Next Insurance, MapLight Therapeutics Hit It Big

Want to keep track of the largest startup funding deals in 2023 with our 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.

From an aerospace and defense startup to a company making the next-generation of motors, this was a strong week for big rounds. Five startups raised nine-figure rounds and another fell just $1 million short. With the holidays looming and a slowdown surely coming, there may not be many more weeks like this left this year.

1. Next Insurance, $265M, insurtech: The week was led by a big insurtech raise. Next Insurance  raised a $265 million strategic round from insurance giants Allstate and Allianz’s investment arm, Allianz X. The Palo Alto, California-based startup, which specializes in small business insurance products, says it has now raised more than $1.1 billion since being founded in 2016. The deal forms a new strategic partnership with Allstate and deepens an existing reinsurance relationship with Allianz. Interestingly, Next did not offer a valuation with the new round. The company was valued at $4 billion in April 2021 when it raised a $250 million Series E led by FinTLV and Battery Ventures. Many valuations of startups, however, have dropped since then. Next, which uses AI and machine learning to help with the purchasing process and provide coverages, serves more than 500,000 business owners. The round is one of the largest raised this year in the insurtech industry.

2. MapLight Therapeutics, $225M, biotech: San Francisco-based MapLight Therapeutics locked up a $225 million Series C as it looks to continue to advance its treatments for neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions. The company has a trio of biopharmaceuticals at different stages of development to treat a variety of problems including schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. The round was led by Novo Holdings. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $270 million, per Crunchbase data.

3. Shield AI, $200M, aerospace: Defense tech startups don’t always see a ton of funding, but that didn’t stop Shield AI from raising the biggest round of the year thus far in the sector. Shield AI, the defense and aerospace startup creating AI pilots, raised a $200 million Series F co-led by Riot Ventures and Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund at a $2.7 billion valuation. The round comes less than a year after the San Diego-based startup was valued at $2.2 billion after raising $60 million in December. The company’s AI software, called Hivemind, enables aircraft to operate autonomously in high-threat environments. Founded in 2015, Shield AI has raised approximately $773 million, according to Crunchbase.

4. Infinitum Electric, $185M, industrial automation: This was a big round that may have gone unnoticed by some. Infinitum, which creates light air-core motors, raised a $185 million Series E led by Just Climate. The raise brings the Austin, Texas-based startup’s total funding to date to a whopping $350 million, according to the company. The new cash will be used to expand business and increase production of its motors to help meet decarbonization demand in the industrial sector. New motor tech is important, as the implementation of such in the U.S. industrial and commercial sectors has the potential to save 127 terawatt-hours per year — a cost savings of $14.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Another way to think about that; the equivalent of the annual electricity use of all households in California and North Carolina combined.

5. Terremoto Biosciences, $175M, biotech: South San Francisco-based biotech firm Terremoto Biosciences closed a big $175 million Series B. No lead investor was announced, but those taking part in the round include Novo Holdings and OrbiMed. The startup is developing targeted, small molecule medicines for a wide variety of severe diseases. The new round brings Terremoto’s total amount raised to $250 million, per the company.

6. Seurat Technologies, $99M, 3D printing: 3D metal-printing startup Seurat Technologies locked up a $99 million Series C led by NVentures — Nvidia’s venture capital arm — and Capricorn Investment Group’s Technology Impact Fund. The company did not announce a valuation, but Reuters reported the cash infusion values the company at around $350 million. Seurat’s green energy-powered Area Printing technology allows for the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions from the parts manufacturing process while also possibly eliminating supply chain issues, according to the company. Seurat anticipates its printing technology will have the potential to directly mitigate as much as 100 million tons of CO₂ by 2030. Founded in 2015, the company has now raised nearly $180 million, per Crunchbase data.

7. Kasa Living, $70M, hospitality: New York-based hospitality startup Kasa Living closed a $70 million Series C co-led by Citi Ventures and FirstMark Capital. Founded in 2016, the company has raised $126 million, per Crunchbase.

8. FusionAuth, $65M, cybersecurity: Broomfield, Colorado-based cybersecurity firm FusionAuth raised a $65 million funding round led by Updata Partners. Founded in 2018, this is the company’s first outside funding round, per Crunchbase.

9. (tied) Alianza, $61M, cloud: Pleasant Grove, Utah-based cloud communications platform Alianza raised $61 million in growth equity and debt financing. The company did not disclose the ratio of equity and debt. The equity round is supported by a syndicate of undisclosed institutional and strategic investors. The debt financing was provided by Texas Capital Bank. Founded in 2009, the company has raised $138 million, per Crunchbase.

9. (tied) Chainguard, $61M, cybersecurity: Kirkland, Washington-based software supply chain security startup Chainguard completed a $61 million Series B led by Spark Capital. Founded in 2021, the company has raised $116 million, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals

The biggest round outside the U.S. came from a surprise location this week — South America

• Brazil-based fintech startup QI Tech raised approximately $205 million in a Series B.

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 Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. 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