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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.

What a week it’s been if you were a startup looking to raise big. This week, more than a dozen nine-figure rounds were raised by U.S.-based startups — more than any week this year and perhaps last year.

While a big AI round led the way, there were huge raises in energy, quantum computing, neuroscience and other sectors too. Big rounds have seen a pickup this year, and this week is the best example yet. You needed to raise $125 million-plus to make this list.

1. CoreWeave, $1.1B, artificial intelligence: Funding to AI-related startups increased slightly in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023, and that trend may continue in the second quarter based on this week’s big round. AI cloud infrastructure startup CoreWeave locked up a $1.1 billion round led by Coatue that values the company at $19 billion, per The Wall Street Journal. The valuation represents an almost threefold increase from the company’s valuation just five months ago, when it was valued at $7 billion following a secondary sale, and a huge jump from its $2 billion valuation in a Series B extension last May. With the latest funding, the company has now raised some $4.6 billion, per Crunchbase data.

2. Pine Gate Renewables, $650M, energy: Pine Gate Renewables ended April with a  $650 million investment from Generate Capital, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and HESTA. The Asheville, North Carolina-based solar and energy storage product developer plans to use the new cash to help finance the creation of three gigawatts of clean energy infrastructure in communities across the United States by next year. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $1.7 billion, per Crunchbase.

3. PsiQuantum, $620M, quantum computing: PsiQuantum landed the biggest funding round thus far this year for any quantum startup, beating out Quantinuum’s $300 million equity fundraise at a pre-money valuation of $5 billion from January. Palo Alto, California-based PsiQuantum landed a financial package of $620 million from the Australian Commonwealth and Queensland Governments to build a quantum computer at a location near Brisbane Airport in Brisbane, Australia. The round is actually a mix of equity, grants and loans, so it is not all equity. Founded in 2016, the company has raised more than $1.3 billion, per Crunchbase.

4. Motional, $475M, autonomous vehicles: Hyundai showed it is willing to spend big on Boston-based self-driving startup Motional. This week the carmaker agreed to invest $475 million directly into the startup while also buying 11% of joint venture partner Aptiv’s equity stake in the company for another $448 million. Motional, formerly nuTonomy, was in the news just a couple of months ago for reportedly securing a bridge loan to extend its runway until another funding round. It seems like this situation bears watching.

5. (tied) Blackrock Neurotech, $200M, neuroscience: Stablecoin issuer Tether invested $200 million in Blackrock Neurotech to take a majority stake in the brain-to-computer interface startup. The Salt Lake City-based company creates brain-to-computer interfaces and implants that allow people to control computers and neuroprosthetics. The company had only raised $10 million before the new round from Tether, according to Crunchbase. The deal values Blackrock Neurotech at about $350 million, per Reuters. The deal is the latest headline concerning brain-computer interface technology, which has been pushed by Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Musk’s company recently live-streamed a quadriplegic man playing video games using its implant and has raised nearly $700 million, per Crunchbase.

5. (tied) BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, $200M, biotech: Biotech saw a big spinout, as BridgeBio Pharma launched subsidiary BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics as its own company with $200 million of new funding. The Palo Alto, California-based spinout will look to grow its oncology portfolio. The financing was co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and Omega Funds.

7. Island, $175M, cybersecurity: Cybersecurity venture funding saw a small bounce back in the first quarter of the year and a couple of large raises this week may indicate that trend continuing. Dallas-based enterprise browser developer Island raised a $175 million Series D at a $3 billion valuation — doubling its last valuation from less than a year ago. The round was led by new investor Coatue and existing investor Sequoia Capital. Island is no stranger to big-money rounds. In October, it raised a $100 million Series C led by Prysm Capital that valued it at $1.5 billion. In March 2022, the company announced a $115 million Series B at a $1.3 billion valuation led by Insight Partners. Island has raised $487 million in total investments to date, per the company.

8. Altruist, $169M, fintech: Los Angeles-based wealth management platform Altruist raised a $169 million Series E led by Iconiq Growth that values the company at more than $1.5 billion. Founded in 2018, Altruist has raised more than $450 million, per the company.

9. Corelight, $150M, cybersecurity: Another big cyber round. San Francisco-based open-network detection and response startup Corelight locked up a $150 million Series E investment led by Accel, with additional strategic investment from Cisco Investments and the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. Founded in 2013, the company — which uses network and cloud activity to hunt and respond to threats — has raised nearly $310 million, per Crunchbase.

10. Transcarent, $126M, healthcare: San Francisco-based personalized healthcare platform Transcarent closed a $126 million Series D led by General Catalyst and 7wire Ventures that values the company at $2.2 billion. Founded in 2020, Transcarent has raised approximately $450 million, per the company.

Big global deals

U.S.-based startups dominated investors’ money this week. The biggest round outside the country would barely have made the above list.

• India-based PharmEasy, an online health service that connects users to local pharmacies and labs, raised a $216 million venture 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 April 27 to May 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.

Illustration: Dom Guzman