Billion-dollar rounds for Keyfactor and SambaNova top U.S. funding week

Keyfactor and SambaNova each announced $1 billion financings, putting cybersecurity and AI infrastructure at the top of the largest U.S. startup funding rounds tracked by Crunchbase for July 4 to July 10. AI-related companies accounted for five of the 10 biggest disclosed rounds, while investors also wrote substantial checks for quantum computing, geothermal energy, crypto infrastructure, aerospace and biotech.

The week’s biggest disclosed deals show capital still concentrating around infrastructure-heavy markets where companies need more than software-team budgets. Revenue and headcount figures were not disclosed in the roundup, and most companies did not disclose new valuations.

Keyfactor, based in Independence, Ohio, raised a $1 billion private equity round led by Summit Partners, with Insight Partners and Sixth Street Growth also participating. The company sells digital identity and machine identity management software used to secure certificates, encryption keys and connected devices. Crunchbase lists Keyfactor’s total funding at $1.21 billion.

SambaNova, based in Palo Alto, also announced a $1 billion Series F, valuing the AI chip and enterprise AI infrastructure company at $11 billion post-money. General Atlantic led the round, joined by investors including Battery Ventures, BlackRock, Capital Group, Intel Capital, Qatar Investment Authority, T. Rowe Price and Vista Equity Partners. Crunchbase says SambaNova has raised nearly $2.5 billion to date.

Other U.S. rounds above $100 million

• Oratomic raised a $300 million Series A for neutral-atom quantum computing hardware and fault-tolerant architecture. Arch Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Spark Capital co-led the round, with 16 investors participating, including Bezos Expeditions, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Baiju Bhatt and Scott Aaronson.
• Quaise Energy raised a $134 million Series B led by Prelude Ventures. The Houston company is developing millimeter-wave drilling technology for deep geothermal energy. Jera Ventures, Idemitsu Americas Holdings Corp. and Safar Partners also invested. Quaise has raised $225 million to date.
• Prime Intellect raised a $130 million Series A led by Radical Ventures. The San Francisco company is building an open platform for training and deploying AI models across distributed compute networks. Investors included Dell Technologies Capital, Intel Capital, NVentures and individuals such as Aaron Levie, Aravind Srinivas, John Schulman, Matthew Prince and Karim Atiyeh. Crunchbase lists total funding at $200.4 million.
• Gauntlet reportedly raised a $125 million Series B from sole investor SBI Group, according to The Block. The New York company builds simulation, risk management and optimization software for decentralized finance protocols.
• Norm AI secured a $120 million Series C led by Khosla Ventures at a reported $1.2 billion valuation. The New York company develops AI systems for regulatory compliance workflows. Other investors included Bain Capital Ventures, Fenwick & West, Craft Ventures, Coatue, New York Life Insurance, Vanguard, Hamilton James and Blackstone Group. Crunchbase puts its total funding at just over $256 million.
• Venus Aerospace raised a $91 million Series B backed by Mercury to advance hypersonic propulsion technology. The Houston company has now raised $197 million. Other Series B investors included Trousdale Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Airbus Ventures and Draper Associates.
• EDX Markets raised $76 million from sole investor SBI Group. The digital asset exchange operates a marketplace built for institutional investors. Prior funding totals were not disclosed.
• Fore Biotherapeutics raised $67.4 million in Series D funding led by SR One. The Philadelphia company, previously known as NovellusDx, is developing precision oncology therapies for rare cancer mutations. Windham Venture Partners, Wellington Management, Primer Ventures, Samsung Securities and others participated, bringing total funding to just over $274 million.

Non-U.S. deals also drew capital

Crunchbase also identified two notable rounds outside the United States. Munich-based Proxima Fusion raised €411 million, about $468 million, in Series B funding to develop a commercial fusion power plant in Europe. East X Ventures, Google, RWE and XTX Ventures were among the lead investors.

Paris-based Skello raised a €200 million, or $229 million, private equity round led by Bridgepoint Group. Skello makes HR software for payroll, scheduling, compliance and employee communications.

Crunchbase said its list covers the largest announced rounds in its database for U.S.-based companies during the July 4 to July 10 period, with possible delays for rounds reported late in the week.

This story draws on original reporting from Crunchbase News.