U.S. AI Startup Funding Surges in Early 2025, Tops Q1 Billion-Dollar Deals from Last Year

ANALYSIS, April 24, 2025 — Last year was a defining period for artificial intelligence across the United States and globally.

According to TechCrunch, 49 startups secured funding rounds of $100 million or more in 2024. Among them, three companies raised more than one “megaround,” while seven closed rounds of at least $1 billion.

So far, 2025 appears to be continuing that trajectory. Several billion-dollar deals have already been announced, and more AI megarounds were completed in the United States during the first quarter of 2025 than in the same period last year.

Below is a breakdown of U.S.-based AI companies that have raised at least $100 million in 2025:

April

SandboxAQ closed a $450 million Series E round on April 4, valuing the AI model developer at $5.7 billion. Backers included Nvidia, Google and Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates.

Runway raised $308 million in a Series D round announced April 3, valuing the company at $3 billion. The round was led by General Atlantic, with participation from SoftBank, Nvidia and Fidelity.

March

OpenAI closed a record-breaking $40 billion round on March 31, giving the company a $300 billion valuation. SoftBank led the round, joined by Thrive Capital, Microsoft and Coatue.

Nexthop AI raised $110 million in a Series A round announced March 25. The infrastructure startup’s round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Kleiner Perkins, Battery Ventures and Emergent Ventures also investing.

Insilico Medicine secured $110 million in a Series E round on March 13. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company develops AI-driven drug discovery platforms and is now valued at $1 billion. Value Partners and Pudong Chuangtou co-led the round.

Celestial AI raised $250 million in a Series C round on March 11, valuing the company at $2.5 billion. Fidelity led the round, joined by Tiger Global, BlackRock and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

Lila Sciences closed a $200 million seed round led by Flagship Pioneering. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm is building a science superintelligence platform with additional backing from March Capital, General Catalyst and ARK Venture Fund.

Reflection.Ai raised $130 million in a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and CRV. The Brooklyn-based company, founded just a year ago, is focused on building superintelligent autonomous systems and is now valued at $580 million.

Turing closed a $111 million Series E round on March 7. The AI coding startup, which partners with LLM developers, is now valued at $2.2 billion. The round was led by Khazanah Nasional with support from WestBridge Capital, Gaingels and Sozo Ventures.

Shield AI raised $240 million in a Series F round that closed March 6. The defense-focused AI company is now valued at $5.3 billion. The round was co-led by L3Harris Technologies and Hanwha Aerospace, and included Andreessen Horowitz and the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund.

Anthropic raised $3.5 billion in a Series E round announced March 3. The research lab, known for large language models, is now valued at $61.5 billion. Lightspeed led the round, joined by Salesforce Ventures, Menlo Ventures and General Catalyst.

February

Together AI raised $305 million in a Series B round announced Feb. 20. The open-source AI infrastructure company is now valued at $3.3 billion. Prosperity7 and General Catalyst co-led the round with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Nvidia and Lux Capital.

Lambda secured $480 million in a Series D round on Feb. 19, bringing its valuation close to $2.5 billion. SGW and Andra Capital co-led the round, joined by Nvidia, G Squared and ARK Invest.

Abridge raised $250 million in a Series D round announced Feb. 17. The AI company, which transcribes clinician-patient conversations, is now valued at $2.75 billion. IVP and Elad Gil co-led the round, with Lightspeed, Redpoint and Spark Capital also participating.

Eudia closed a $105 million Series A round on Feb. 13. The AI legal tech firm received funding from General Catalyst, Floodgate, Defy Ventures and Everywhere Ventures, along with several angel investors.

EnCharge AI raised $100 million in a Series B round also closed Feb. 13. The Santa Clara-based hardware startup was backed by Tiger Global, Scout Ventures, Samsung Ventures and RTX Ventures.

Harvey secured $300 million in a Series D round announced Feb. 12. The AI legal platform is now valued at $3 billion. Sequoia led the round, with participation from the OpenAI Startup Fund, Kleiner Perkins and Elad Gil.

January

ElevenLabs raised $180 million in a Series C round announced Jan. 30, valuing the synthetic voice startup at more than $3 billion. ICONIQ Growth and Andreessen Horowitz co-led the round, with support from Sequoia, NEA and Salesforce Ventures.

Hippocratic AI announced a $141 million Series B round on Jan. 9. Focused on LLMs for healthcare, the company is now valued at over $1.6 billion. Kleiner Perkins led the round, joined by Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia and General Catalyst.

The first quarter of 2025 has already exceeded last year’s surge, signaling that investor confidence in U.S. AI innovation remains firmly intact.