The 10 Biggest Rounds Of June: Inflection AI’s Huge Raise, CleanCapital Cleans Up

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 our new Megadeals Tracker here.

This is a monthly feature that runs down the month’s top 10 funding rounds in the U.S. See last month’s top rounds here.

While June certainly had its fundraising ups and downs, it ended with a flourish thanks once again to AI and a big $1 billion-plus round.

Aside from the two AI rounds that bookend this list, it was a huge month for biotech and health care, which had four entries on the list. Even a mining and adtech startup made it into the top 10 for the month.

It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of the summer holds.

1. Inflection AI, $1.3B, artificial intelligence: The big news of the month was undoubtedly this Palo Alto, California-based startup. Inflection AI is building what it says will be the “largest AI cluster in the world” and has created large language models to allow people to interact with its AI-powered assistant called Pi, or Personal AI. Pi lets people quickly receive relevant information and advice on their interests. To build the platform, the startup locked up a huge $1.3 billion round led by Microsoft, Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt and new investor Nvidia, which values Inflection AI at $4 billion, according to Forbes, which first reported the news. The new funding brings the total raised by Inflection to more than $1.5 billion, per the company. Founded last year, the generative AI platform is a competitor to other AI firms such as OpenAI and Google. It was co-founded by Mustafa Suleyman, who previously co-founded the Google-owned AI lab DeepMind and serves as CEO at Inflection.

2. CleanCapital, $500M, clean energy: New York-based CleanCapital, a solar and storage developer that invests in early-stage projects, locked up a $500 million commitment from Canadian insurer Manulife Investment Management. CleanCapital will use the money to fund early-stage solar and storage development and acquire other renewable energy assets in the U.S. The company also announced it has deployed more than $1 billion to fund operating, new construction, and early-stage solar and storage development. Founded in 2015, the company has received about $1.1 billion, per Crunchbase.

3. Madhive, $300M, adtech: Advertising software companies have had it tough recently, but not Madhive. The New York-based firm raised $300 million from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which valued the company at $1 billion, per Axios. The deal gives Goldman a minority stake in the company. Launched in 2015 as Otter TV, Madhive sells its CTV (connected TV) advertising software platform to local TV companies that sell CTV ads. The company already has $100 million, per the Axios report.

4. Aledade, $260M, health care: The Bethesda, Maryland-based company raised a $260 million Series F led by new investor Lightspeed Venture Partners. The round comes just about a year after it locked up a $123 million Series E. The startup provides doctors’ offices with data analytics software so they can better manage their patients and identify those most at risk. The company plans to use the new cash to beef up its services and technology, possibly with acquisitions. The new funding deal values the company at $3.5 billion, Bloomberg reported. Founded in 2014, the company has raised nearly $678 million, per Crunchbase.

5. Upstream Bio, $200M, biotech: It was almost exactly a year ago when Waltham, Massachusetts-based Upstream Bio locked up a $200 million Series A. Last month it was back for another $200 million — a Series B led jointly by Enavate Sciences and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. Upstream Bio is developing an antibody that targets thymic stromal lymphopoietin and its receptors that can inflame when things like smoke or allergens are introduced into the environment. The treatment could be useful to those with asthma. Founded in 2004, the company has now raised $400 million, per Crunchbase.

6. KoBold Metals, $195M, mining: What happens when you combine AI with the material needed for lithium-ion batteries? You get big money. Berkeley, California-based KoBold Metals raised a $195 million round led by T. Rowe Price and included a number of big-name investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, and Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The new cash values the climate tech startup at $1.15 billion. KoBold Metals uses artificial intelligence to mine for valuable metals such as cobalt, copper, nickel and lithium used in the production of batteries for a variety of sectors, including electric vehicles. The startup has built a database about the Earth’s layers and uses algorithms to make predictions about where mineral deposits are located around the world. KoBold Metals isn’t new to big rounds. In February 2022, the startup closed a $192.5 million Series B, which included investment from Apollo Projects, Bond Capital, BHP Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Founded in 2018, the company has now raised more than $400 million, per Crunchbase.

7. Blackpoint Cyber, $190M, cybersecurity: Cybersecurity, like most sectors, has experienced a slowdown when it comes to venture funding. However, that did not stop Maryland-based Blackpoint Cyber from cashing in. The startup, which offers a security suite of products to managed service providers, raised a $190 million growth investment led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities. Founded in 2014, the company has now raised more than $200 million, per Crunchbase.

8. Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, $150M, biotech: Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Alkeus Pharmaceuticals closed a $150 million Series B led by Bain Capital Life Sciences. The company specializes in pharmaceuticals to fight Stargardt disease, a leading cause of blindness in children and young adults. In addition to the new funding, Alkeus has also named Dr. Joshua Boger, the founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, its executive chairman.

9. Bitterroot Bio, $145M, biotech: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men, women and many ethnic groups and races in the U.S. and worldwide. Ideally, Bitterroot Bio would like to change that. The Palo Alto, California-based company is focused on novel immunotherapies in cardiovascular disease, and launched from stealth last month with a $145 million Series A led by Arch Venture Partners and Deerfield Management. The company, founded in 2021, hopes to use immunology — including the identification of novel targets and the development of innovative protein therapies — to fight the deadly disease.

10. Runway, $141M, artificial intelligence: New York-based Runway made this list not that long ago after Business Insider reported on this unannounced round. It finally was announced, with Runway raising  a $141 million extension to its December $50 million Series C from Google, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures 1 and existing investors, among others. At the time of the original report, the new cash valued the company at $1.5 billion. Runway helped develop the AI image generator Stable Diffusion, and launched its video-to-video generative AI app in April. The app lets users transform videos into different styles, such as claymation or watercolors. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $240 million, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals

Despite all the big deals in the U.S., the two biggest occurred abroad last month.

• Anhui YOFC Advanced Semiconductor, a manufacturer of silicon carbide power semiconductor products, raised nearly $524 million in a Series A.
• Germany-based 1Komma5°, a climate tech startup offering smart-home energy management systems, batteries and more, closed a $467 million Series B.

Methodology

We tracked the largest rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies in June. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

Learn More