Same Story, Bigger Numbers: AI and California Top $2.83B Week

This week, 64 US startups raised a total of $2.83 billion, marking one of the most capital-intensive weeks of the year. The headline driver: an extraordinary $2 billion seed round by Thinking Machines Lab, propelling Artificial Intelligence (AI) to historic highs. While California once again dominated both funding and deal volume, the week revealed deep sectoral breadth and promising signs of geographic dispersion, with investments surfacing in traditionally underrepresented states like Tennessee, Indiana, and Wyoming. 

Top Industries of the Week 

1) Artificial Intelligence (AI), $2.62B | 18 Deals
AI not only dominated the week by funding amount but also by deal count, capturing nearly 80% of all capital deployed. The sector continues to attract both mega and micro rounds, signaling broad investor conviction from foundational model builders to applied AI startups.
• Thinking Machines Lab (CA), $2B Seed, A milestone investment, this round likely reflects bets on AGI infrastructure or proprietary large model stacks.
• Maven AGI (MA), $50M Series B, Indicative of maturity in AI execution and monetization.
• Traversal (NY), $48M Series A, Highlights NY’s growing influence in AI architecture innovation.
• Pano (CA), $44M Series B and HOPPR (IL), $31.5M Series A further demonstrate sectoral confidence.
AI capital is consolidating around companies that offer scalable platform plays, defensible data layers, and enterprise use cases. Notably, funding isn’t just flowing to infrastructure but to verticalized AI with immediate ROI. 

2) Drone Management, $100M | 1 Deal
• Mach Industries (CA), $100M Series B, A powerful validation of defense-tech convergence with autonomy and AI.
The sector, while singular in count, attracted one of the week’s largest checks. This affirms that dual-use technologies (civil + military) are back in vogue, especially amid geopolitical tensions. 

3) Biotechnology, $75M | 4 Deals
• Actio Biosciences (CA), $66M Series B
• Infinity Bio (MD), $8M Series A
Biotech investors are showing discipline, funneling capital toward companies with validated science, regulatory traction, and strong intellectual property. Funding is cautious but committed. 

4)Analytics, $60M | 4 Deals
• Uncountable (CA), $27M Series A
• Profound (NY), $20M Series A
• Typedef (CA), $5.5M Seed
Analytics remains a critical layer within the AI ecosystem. These startups often function as data orchestration backbones, not standalone tools, but vital enablers of intelligent automation. 

5) FinTech, $55M | 4 Deals
• Payabli (FL), $28M Series B
• Tensec (CA), $12M Seed
Fintech rounds are shifting away from consumer apps and neobanks to embedded finance and infrastructure APIs. Investors are backing B2B models with clearer monetization pathways. 

 Funding Stage Analysis

Seed, $2,145M | 38 Deals
The most active stage by volume, and by far the largest in capital thanks to the Thinking Machines Lab deal.
• Excluding this outlier, Seed funding still crossed $145M across 37 other deals, averaging ~$3.9M per deal.
• Examples: Tensec (CA), $12M, PrismaX (CA), $11M, Alta (CA), $11M
Investors remain aggressive at the seed stage, but are clearly distinguishing between speculative R&D and well-positioned operators with technical depth and early commercial validation. 

Series A, $280M | 15 Deals
• Top rounds: Traversal (NY), $48M, Slide (CT), $25M, Uncountable (CA), $27M
Series A continues to represent a sweet spot for VC deployment. These companies have typically demonstrated PMF and early revenue. Many are AI-native or analytics-first platforms targeting enterprise transformation. 

Series B, $402M | 10 Deals
• Headlined by Mach Industries (CA), $100M and Maven AGI (MA), $50M
Series B rounds this week were characterized by confidence in execution capacity and scaling infrastructure. Investors are writing larger checks earlier, prioritizing speed to market in highly competitive verticals. 

Pre-Seed, $2M | 1 Deal
• mysite.ai (CA), $2M
With only one visible deal, pre-seed appears limited this week, suggesting increased investor selectivity and expectation of technical sophistication even at this earliest stage. 

Outliers 

These top 10 alone absorbed over 85% of all capital, a clear signal of capital consolidation into category-defining companies. 

Notable Deals

• Thinking Machines Lab (CA), $2B, Among the largest seed rounds in global history, likely targeting AGI infrastructure.
• Mach Industries (CA), $100M, Defense-grade drone and autonomous systems receive renewed interest.
• Traversal (NY), $48M, NY is solidifying its place as a serious AI engineering hub.
• Local Infusion (TN), $30M, Healthcare venture outside the coasts showing VC confidence in regional scalability. 

Geographic Highlights 

Key Takeaways 

AI Funding Surges Past $2.2B
o AI now constitutes not just a trend but the core thesis of venture investment. Capital is flowing into foundational models, AI ops, vertical platforms, and adjacent orchestration layers. 

Series A & B Absorb Capital, Seed Dominates Volume
o While Seed leads in count, Series A and B account for $682M combined, validating a strong pipeline of scalable ventures. 

Geographic Distribution Is Real and Widening
o While California captured the spotlight, significant deals in Illinois, Tennessee, and Connecticut indicate real geographic spread. 

Sector Diversity Suggests Market Maturity
o Despite AI’s dominance, high-caliber rounds in analytics, biotech, fintech, and cybersecurity show that investors are funding fundamentals, not fads. 

Final Thoughts

This week’s $2.83B in startup funding was not merely about volume, it was about strategic precision. From massive AI infrastructure bets to thoughtful analytics and cybersecurity investments, the pattern is clear: capital is seeking real traction, real differentiation, and real scale potential. While California remains a force, regional ecosystems are increasingly pulling weight. The innovation economy is no longer concentrated, it’s expanding, intelligently.