Want to keep track of the largest startup funding deals in 2023 with our new curated list of $100 million-plus venture deals to U.S.-based companies? Check out The Crunchbase Megadeals Tracker.
This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.
This week didn’t see quite as many $100 million-plus rounds as the previous, but it somewhat made up for that with some huge ones. The two biggest this week totaled $1.7 billion. Not bad for what is usually a quiet, unofficial last week of summer.
1. Redwood Materials, $1B, renewable energy: Figuring out how to get the raw materials for the batteries needed for electric vehicles is attracting big money these days. Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt raised $1.2 billion through a convertible note last week. Berkeley, California-based mining startup KoBold Metals raised a $195 million round in June at a $1.15 billion valuation. This week, battery materials firm Redwood Materials followed suit with a massive $1 billion-plus in new funding. The round was co-led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Capricorn‘s Technology Impact Fund and funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates. The Houston-based battery recycling startup creates sustainable materials for circular EV supply chains. That is not the only big money Redwood has seen this year. In February it received a conditional commitment for a $2 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a recycling and remanufacturing facility in Nevada. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $3.8 billion, per Crunchbase.
2. Peregrine Energy, $700M, energy: Another energy-related round landed high on the list. Boulder, Colorado-based clean-energy platform Peregrine Energy secured a $700 million mixed round — credit, equity and debt financing — in an agreement with funds managed by AB CarVal to help fund its pipeline of energy deals, including standalone battery, solar and wind technologies. The company declined to reveal the exact mix of the round. Founded just last year, the company is a partnership between Peregrine Energy Management and asset management firm Castlelake. It is the company’s first outside financing, per Crunchbase.
3. (tied) Apollo.io, $100M, sales: Not every round this week had to do with energy. San Francisco-based Apollo.io just wants to help you sell more. The startup raised a $100 million Series D led by Bain Capital Ventures, nearly doubling its valuation to $1.6 billion. Apollo.io, a sales intelligence and engagement platform, said it has grown revenue 9x through the last two years. The startup provides a suite of sales and marketing workflow tools, and has even introduced an AI-powered assistant tool to send more targeted and relevant emails to sales prospects. The raise is the largest non-private equity round to go to a sales tech startup in the U.S. this year, per Crunchbase data. It doubles the $50 million round Utah-based Spiff raised in May. In general, funding to U.S.-based sales tech startups has been in a lull this year, with about $550 million going to such companies. Last year saw $2.8 billion raised by such startups even as the venture market slowed. That included Apollo.io closing a $110 million Series C round led by Sequoia Capital in March 2022 after raising its Series B in late 2021. Founded in 2015, the company has raised more than $250 million, per Crunchbase.
3. (tied) Beta Bionics, $100M, health care: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionl’s National Diabetes Statistics Report for 2022, cases of diabetes have risen to an estimated 37.3 million, so the disease clearly is a big problem. Diabetes management startup Beta Bionics is looking to help. The Concord, Massachusetts-based company raised a $100 million Series D co-led by new investors Sands Capital and Omega Funds. The new funding will be used to grow its flagship product — iLet Bionic Pancreas, an autonomous insulin delivery system. Founded in 2015, the company has raised more than $293 million, per Crunchbase.
3. (tied) Professional Fighters League, $100M, sports: This marks a first for the Top 10 list — an MMA startup makes it. New York-based Professional Fighters League landed a minority investment from Saudi Arabia-based SRJ Sports Investments. The investment was reported to be $100 million. Of course, investments in U.S. firms from Saudi Arabia funds are increasing, as we’ve reported. In addition, Saudi Arabia-based investors have shown a significant appetite for sports, creating LIV Golf — which eventually merged with the PGA Tour — and buying several big-named professional soccer players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, for their own league. Founded in 2017, the MMA startup has raised more than $300 million, per Crunchbase.
6. Mediafly, $80M, enterprise software: Chicago-based sales enablement software developer Mediafly closed an $80 million round led by BIP Ventures. Founded in 2006, the company has raised nearly $140 million, per Crunchbase.
7. i2o Therapeutics, $46M, biotech: Boston-based i2o Therapeutics, a biotech startup developing oral treatments, raised a $46 million Series A. Investors were not announced. Founded in 2019, the company has raised more than $90 million, per Crunchbase.
8. (tied) AeroSafe Global, $43M, supply chain: Rochester, New York-based cold chain solution provider AeroSafe Global locked up a $43 million round led by NewSpring, through its NewSpring Healthcare arm. Founded in 1995, Crunchbase data shows that the company has raised nearly $163 million.
8. (tied) Otto, $43M, veterinary: Austin, Texas-based Otto, formerly TeleVet, closed a $43 million Series B round from existing investors Mercury Fund and Boehringer Ingelheim, and new investor Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Founded in 2020, the veterinary clinic platform has raised $50 million, per Crunchbase.
8. (tied) Spencer Health Solutions, $43M, pharmaceuticals: Morrisville, North Carolina-based medication management startup Spencer Health Solutions raised a $43 million Series D, with additional funding expected before the end of the year. Founded in 2015, the company has raised more than $66 million, per Crunchbase.
Big global deals
Redwood Materials’ round topped the list globally, but there was another nearly $1 billion round.
- China-based Hozon, an electric vehicle startup, raised approximately $964 million in a venture round.
Methodology
We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of August 26 to September 1. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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