AI startups led the biggest US venture rounds of July 11-17

Venture dollars kept flowing into private tech companies in the week of July 11-17, with artificial intelligence taking several of the top spots, according to Crunchbase. For retail investors, these private rounds can be a useful signal of where venture firms are placing long-term bets before companies ever reach the public market.

The largest announced U.S. startup financing tracked by Crunchbase was Fireworks AI’s $1.505 billion Series D. A Series D is a later-stage funding round, usually raised by a company that has already attracted multiple earlier investments and is scaling its business.

Fireworks AI, based in San Mateo, California, builds enterprise AI tools that help companies adapt broad AI models for use with their own data, according to Crunchbase. Atreides Management, Index Ventures and TCV led the round, which valued the company at $17.5 billion.

Wonder ranked second with $650 million in Series D funding. The New York company operates kitchens and meal delivery services, and Crunchbase reported that the round was priced at a $9 billion pre-money valuation. Pre-money valuation means the company’s value before the new investment is added. Wonder has 140 locations, and the new capital will be used in part to expand operations, according to Crunchbase.

AI also showed up in life sciences. Chai Discovery raised $400 million in Series C funding at a $3.8 billion valuation, according to Crunchbase. The startup focuses on AI-based drug discovery. Index Ventures led the financing, with Sequoia Capital, Dimension, Kleiner Perkins and others also participating.

Robotics and hardware-heavy businesses were also in the mix. Walden Robotics, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, came out of stealth with $300 million in funding. The company is developing general-purpose robots for manufacturing and logistics work, and its round was led by Toyota and Deviation Capital. Crunchbase said the financing valued Walden Robotics at $1.1 billion.

Other large rounds tracked by Crunchbase included:

• Brinc raised $125 million. The Seattle company develops drones for public safety and emergency operations. Motorola Solutions led the round, with participation from Index Ventures and Figma founder and CEO Dylan Field.

• TerraFirma raised $100 million. The Austin company builds AI-enabled software and autonomous robotics technology for construction, bringing total investment to date to $115 million.

• Spectro Cloud raised more than $100 million in a Series D led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives. The San Jose company provides AI infrastructure management software and has now raised $260 million in total capital, according to Crunchbase.

• Singularity raised $80 million in Series A funding as it emerged from stealth. The Los Angeles startup is developing air defense technology. Khosla Ventures and Felicis led the round, which valued the company at $400 million.

• Flex raised $70 million in a Series B1 led by Halo Fund. The San Francisco fintech company offers private banking services for high-net-worth business owners, and the round followed a $60 million Series B in December.

• State Affairs raised $70 million in Series A funding. The company offers an AI platform for policy and regulation, and the round was led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund.

Crunchbase said its ranking covered the largest announced funding rounds in its database for U.S.-based companies during July 11-17. The firm noted that some late-week announcements may appear with a delay.

This story draws on original reporting from Crunchbase News.