Mar 26, 2025

Key Trends and Observations Austin’s Unexpected Rise to Prominence Perhaps the most striking trend in February’s funding data is the emergence of Austin. Three of the top fifteen deals—including the #1 and #2 largest rounds—went to Austin-based companies: Saronic ($600M Series C) – Maritime security and unmanned surface vehicles NinjaOne ($500M Series C) – IT endpoint management platform Apptronik ($350M Series A) – Human-centered robotics systems AI Dominance Continues Artificial Intelligence remains the dominant investment theme, with 8 of the 15 largest funding rounds going to AI-focused startups. Companies like Together AI ($305M), Harvey ($300M), and Abridge ($250M) are pioneering applications across various industries: Enterprise AI continues to attract major funding, with companies focusing on legal tech, healthcare, and IT infrastructure Generative AI platforms are securing significant late-stage funding, indicating investor confidence in their long-term potential Hardware infrastructure supporting AI development (like EnCharge AI’s $100M round) shows the comprehensive ecosystem being built around artificial intelligence Deep Tech Gaining Traction Beyond pure software plays, deep tech companies in quantum computing (QuEra Computing’s $230M), space technology (K2 Space’s $110M), and robotics (Apptronik’s $350M) secured significant funding. The TechWatch Media Group audience is driving progress and innovation on a global scale. With its regional media properties ( NYC Tech , LA Tech , London Tech )TechWatch Media Group is the highway for technology and entrepreneurship. There are a number of options to reach this audience of the world’s most innovative organizations and startups at scale including developing prominent brand placement, driving demand generation, and building thought leadership among the vast majority of key influencers in the global business community and beyond. Find out how to partner with us to drive a return on your marketing investment here . Round: Series B Description: Santa Clara-based EnCharge AI designs analog in-memory-computing AI chips and develops AI systems for AI computing. Founded by Echere Iroaga, Kailash Gopalakrishnan, and Naveen Verma in 2022, EnCharge AI has now raised a total of $144.3M in total equity funding and is backed by Alumni Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Anzu Partners, Morgan Creek Digital, and Scout Ventures. Investors in the round: 8VC, Andreessen Horowitz, Caffeinated Capital, Elad Gil, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Silent Ventures Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Embedded Software, Semiconductor, Software Founders: Echere Iroaga, Kailash Gopalakrishnan, Naveen Verma Founding year: 2022 Round: Series D Description: San Francisco-based Semgrep is an application security platform that scans code for bugs, security vulnerabilities, and enforce coding standards. Founded by Drew Dennison, Isaac Evans, and Luke O’Malley in 2017, Semgrep has now raised a total of $193.0M in total equity funding and is backed by Menlo Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Felicis, and Harpoon. Investors in the round: 1517 Fund, Andra Capital, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Investment Management, Crescent Cove Advisors, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, IQT, KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, SGW, Supermicro, US Innovative Technology Fund, Wistron Corporation, Wiwynn Industry: Cyber Security, Network Security, Security, Software Founders: Drew Dennison, Isaac Evans, Luke O‚ÄôMalley Founding year: 2017 Round: Series A Description: Palo Alto-based Eudia is an augmented intelligence platform that enhances legal team efficiency using AI. Founded by Ashish Agrawal, David Van Reyk, and Omar Haroun in 2023, Eudia has now raised a total of $105.0M in total equity funding and is backed by General Catalyst, Everywhere Ventures, Floodgate, Sierra Ventures, and Hakluyt Capital. Investors in the round: ARK Investment Management, B Capital, Capital Factory, Ethos Family Office, Google, Japan Post Capital, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, RyderVentures, Scrum Ventures, Trajectory Ventures Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Information Technology, PaaS Founders: Ashish Agrawal, David Van Reyk, Omar Haroun Founding year: 2023 Total equity funding raised: $105.0M The TechWatch Media Group audience is driving progress and innovation on a global scale. With its regional media properties ( NYC Tech , LA Tech , London Tech )TechWatch Media Group is the highway for technology and entrepreneurship. There are a number of options to reach this audience of the world’s most innovative organizations and startups at scale including developing prominent brand placement, driving demand generation, and building thought leadership among the vast majority of key influencers in the global business community and beyond. Find out how to partner with us to drive a return on your marketing investment here . Round: Series B Description: Torrance-based K2 Space develops innovative satellite buses, supporting space missions with efficient design and performance across various orbits. Founded by Karan Kunjur and Neel Kunjur in 2022, K2 Space has now raised a total of $175.5M in total equity funding and is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Altimeter Capital, Alpine Space Ventures, and Spacecadet Ventures. Investors in the round: Brave Capital, Cadenza Ventures, Coatue, DAMAC Capital, Definition, Emergence Capital, General Catalyst, Greycroft, John J. Chambers, Kleiner Perkins, Long Journey Ventures, Lux Capital, March Capital, NVIDIA, Prosperity7 Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Scott Banister, SE Ventures Industry: Aerospace, Machinery Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Space Travel Founders: Karan Kunjur, Neel Kunjur Founding year: 2022 Round: Series E Description: San Mateo-based Verkada is a cloud-based physical security platform that specializes in security cameras and security solutions for enterprises. Founded by Benjamin Bercovitz, Filip Kaliszan, Hans Robertson, and James Ren in 2016, Verkada has now raised a total of $643.9M in total equity funding and is backed by General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Eclipse Ventures, and Felicis. Investors in the round: Eclipse Ventures, General Catalyst Industry: Enterprise Software, Internet of Things, Physical Security, Smart Building Founders: Benjamin Bercovitz, Filip Kaliszan, Hans Robertson, James Ren Founding year: 2016 Total equity funding raised: $643.9M The TechWatch Media Group audience is driving progress and innovation on a global scale. With its regional media properties ( NYC Tech , LA Tech , London Tech )TechWatch Media Group is the highway for technology and entrepreneurship. There are a number of options to reach this audience of the world’s most innovative organizations and startups at scale including developing prominent brand placement, driving demand generation, and building thought leadership among the vast majority of key influencers in the global business community and beyond. Find out how to partner with us to drive a return on your marketing investment here . Round: Venture Description: Boston-based QuEra Computing is a neutral-atoms-based quantum computing startup. Founded by Dirk Englund, John Pena, Markus Greiner, Mikhail Lukin, Nathan Gemelke, and Vladan Vuletic in 2018, QuEra Computing has now raised a total of $17.0M in total equity funding and is backed by Valor Equity Partners, Google, SoftBank Vision Fund, Safar Partners, and Rakuten. Investors in the round: Cloverlay, CPP Investments, DBL Partners, Kimmeridge Industry: Computer, Consumer Research, Quantum Computing Founders: Dirk Englund, John Pena, Markus Greiner, Mikhail Lukin, Nathan Gemelke, Vladan Vuletic Founding year: 2018 Round: Series D Description: Pittsburgh-based Abridge is an AI-driven platform that transforms patient-clinician conversations into structured clinical notes for healthcare industries. Founded by Florian Metze, Sandeep Konam, and Shivdev Rao in 2018, Abridge has now raised a total of $457.5M in total equity funding and is backed by Union Square Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, KdT Ventures, and Spark Capital. Investors in the round: Cambridge Companies, Convent Capital, Eni Next, IDO Investments, KIRKBI, MBX Capital, Milliken & Company, Swen Capital Partners Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Electronic Health Record (EHR), Enterprise Software, Generative AI, Health Care, Intelligent Systems, Machine Learning, Medical, Natural Language Processing, SaaS Founders: Florian Metze, Sandeep Konam, Shivdev Rao Founding year: 2018 Round: Series B Description: San Francisco-based Together AI is a cloud-based platform designed for constructing open-source generative AI and infrastructure for developing AI models. Founded by Ce Zhang, Chris Re, Percy Liang, and Vipul Ved Prakash in 2022, Together AI has now raised a total of $533.5M in total equity funding and is backed by General Catalyst, NVIDIA, Emergence Capital, New Enterprise Associates, and Salesforce Ventures. Investors in the round: Alpine Space Ventures, Altimeter Capital, First Round Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative AI, Internet, IT Infrastructure, Open Source Founders: Ce Zhang, Chris Re, Percy Liang, Vipul Ved Prakash Founding year: 2022 Round: Series D Description: San Francisco-based Lambda provides infrastructure, cloud services, and software for the training and inferencing of AI models. Founded by Michael Balaban and Stephen Balaban in 2012, Lambda has now raised a total of $902.7M in total equity funding and is backed by B Capital, NVIDIA, Alumni Ventures, Bossa Invest, and G Squared. Investors in the round: ACVC, AlleyCorp, Anzu Partners, Capital TEN, Constellation Technology Ventures, CTBC Capital, Foxconn Co-GP Fund, IQT, Maverick Silicon, Morgan Creek Digital, RTX Ventures, S5V, Samsung Ventures, Scout Ventures, SIP Global Partners, Tiger Global Management, Vanderbilt University, VentureTech Alliance, Zero Infinity Partners Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, GPU, Machine Learning Founders: Michael Balaban, Stephen Balaban Founding year: 2012 Round: Series C Description: Austin-based NinjaOne serves as an IT platform for endpoint management that enhances productivity, minimizes risks, and lowers overall IT expenses. Founded by Christopher Matarese, Eric Herrera, and Sal Sferlazza in 2013, NinjaOne has now raised a total of $761.5M in total equity funding and is backed by ICONIQ Growth, Summit Partners, CapitalG, Amit Agarwal, and Frank Slootman. Investors in the round: Adam D’Angelo, Benchmark, DST Global, Felicis, General Catalyst, Jack Dorsey, Larry Summers, Menlo Ventures, Peter Thiel Industry: Cyber Security, Document Management, Information Services, Software, Software Engineering Founders: Christopher Matarese, Eric Herrera, Sal Sferlazza Founding year: 2013 Round: Series C Description: Austin-based Saronic designs and manufactures unmanned surface vehicles for maritime security and domain awareness. Founded by Dino Mavrookas, Doug Lambert, Rob Lehman, and Vibhav Altekar in 2022, Saronic has now raised a total of $845.0M in total equity funding and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, 8VC, and Caffeinated Capital. Investors in the round: Felicis, Harpoon, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Redpoint, Sequoia Capital Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Manufacturing, Marine Technology, Military, Security Founders: Dino Mavrookas, Doug Lambert, Rob Lehman, Vibhav Altekar Founding year: 2022 Total equity funding raised: $845.0M The TechWatch Media Group audience is driving progress and innovation on a global scale. With its regional media properties ( NYC Tech , LA Tech , London Tech )TechWatch Media Group is the highway for technology and entrepreneurship. There are a number of options to reach this audience of the world’s most innovative organizations and startups at scale including developing prominent brand placement, driving demand generation, and building thought leadership among the vast majority of key influencers in the global business community and beyond. Find out how to partner with us to drive a return on your marketing investment here .