Rounded Weekly- 23 Feb 2024
A round-up of the top 10 closed startup rounds for the week 19-23 Jan 2024.
Hello!
It’s been decided! Round Weekly is coming back. Thanks to the poll we ran, we’ve realised there’s enough of an audience that wants Rounded Weekly for us to bring it back. For the time being, we’re going to be sending out the top 10 closed rounds in this one weekly email. In the future, we’re going to explore re-launching on Product Hunt, expanding to extra coverage, and more.
If you were one of the readers that decided they didn’t want rounded weekly back – no hard feelings. Feel free to unsubscribe. Or, give this issue a read first, and see if you change your mind. And, hey, if you like what you read, consider sticking around or even sharing Rounded Weekly with your friends.
So, on to the top closed rounds for the week. This week saw a wide array of funding rounds closed. The number one spot went to Ascend Elements, raising a massive $162 million round. Here’s the full list:
Top 10 Closed Rounds
1. Ascend Elements
Ascend Elements is like the eco-friendly magician of the battery world, turning old, tired lithium batteries into sparkly new ones. This company is all about sustainable battery materials, recycling what most toss out, and ensuring your next smartphone doesn't have a guilty conscience.
This week, they closed a $162 million Series D round to build these batteries over in the US. Their investors include Just Climate, Irongrey, and Clearvision Ventures.
2. Abridge
Picture a digital stenographer in your pocket. Abridge is is on a mission to make medical jargon less jibber-jabberish by recording and translating your doctor's gobbledygook into plain English, so you know if you’re simply sniffling or are actually patient zero for the next big thing.
This week, they raised a $150 million Series C round to continue working on the AI model. Their investors include Redpoint Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
3. Antora Energy
Nestled in the sun-drenched valleys of clean energy innovation, Antora Energy is busy turning sunlight into a midnight snack for the power grid. They’re all about storing solar energy in carbon blocks – think of it as a high-tech bear hibernating with summertime energy.
This week, they raised a $150 million Series B round to continue working on slashing industrial emissions. Their investors include Trust Ventures, The Nature Conservancy, Overture VC, Grok Ventures (no, not Elon), and 9 others.
4. Exohood Labs
In the high-tech playground of robotics, Exohood Labs is like the new kid that’s building robots not to take over the world, but to be your next best mate. They’re meshing AI with real steel, trying to make robots that can help around the house without accidentally vacuuming up the cat.
This week, they raised a $112 million Seed (yes, Seed) round to kick off their path to (hopefully) becoming a unicorn. Their investor is Livsquare Capital.
5. MMI
Imagine a scene where surgeons are assisted by robotic arms more precise than a Swiss watch. MMI is making this sci-fi dream a reality, enhancing surgical precision with robotics, and potentially making shaky hands during surgery as outdated as using leeches.
This week, they raised a $110 million Series C round to continue building out their facilities. Their investors include Samba Tech, Pancakes Partners, RA Capital Management, and 5 others.
6. Recogni
With brains big enough to tackle the conundrum of self-driving cars, Recogni is working tirelessly to give cars the gift of sight and sense. They're developing AI that could make cars smarter than a fox, able to navigate the concrete jungle without bumping into every lamppost.
This week, they raised a $102 million Series C round to advance the production of their AI models. Their investors include Tasary Mobility Investments, Pledge Ventures, the Magfield Fund, and 6 others.
7. EigenLayer
Deep in the cryptic world of blockchain, EigenLayer is like a digital Houdini, striving to make blockchains more scalable and efficient. They’re the tech wizards making sure your digital transactions don’t move at a glacial pace.
This week, they raised a $100 million Series B round to expand to support the Ethereum protocol. Their investor is a16z’s Crypto fund.
8. Sinovent
Sinovent is where cutting-edge science meets modern-day alchemy, focusing on novel drugs to treat diseases that haven’t made friends with current meds. They’re mixing, brewing, and testing new pharmaceuticals, hoping to find the next big breakthrough in medicine.
This week, they raised a $97 million (approx) Series E round from Zhuopu Capital, Tencent, and 7 others.
9. Hadrian
In the futuristic world of manufacturing, Hadrian is automating the nuts and bolts of production. They’re building machines that build other machines, kind of like a robotic Russian nesting doll, but for high-precision manufacturing.
This week, they raised a $92 million Series B round to continue working on building out infrastructure. Their investors include Tru Arrow Partners, Lux Capital, and 10 others.
10. Frontier Medicines
Tucked away in molecular labs, Frontier Medicines is on a quest to outwit Mother Nature by creating drugs smarter than the average virus. They're manipulating molecules to combat diseases, playing a high-stakes game of molecular chess against illnesses.
This week, they raised a $80 million Series C round to support further development on their clincal-stage pipeline. Their investors include RA Capital Management, Droia Ventures, and 4 others.
That's our selection of the top 10 rounds from this week, and there are some impressive companies on the list! Congrats to the teams behind these startups on getting these rounds closed. Be sure to check out their websites if you want to find out more.
Be sure to follow either myself on Twitter @connorjewiss, or the newsletter @RoundedWeekly, so you don’t miss any updates. Let us know what you want to see more of, less of, or at all if we’ve missed it. Rounded Weekly is supposed to give you the information on the hottest rounds that you actually want – so let us know what that is!
See you next week. 👋