Venture

A Brief Look At 2018’s Largest Funding Rounds

Illustration of piles of gold coins to represent money

Startup rounds worth hundreds of millions make headlines with such regularity these days that it all starts to blur. Over the last few quarters, it seems like everyone is either writing giant checks or cashing them.

Follow Crunchbase News on Twitter

So, in an effort to put recent trends into perspective, Crunchbase News is compiling a list of the largest U.S. Series A through Series D venture funding rounds of 2018.

We decided to limit the list to Series D and earlier rounds because financings beyond that stage often (though not always) share more characteristics of growth and pre-IPO investments than classic venture capital deals. We also left out companies founded more than a decade ago, as well as startups that already went public.

What’s somewhat surprising in the resultant list is the mix of companies you’ve probably never heard of alongside ones quite well-known in startup circles. Below are our top ten, starting with the biggest funding recipient.

1. Katerra

Katerra is a technology company aiming to implement more efficient approaches to building development, design, and construction

  • Headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif.
  • Founded: 2015
  • Round: $865M Series D
  • Date announced: January, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): SoftBank Vision Fund

Fun fact: Co-founder Michael Marks is former longtime CEO of the pioneering Flextronics (now Flex), one of the largest global electronics manufacturers.

2. DoorDash

On-demand food delivery service operating in dozens of North American cities.

  • Headquarters: San Francisco
  • Founded: 2013
  • Round size: $535M Series D
  • Date announced: March, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): SoftBank Vision Fund

Fun fact: It didn’t take long for DoorDash to secure its next round. The company closed a $250 million Series E in August.

3. Zoox

An autonomous driving startup.

  • Headquarters: Foster City, Calif.
  • Founded: 2014
  • Round size: $500M Series B
  • Date announced: July, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): Grok Ventures

Fun fact: Launched as a stealth startup, Zoox has grown quickly, now employing more than 500 people.

4. Magic Leap

Augmented reality headsets and associated technology.

Fun fact: After years of anticipation and speculation in the tech press, Magic Leap began shipping its first headsets in October.

5. Samumed

Develops therapeutics employing tissue regeneration for degenerative diseases, regenerative medicine, and oncology.

Fun fact: Samumed reportedly has a private valuation of around $12 billion.

6. Robinhood

Zero commission stock trading and cryptocurrency app.

  • Headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif.
  • Founded: 2013
  • Round size: $363M Series D
  • Date announced: March, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): Digital Sky Technologies

Fun fact: Bloomberg recently reported that Robinhood generated more than 40 percent of its recent revenue by selling its user order data to high-frequency trading firms.

7. Lime

Operates a multi-city network of electric scooters that can be rented for short trips.

  • Headquarters: San Mateo, Calif.
  • Founded: 2017
  • Round size: $335M Series C
  • Date announced: July, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): GV (formerly Google Ventures)

Fun fact: In a bid to boost voter turnout, Lime is offering free scooter rides to and from polling places on Election Day.

8. Devoted Health

Insurance startup targeting Medicare beneficiaries with a network of physicians and tech-enabled healthcare platform.

  • Headquarters: Waltham, Mass.
  • Founded: 2017
  • Round size: $300M Series B
  • Date announced: October, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): Andreessen Horowitz

Fun fact: Co-founder Todd Park served as chief technology officer in the Obama administration.

9. Bird

Operates a multi-city network of electric scooters that can be rented for short trips.

  • Headquarters: Santa Monica, Calif.
  • Founded: 2017
  • Round size: $300M Series C
  • Date announced: June, 2018
  • Lead investor(s): Sequoia Capital

Fun fact: Bird scooters generate $3.65 in revenue per ride and get ridden five times a day, on average, according to the most recently available data.

10. Grail

Cancer screening tests aimed at early detection.

Fun fact: Companies developing cancer therapeutics and diagnostics accounted for more than one-fourth of the North American startups that went from launch to $100 million or more in funding in the shortest period of time.

Editorial note: The article previously noted that Ed Park served as a chief technology officer in the Obama administration. In fact, his brother, Todd Park, served as a CTO in the Obama administration. We regret the misattribution. 

Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily.

Copy link