a major liquidity bonanza for those backers. (For its part, OpenAI is also deemed a very likely IPO candidate by SA国际传媒, but not within the next six months, a prediction corroborated by the WSJ report, which noted that the company is considering pushing its listing to 2027.)

: Smart-ring maker Oura is a likely IPO candidate in the next six months, per SA国际传媒. The Finland-based company, which has raised $1.5 billion from investors, is mulling an offering as soon as September or October that could fetch a valuation above the $11 billion it achieved in its most recent funding, the Journal last week. A successful offering would also provide a notable test of public-market appetite for consumer health hardware, a category that has produced relatively few large venture-backed listings in recent years.

: San Francisco-based Notion is a strong candidate for a near-term IPO, according to both 颁谤耻苍肠丑产补蝉别鈥檚 predictive tools and independent reporting. The productivity-software maker has raised more than $343 million from investors over time and has posted strong revenue growth from its enterprise AI offerings. Startup reporter Alex Konrad recently that the company has appointed a new board of directors with significant public-company experience in 鈥渁 big step towards an IPO.鈥�

: Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is another probable public-market entrant, per SA国际传媒, and if it does make the IPO leap, it鈥檚 highly likely to do so within the next six months. The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based company filed a confidential IPO registration statement with the almost a year ago, but subsequently paused its going-public plans amid market volatility. In May, CEO said the company was 鈥渵80% ready鈥� for a 2026 listing, although it has reportedly weighed delaying again until 2027.

: Following 鈥� $6.4 billion Nasdaq IPO in May, attention has turned to SambaNova, a fellow developer of specialized AI chips and infrastructure. SA国际传媒 predicts that the San Jose, California-based company is a probable IPO candidate, with a slightly less than even chance of going public within the next six months. That prediction jibes with comments from co-founder and CEO, who in July that the company was strongly considering a U.S. IPO next year. His comments followed SambaNova鈥檚 $1 billion Series F raise this summer at an $11 billion post-money valuation.

: Sweden-based green-steel maker Stegra has raised approximately $12.6 billion across equity and debt financing, according to SA国际传媒, including a 鈧�1.4 billion financing round that closed in June. in June 2025 that the company was considering an IPO to fund further expansion. Founded in 2020, Stegra has attracted orders from automakers and industrial customers including , , , and parent for steel produced using renewable electricity and green hydrogen. It broke ground in August 2022 on an integrated steel plant in Boden, northern Sweden, whose first phase is designed to produce 2.5 million tonnes of green steel annually. Some customer agreements call for deliveries to begin in 2027, although Stegra has said the project鈥檚 overall timeline remains under review. SA国际传媒 considers Stegra a probable IPO candidate and gives it a roughly even chance of listing within the next six months.

: Stripe is a perennial presence on our IPO predictions lists, and for good reason. Before the AI giants displaced it at the top of The SA国际传媒 Unicorn Board, the payments company held the crown as the most valuable U.S.-based startup, and one with a solid business to boot. Stripe has raised a total of $10.4 billion, including venture rounds and secondaries, since its 2010 founding, but has delayed entering the public markets with repeated tender offers that provide liquidity to employees. Will it finally make a run at the public markets in 2027? While SA国际传媒 predicts the South San Francisco, California-based company is a very likely IPO candidate in the long-term, in the short run it鈥檚 a bit iffier. The model says six to 12 months is a more believable time frame, and CEO has said the company is in .

: OpenEvidence, an AI platform for doctors, is a probable IPO candidate, per SA国际传媒. If it does pursue a listing, it鈥檚 likely to go public within the next six months, per our predictive intelligence. CEO has been somewhat more circumspect: In an with CNBC in January, he said the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company would consider an IPO after OpenAI and Anthropic had listed: 鈥淭here鈥檚 an order to nature,鈥� he said. 鈥淔oundation model companies go public first. Then the application layer follows. That鈥檚 how the internet played out, and that鈥檚 how this cycle will play out, too.鈥�

Methodology

For this analysis, we used 颁谤耻苍肠丑产补蝉别鈥檚 predictive intelligence tools and our own reporting and analysis to refine a list of potential near-term IPO candidates.

颁谤耻苍肠丑产补蝉别鈥檚 use company data 鈥� including funding and valuation history, financial growth, key leadership hires, market-share expansion and headcount trends 鈥� to assess the likelihood that a private company will go public.

The model produces an overall IPO probability score and corresponding rating, such as 鈥渧ery likely,鈥� 鈥減robable鈥� or 鈥渦ncertain.鈥� For companies that meet a minimum confidence threshold, SA国际传媒 separately estimates when an IPO might occur across four windows: within six months, six to 12 months, 12 to 24 months, or more than 24 months.

For this analysis, we define a 鈥渘ear-term鈥� candidate as a private company rated at least 鈥減robable鈥� overall, with a 40% or greater probability of going public within six months of the prediction date. The overall and timing scores should be read separately: A company may be considered highly likely to IPO eventually without being a strong near-term candidate. Predictions are directional rather than guarantees and may change as new company and market data becomes available.

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For the past few years, global funding to biotech startups has hovered between $36 billion and $40 billion. Per SA国际传媒 data, 2026 is on track to stay close to that range.

The numbers don鈥檛 paint an especially bullish picture, even though overall venture investment rose to a record level in the first half of this year. Still, given that much of that largesse went to a couple of generative AI behemoths, biotechs scooped up a respectable share of what was left.

Biggest rounds

A few biotechs picked up some especially large financings. A good share of those were for 鈥� no shocker here 鈥� companies at the intersection of biotech and AI.

So far this year, more than $6 billion has gone to AI-focused biotechs, per SA国际传媒 data.

The largest round 鈥� and the biggest for any biotech this year 鈥� was a $2.1 billion Series B for London-based , which describes itself as an AI-first drug design and development company.

Delaware-based , which develops AI platforms for developing protein therapeutics, was the second-largest fundraiser, closing on $787 million in March. The next-largest AI-focused fundraise was San Francisco鈥檚 , a startup applying AI to drug discovery, which secured $400 million in Series C this summer at a $3.8 billion valuation.

Of course, not all of this year鈥檚 heavily funded biotechs describe themselves as AI-centric. A case in point is , a longevity startup based in South San Francisco, California, focused on developing medicines to restore youthful function in old cells, that raised $435 million in a June Series C. For a broader view, below we put together a list of 10 of this year鈥檚 most heavily funded global biotechs.

Still an early-stage game, with plenty of exits

But while top-funded biotechs may skew a bit later-stage, that鈥檚 not the case for the overall startup pipeline.

Funding rounds this year are heavily tilted toward seed and early stage, which comprise more than half of all investment and most rounds. This is a pattern we see in prior years as well, as later-stage biotechs often seek to go public after a Series B or Series C financing rather than raise another venture round.

This year, we鈥檝e also seen a fair share of biotechs go public rather early in their lifecycles, particularly for hot areas like obesity therapeutics and pain management.

, a developer of oral and injectable therapies for obesity, was a prominent example. The Waltham, Massachusetts, company, founded in 2024, went public in April, six months after closing its Series B.

Personalized medicine startup followed a similar trajectory, making its debut in June after raising more than $550 million in early-stage funding the prior year. And , a developer of non-opioid therapies for chronic pain, completed its IPO in August, about a year-and-a-half after its Series B.

Later-stage biotechs also didn鈥檛 sit out the IPO parade. The year’s largest biotech offering, for example, was 10-year-old , focused on cancer therapeutics, which raised its Series F in January.

Biotech startups also delivered some big M&A exits. Per SA国际传媒 data, at least 12 funded companies sold in transactions valued at $1 billion or more, including potential milestone payments. They are listed below.

Healthy outlook

Overall, SA国际传媒 data shows biotech funding and exits holding up at healthy levels this year. True, conditions look pretty tame compared to the exuberance of the AI investment blitz. As funding at the intersection of AI and biotech continues to accumulate, however, we might see more of that enthusiasm spilling over in coming quarters.

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

Most of this week鈥檚 largest funding recipients were AI-focused startups, with , a developer of AI assistants, pulling in the biggest round. Other sizable financings went to companies in areas including business software, physical AI, autonomous transport and even sea gliders. Overall, rounds skewed smaller than in recent past weeks.

1. , $250M, AI assistants: Instinct, a startup developing and beta testing an AI assistant, is raising $250 million in a Series B valuing the San Francisco company at $2.5 billion, according to a from citing founder . Lead backers include and .

2. , $240M, small business AI tools: Owner, a provider of AI tools for local businesses to automate things like building websites, online and phone ordering, mobile apps, and customer support, picked up $240 million in new funding. led the financing, valuing the 8-year-old San Francisco company at $2.3 billion.

3. (tied) , $200M, physical AI: San Francisco-based Generalist AI, a startup developing an AI foundation model that can work with a variety of robots, secured $200 million in fresh financing. The investment, an extension of its $400 million Series B in June, is reportedly led by 1.

3. (tied) , $200M, autonomous trucking: Gatik, an operator of driverless trucks, closed on $200 million in Series D funding. and led the round for the 9-year-old, Santa Clara, California-based company.

5. , $156M, predictive analytics: Socure, a provider of identity, risk and compliance tools, picked up $156 million in growth funding and acquired , an agentic platform for fraud and compliance operations. led the round, valuing the Incline Village, Nevada-based company at $5.2 billion.

6. , $150M, data center energy management: Emerald AI, a software platform that balances AI computational workloads and available energy resources, raised $150 million in Series A funding. The financing, led by and , set the Washington, D.C.-based company鈥檚 valuation at $1.05 billion.

7. (tied) , $120M, sea gliders: Rhode Island-based Regent Craft, a developer of high-speed winged sea vessels, closed on $120 million in Series B equity funding led by and . It also secured $120 million in debt funding from .

7. (tied) , $120M, biopharma: AusperBio, a San Francisco startup developing therapeutics for chronic hepatitis B and other diseases, picked up $120 million in Series C funding backed by new and existing investors. The funding will support clinical trials for its lead therapeutic.

9. , $76M, AI for creatives: Los Angeles-based Stability AI, a developer of AI products for professional creatives across music, gaming and entertainment, announced a Series B fundraise of $76 million backed by a long list of venture and strategic investors.

10. , $75M, coffee: Brooklyn-based coffee and matcha drink chain Blank Street has raised $75 million in fresh funding from investors including as it plans a West Coast expansion. The company also raised $30 million in secondary market transactions.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the SA国际传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Aug. 22-28. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

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