US Startup Funding Insights: AI Leads $1.5B Week, California Dominates Once Again

This week, 87 US startups raised a total of $1.509 billion, signaling robust investor conviction across mid-stage growth companies and emerging innovators. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) retained its dominance, the funding landscape was notably diverse — spanning sectors from biotechnology to industrial engineering. The capital distribution leaned toward Series B and A rounds, reflecting a maturation of venture-backed companies and a clear emphasis on execution and scalability. California continues to dominate, but deals in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas hint at a decentralizing innovation economy. 

Top Industries of the Week 

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – $344M

AI attracted over 22 deals, the highest of any sector, reaffirming its cross-functional utility and investor demand. The $344M raised reveals a balanced mix of early and mid-stage bets — from Guardz’s $56M (FL) in cybersecurity AI to Ellipsis Health’s $45M (CA) in AI-powered mental health. 

Investors are backing AI startups that offer real-world utility and monetizable applications. The breadth of deal stages signals that AI is now less speculative and more operational, bridging early research with execution at scale. 

2. Information Technology – $182M

High-value bets in IT were driven by performance software and developer tooling startups like Nominal ($75M, TX) and Abacum ($60M, NY). 

There’s a pivot from infrastructure-heavy IT solutions to tools that enhance operational intelligence, team efficiency, and financial forecasting. These companies are now seen as core enablers of other startups, not just service providers — explaining why they’re attractive at Series A and B stages. 

3. Industrial Engineering – $134M

Gecko Robotics single-handedly contributed $125M with its Series D in Pennsylvania. Their platform enables predictive maintenance for critical infrastructure like power plants and factories. 

A huge late-stage deal here shows that hard tech is resurging, especially where it’s tied to public infrastructure and national resilience. Institutional investors likely view Gecko not just as a SaaS play, but as a defensible platform in a trillion-dollar legacy industry. 

4. E-Commerce – $129M

Coco, based in California, secured $80M for last-mile delivery automation. 

Though broader E-Commerce has cooled, automation at the edges of retail and delivery is still raising serious capital. Investors are selecting narrow, high-leverage pain points in an otherwise saturated sector. 

5. Biotechnology – $111M

Biotech saw a major lift with Mosanna Therapeutics’ $80M Series A in California. 

Securing this much at Series A in biotech indicates strong clinical promise and IP defensibility. Investors continue to treat biotech as a long-horizon bet, but only when startups demonstrate validated science and a fast route to regulatory inflection points. 

Funding Stage Analysis 

Series B – $537M | 12 Deals 

Mid-stage startups are raising larger rounds earlier, indicating strong early traction and aggressive scaling goals. 

Series A – $484M | 23 Deals 

High deal count shows investors are betting on post-seed momentum — confident in companies’ product-market fit and go-to-market muscle. 

Series D – $275M | 3 Deals 

These mega-deals (e.g., Gecko Robotics) show investors are still writing big checks to category leaders who may IPO or consolidate soon. 

Pre-Seed – $6M | 5 Deals 

Lower total reflects more selective seed investing, possibly emphasizing incubation-stage innovation or founder-market fit. 

Seed – Not Explicitly Broken Out | 44 Deals (in overall deal count) 

This is the most active stage by volume, underscoring a rich pipeline of new startups. Capital is going to founders solving real-world operational problems, with investors showing confidence in smaller, nimble teams. 

The dominance of Series B and A indicates that investors are increasingly focused on execution risk, not just ideation risk. It’s no longer enough to have a vision — teams must show traction, team scalability, and customer validation to raise meaningful capital. 

Outliers 

These top 10 deals collectively absorbed over $721M, or nearly 48% of weekly capital, underscoring a “winner-takes-most” dynamic. Capital continues to consolidate around high-conviction, proven teams and platforms. 

Notable Deals 

• Gecko Robotics ($125M) – Proving that hardware plus software in industrials is investable again. 

• Mosanna Therapeutics ($80M) – Rare Series A biotech round at this size; signals de-risked science. 

• PostHog ($70M) – Demonstrates sustained appetite for devtools with usage-based pricing models. 

• Guardz & Tastewise ($50M+) – Enterprise AI with specific vertical applications (security and consumer insights). 

Geographic Highlights 

California retained its leadership with nearly 40% of total funding, housing top-funded startups across AI, biotech, and software. New York continued as a major capital magnet with $331M, mainly concentrated in AI and IT. Pennsylvania’s ranking was propelled by Gecko Robotics, while Texas and Florida further established themselves as viable innovation ecosystems suggesting non-coastal regions are now attracting substantial late-stage capital. Investors are expanding their geographic lens — but only for startups with category-defining value propositions. 

Key Takeaways 

1. AI Is Moving From Hype to ROI

Rather than speculative R&D, funding is now flowing to AI applications that drive revenue or reduce cost — from fraud detection to customer intelligence. 

2. Series B and A Are Where It’s At

The twin engines of funding — Series B ($537M) and Series A ($484M) — indicate a strong belief in execution-stage companies, not just startups chasing PMF. 

3. Geographic Fragmentation Is Slow but Real

California isn’t going anywhere, but outliers like Pennsylvania and Florida are winning large checks when they have the tech and traction to back it. 

4. Sector Diversification Signals Maturity

Industrial, biotech, and developer tools had major wins this week, showing that capital is no longer fixated on “hot” sectors only — it’s flowing to business models that make sense. 

Final Thoughts 

This week’s $1.5 billion in startup capital tells a story of mature investor behavior — a shift from spray-and-pray to precision and traction. With Artificial Intelligence leading the charge and Series B/A stages absorbing most capital, startups are increasingly judged on their ability to scale and sustain. California still commands the spotlight, but rising activity in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas hints at a more distributed innovation economy in the making. Overall, it was a week defined by confidence, concentration, and conviction.