Now in the third quarter, it appears that Brazil is back on top 鈥� and in a big way. Brazil-based startups raised $692 million in Q3, up 47% year over year and 92% quarter over quarter. Mexico-headquartered startups brought in $126 million, down 21% year over year and a 71% dip quarter over quarter.

The largest raise in Brazil 鈥� and Latin America as a whole 鈥斕齱as announced on Sept. 11. That was a round for Sao Paulo-based 鈥� which offers cloud-based management software for SMEs 鈥�- that valued the company at $700 million. led the financing.

In general, a boom in late-stage and growth funding helped buoy the region year over year, 小蓝视频色情网页版 data shows. Overall, startups in Latin America raised a combined $1 billion across seed- through growth-stage deals in the third quarter, up 21% year over year and up 8% from the second quarter.

Of that total, $477 million went into late-stage and growth deals, up 176% year over year. That鈥檚 down 16%, however, from the $565 million in late-stage and growth financing the region saw in the second quarter of this year.

Early-stage investment surged in the third quarter with $425 million flowing into startups, up 18% year over year and 48% compared to the second quarter.

Seed and angel investment totaled $105 million for the third quarter, which marked a 34% increase compared to the prior quarter, but a 47% decrease year over year.

For perspective, we charted out total investment, color-coded by stage, for the past 10 quarters below.

Table of contents

• Late-stage boom
• Investor POV
• The rise of stablecoins
• Methodology
• Glossary of funding terms

Late-stage boom

While Omie鈥檚 venture round was the largest financing in Latin America, it was not the only nine-figure raise the region saw in Q3.

Other large deals included , a Mexico City-based -backed digital bank, raising a $100 million Series C that propelled its valuation to over $1.3 billion. and led that financing.

raised $100 million in a round co-led by and . Founded in 2025, the Sao Paulo-based startup is a tech holding company that aims to acquire and scale B2B software providers.

Investor POV

, head of Brazil at , said the quality of the companies getting funded in Latin America as of late seems 鈥渉igh鈥� and 鈥渓ike a step up from earlier in the year.鈥�

鈥淲e saw big rounds, a solid shift to AI taking over, and lots of activity in fintech both in terms of deals and market events,鈥� she told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News.

鈥淭he AI hype felt like it was a wave behind the U.S. for a bit,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut now we are seeing application layer solutions getting funded in addition to companies leaning heavily into AI-enhanced strategies.鈥�

Fraud prevention and security are taking center stage on the backs of major breaches in Brazil. Vieira cited research revealing that in 2024, Brazil鈥檚 financial sector R$10.1 billion ($1.88 billion in USD) in losses related to fraud.

鈥淭his is already increasing the regulatory thresholds in Brazil and is likely to put more scrutiny in fintech,鈥� she said.

Mexico was not excluded from the drama as a number of banks dealt with issues 鈥斕� potentially delaying or postponing activity to push fintech forward, Vieira noted.

鈥淥n the positive side, Colombia gave clarity around open banking and launched Bre-B, the country’s real-time payment network,鈥� she added.

, partner at , said her firm has long tracked the rise of , or alts, as they 鈥渂ecome a core piece of the modern investment portfolio,鈥� and amid the subsequent rise of infrastructure players enabling their expansion.

Within 鈥渁lts,鈥� private credit has been one of the fastest-growing and most overlooked segments, she noted.

That led to F-Prime leading the round into , a platform that offers tech-driven back-office services for alternative investments, to 鈥渟pearhead Brazil鈥檚 private credit infrastructure development.鈥� Over the past 12 months alone, she said, the company grew 150%, with customers spanning Brazil鈥檚 largest banks, investment managers, private credit funds and originators.

Overall, , principal and head of LatAm investments at , believes that Latin American founders generally 鈥渁re rewriting the rules of financial innovation.鈥�

鈥淔intech remains the region鈥檚 No. 1 funded sector because trust, access and agency are still the biggest pain points for consumers and businesses,鈥� she told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News. 鈥淚n LatAm, entrepreneurs innovate under tighter capital and tougher consumer realities, producing solutions that are not just resilient but transformative. This is not a story of catching up, it鈥檚 a story of leapfrogging.鈥�

Recent LatAm investments for the firm include co-leading rounds for: , which aims to modernize payment acquiring in LatAm, and , a Sao Paulo-based platform that integrates financial management software, a native bank account and corporate card for midsized businesses in Brazil. It also wrote a check into a $2.1 million round for , also based in Sao Paulo, which is building real estate credit infrastructure.

The rise of stablecoins

Vieira believes that 鈥渆veryone continues to watch stablecoins, trade and other cross-border activity as a big opportunity for Latin America.鈥�

A is a type of digital currency designed to maintain a stable value.

Wu is also excited about the potential for stablecoins in the region.

鈥淲e have increasingly high conviction that stablecoins are the killer use case for crypto, and cross-border payments are an ideal use case because they offer material benefits over current rails 鈥� faster, cheaper and more transparent 鈥� in a massive market,鈥� she said.

In addition, with upcoming regulatory clarity in Brazil, the local denominated stablecoin is on the rise, 鈥渨ith the promise of yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenization of real-world assets,鈥� Wu noted.

鈥淥verall, the stablecoin market in LatAm has numerous nascent players with liquidity fragmentation, and we look forward to seeing more interoperability and consolidation,鈥� she said.

Methodology

The data contained in this report comes directly from 小蓝视频色情网页版, and is based on reported data. Data is as of Oct. 6, 2025.

Note that data lags are most pronounced at the earliest stages of venture activity, with seed funding amounts increasing significantly after the end of a quarter/year.

Please note that all funding values are given in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

小蓝视频色情网页版 converts foreign currencies to U.S. dollars at the prevailing spot rate from the date funding rounds, acquisitions, IPOs and other financial events are reported. Even if those events were added to 小蓝视频色情网页版 long after the event was announced, foreign currency transactions are converted at the historic spot price.

Glossary of funding terms

Seed and angel consists of seed, pre-seed and angel rounds. 小蓝视频色情网页版 also includes venture rounds of unknown series, equity crowdfunding and convertible notes at $3 million (USD or as-converted USD equivalent) or less.

Early-stage consists of Series A and Series B rounds, as well as other round types. 小蓝视频色情网页版 includes venture rounds of unknown series, corporate venture and other rounds above $3 million, and those less than or equal to $15 million.

Late-stage consists of Series C, Series D, Series E and later-lettered venture rounds following the 鈥淪eries [Letter]鈥� naming convention. Also included are venture rounds of unknown series, corporate venture and other rounds above $15 million. Corporate rounds are only included if a company has raised an equity funding at seed through a venture series funding round.

Technology growth is a private-equity round raised by a company that has previously raised a 鈥渧enture鈥� round. (So basically, any round from the previously defined stages.)

Illustration:

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding rounds here.

AI startups and California-based companies have been scooping up an outsized share of venture funding for a while now, and this past week was no exception. Leading the ranks was , as the AI processor developer and potential IPO candidate picked up $1.1 in fresh funding. Other large rounds went to companies in areas including AI, enterprise software, cybersecurity, blockchain and biotech.

1.听, $1.1B, AI hardware: Cerebras Systems, a developer of AI processors, that it raised $1.1 billion in Series G funding at an $8.1 billion post-money valuation. and led the financing for the Sunnyvale, California-based company, which filed to go public last year.听

2. (tied) , $300M, AI: Silicon Valley-based Periodic Labs launched with $300 million in initial funding to develop AI models for science. Venture backers include , 听1, , and .听

2. (tied) , $300M, cloud infrastructure: Vercel, a developer of tools and cloud infrastructure to build websites, secured $300 million in a Series F round co-led by and . The financing sets a $9.3 billion valuation for the 10-year-old company.听

4. , $205M, biopharma: San Diego-based Crystalys Therapeutics launched with $205 million in Series A financing to support its mission of addressing the unmet medical needs of people living with gout. , and led the financing.

5. , $200M, blockchain: Flying Tulip, a provider of blockchain financial products, it raised $200 million in a private funding round. Backers included , , , 听and .

6. , $180M, cybersecurity: CyberCube, a provider of cyber risk management tools, said it locked up more than $180 million in an investment from . Founded in 2015, San Francisco-based CyberCube has raised at least $285 million to date, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data.

7. , $125M, antibody therapies: South San Francisco, California-based Star Therapeutics, a developer of antibodies for bleeding disorders and other diseases, picked up $125 million in Series D financing co-led by and .听

8. , $103M, legal tech: Eve, a San Francisco-based AI platform for plaintiff law firms, $103 million in Series B funding at over a $1 billion valuation. led the financing, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, 听and .

9. , $100M, database technology: Postgres development platform Supabase that it closed on $100 million in Series E funding at a $5 billion valuation. Accel and led the financing for the 5-year-old, San Francisco-based company.

10. , $90M, accounting software: DualEntry, a provider of AI-enabled business accounting tools, $90 million in a Series A round that comes just 18 months after its launch. and led the financing for the New York-based company.

Illustration:

Per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data, private U.S. biotechs with $50 million or more in funding to date secured their last reported financing between three and five years ago. The list includes at least 15 biotech unicorns and emerging unicorns that known funding for at least the past three years.听

From boom to not

Part of the reason for the backlog of companies with long funding lags is the shift in investor appetite for biotech. During the boom years from 2020 through 2022, startup investors put an average of $40 billion per year into the space 鈥� well above current levels.听

Some of those were truly huge financings as well. The largest, in early 2022, went to , a San Francisco startup focused on cellular rejuvenation that with $3 billion in committed capital.

The biotech IPO market was also quite happening then compared to now. This offered companies yet another avenue to raise capital to fund research and clinical trials.

This year, by contrast, is on track to come in much lower. So far in 2025, only about $17 billion has gone to U.S. biotechs, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 . And of that, roughly half has gone to seed and early stage startups 鈥� leaving a smaller portion for late-stage financings for well-funded companies.听

High profile companies see funding lag times

A number of the companies that have gone three-plus years without a round were fairly high-profile startups as well. Many are still chugging along, likely helped by having secured large commitments when funding flowed more freely.

For example , a startup focused on applying machine learning to drug discovery and development, raised $643 million between 2018 and 2021 but hasn鈥檛 raised a known round since. This spring, the company a 22% workforce cut in a move it said 鈥渆xtends our runway into 2027.鈥�

Agtech unicorn , which develops听 microbial nitrogen for farms, also hasn鈥檛 secured known financing in more than four years, per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data. However, it should be noted that its last round 鈥� a $430 million Series D in 2021 鈥� was pretty big. The company has a number of open positions and this spring announced to relocate a significant portion of its operations from Berkeley, California, to the Midwest.听

, developer of a low-cost sequencing platform, is another company that had a big round a few years ago and hasn鈥檛 raised since. The Newark, California-based startup in May 2022 with $300 in initial funding from backers including and . Of late, it鈥檚 been steadily announcing new partnerships.听

Collectively, it鈥檚 a huge sum of commitments

If we look at all the well-funded biotechs in our query, they鈥檝e collectively raised a tremendous amount of money.

In total, the 204 companies in our sample 1 that haven鈥檛 raised for three-plus years previously pulled in $17.9 billion. That鈥檚 roughly equivalent to all the venture money that鈥檚 gone into biotech this year.听

Will investors eventually see some return on investment for these commitments? Despite having some preternatural disposition toward pessimism, I鈥檇 say the outlook is reasonably positive.听

For one, while the biotech IPO market has been quiet lately, cycles do turn. And when this one does, it looks like there鈥檚 a strong pipeline of compelling companies that could pursue listings. An uptick in M&A could also be in the cards.听

Of course, not all these well-funded companies will prove successful, and some will likely fold in coming quarters and years. But hopefully, some of those that do make it will succeed in a big way.

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 lists:

Related reading:

• Biotech Share Of US Funding Hits Lowest Point In 小蓝视频色情网页版 History听

Led by听, the Series D also got some participation from , , 听and a number of sports figures, including Ferrari F1 driver and CEO 听Other backers include , and actor . The capital infusion brings the New York-based startup’s total funding to over $260 million, per data.

Eight Sleep declined to reveal its valuation, but it was valued at approximately $500 million at the time of its last raise 鈥� an announced in August 2021.

鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on growth, global expansion and the medical space,鈥� , CEO and co-founder, told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News. 鈥淚f we execute on our AI roadmap, international launches and condition-specific interventions, unicorn status will follow naturally.鈥�

Founded in 2014, Eight Sleep describes itself as a 鈥渟leep鈥慺itness company鈥� that combines technology, physiology and data 鈥渢o unlock deeper sleep and better health.鈥�

The company started out selling a smart mattress, or Pod, that uses embedded sensors to collect data and study trends about how people sleep. One could say the company was ahead of its time 鈥� in 2018, it launched an AI-powered sleep coach that tells users things like: 鈥淟ast night, you slept 40 minutes less than your average this month鈥� or 鈥淭his week, your REM sleep is lower than average. Try going to bed 30 minutes earlier tonight.鈥�

鈥淯nlike others in the space, we don鈥檛 just sell a bed,鈥� said , co-founder and VP of marketing.

The Pod does things like adjust elevation, sound and wake-up in real time based on a person鈥檚 needs, she said. It does that in part with the help of a smart bed cover with features such as an automatic temperature adjustment.

鈥淲e also passively monitor key health metrics with clinical-grade accuracy, without requiring you to wear anything,鈥� Zatarain added.

Over time, Eight Sleep has continued to expand its offerings. Today, the company also sells a software membership attached to its Pod. And, it鈥檚 built a number of products aimed at offering 鈥渄ifferent solutions to different sleep problems.鈥� For example, earlier this year, it introduced its first in a line of supplements developed with , co-founder of , which are designed to help people sleep better without prescription medications.

While Eight Sleep declined to reveal hard revenue figures, its founders said its revenue has grown 10x since 2020, with its Pod generating over $500 million in revenue to date. It also says the company was free cash flow positive in first half of 2025.

Looking ahead

With customers in over 30 countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, Eight Sleep is now eyeing the China and Singapore markets.

Eight Sleep also plans to use its funding 鈥渢o supercharge鈥� AI roadmap, starting with the development of a sleep agent that interprets biometric data and simulates thousands of digital twins per user, allowing it to predict outcomes through advanced modeling.

The agent then, the company claims, 鈥渋ntelligently鈥� adjusts variables like temperature, elevation, and bedtime routines to optimize recovery on a nightly basis.

This builds on the company鈥檚 existing Autopilot feature, which the company says makes 鈥渕illions鈥� of nightly adjustments based on user behavior and biofeedback.

The funding will also support Eight Sleep鈥檚 entry into the medical space. Building on the Pod鈥檚 health鈥憁onitoring capabilities, which track cardiovascular and respiratory patterns, the company said it is developing AI-powered solutions for medical sleep challenges, starting with menopausal sleep and sleep apnea. It is also targeting approval for certain applications.

Presently, Eight Sleep has just over 100 full-time employees, a number it plans to grow with its new capital.

Eight Sleep is not the only sleep-focused company to raise capital as of late. Over the past couple of years, investors have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into an array of companies working on treatments for sleep-related ailments and technology to help improve sleep quality. , maker of the popular wearable rings that record and analyze biometric data, is the largest investment recipient in this area. It鈥檚 raised $348 million in equity funding to date, including a $200 million November Series D.

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 query:

Related reading:

• VCs Haven鈥檛 Tired Of Sleep Startups
• These Startups Want To Give Us The Best Night鈥檚 Sleep And Investors Are Tucking In
• Chasing Dreams May Be The Next Sleeper Hit For Venture Capitalists
• Startups Aim to Disrupt $15B Mattress Industry

Illustration:

We鈥檙e halfway through 2025, and on paper, the venture market looks like it鈥檚 thawing. Funding鈥檚 up, AI鈥檚 booming, and a few boldface names even made it out to the public markets. But peel back the top layer and what you see isn鈥檛 recovery, it鈥檚 consolidation. Capital is flooding into fewer, bigger companies, and the middle of the market is being left to dry out.

What we鈥檙e seeing now is a full-blown barbell effect.

At one end, you have early-stage founders scraping together pre-seed and seed checks from angels and microfunds. At the other, you鈥檝e got ultra-unicorns 鈥� startups valued at $5 billion or more 鈥� sucking up capital at a historic pace.

According to 小蓝视频色情网页版 data, just 13% of unicorns now command more than half the total valuation of The 小蓝视频色情网页版 Unicorn Board, a curated list of the most valuable private companies in the world.

A staggering $70 billion went to only 11 companies in the first half of this year. Two of those rounds 鈥� $40 billion to and $14.3 billion to 鈥� were the largest private-venture deals ever raised. It鈥檚 a staggering level of concentration, and it鈥檚 also a market signal.

Founders in that elite club now raise more in a single round than most funds deploy in a decade. These aren鈥檛 just big checks, they鈥檙e gravitational anomalies that are distorting the rest of the ecosystem. If you鈥檙e not already one of these name-brand companies, good luck attracting follow-on capital at scale. Venture dollars aren鈥檛 flowing 鈥斕齮hey鈥檙e pooling.

The reasons aren鈥檛 hard to diagnose. LPs are still spooked and GPs are risk-off unless they see a story that feels like a sure thing. AI checks several key boxes: big vision, massive TAM and the sheen of inevitability.

That logic becomes self-reinforcing: Companies with momentum attract the most capital, which only adds to their momentum. Meanwhile, solid companies with actual revenue and burn discipline struggle to secure meetings.

Stuck between extremes

That鈥檚 the part I find maddening. I live in the growth-stage world, where companies are often 6 to 10 years old, flirting with profitability and grinding toward category leadership. These aren鈥檛 hype machines, but real businesses with real customers, and yet they鈥檙e the ones most squeezed by today鈥檚 dynamics. They’re too far along for seed investors but not flashy enough for the billion-dollar crowd.

While I鈥檝e always worked with early-stage VCs to help them support their winners beyond Series A, today鈥檚 world has become a chasm so large that it鈥檚 essentially one extreme or the other 鈥� go stratospheric or starve.

To be clear, I鈥檓 not arguing against ambition. Ultra-unicorns such as and are building foundational technologies with potentially world-changing applications. Many deserve the capital they鈥檙e attracting. But when the vast majority of funding is funneled into a tiny sliver of the market, we lose the breadth that makes venture resilient. The middle is where a lot of the next $1 billion to $3 billion outcomes are built 鈥� just not with the same PR teams or hype cycles.

Capital concentration and fragility

There鈥檚 also something historically precarious about markets that place huge bets on a small number of players. It creates fragility. And if one of those giants stumbles 鈥� or if their valuations prove untethered to fundamentals 鈥� the ripple effects could be wide and painful.

And let鈥檚 be honest, some of this behavior feels like d茅j脿 vu. In the dot-com boom, billions were sunk into laying fiber networks that no one knew how to monetize. Eventually, bandwidth became cheap and ubiquitous, but not before a massive correction. We鈥檙e watching the same infrastructure play out now in AI datacenters. Investors are overfunding the platform layer, and the assumption is that applications will catch up later.

That may be true, but it also means there鈥檚 a massive opportunity to invest in the lean, capital-efficient companies building real-world tools on top of this overbuilt AI infrastructure. These companies won鈥檛 need to raise $500 million to matter. They鈥檒l create impact 鈥� and exits 鈥� with $50 million and a clear go-to-market plan.

The coming reality check

The second half of 2025 is going to expose which bets are real and which were just expensive storytelling. The firms that keep their heads down, run lean and can show hard ROI will be the ones who survive this cycle. And the investors who back them 鈥� before the herd catches on 鈥� will have the best shot at outsized returns.

This isn鈥檛 a moment for tourists, it鈥檚 a moment for conviction. The capital markets might look healthy at the top, but they鈥檙e starving in the middle. And as history has shown, it鈥檚 often the overlooked vintages 鈥� built in the shadows of mania 鈥� that end up delivering the real value.

Yes, let鈥檚 celebrate the $10 billion valuations, but let鈥檚 not ignore the capital-efficient workhorses quietly building generational businesses outside the spotlight. Because in five years, that鈥檚 where the smart money will say it started.

is the founder and managing partner of , a growth-equity firm that co-invests in venture-backed companies by leveraging the unused pro-rata rights of more than 1,000 early-stage VC partners.

Related reading:

• The Rise Of The Ultra-Unicorns: $5B+ Startups Are Leading The Private-Market Herd In 2025
• Q2 Global Venture Funding Climbs In A Blockbuster Quarter For AI And As Capital Concentrates In Larger Companies

Illustration:

The round values Los Angeles-based Boulevard at about $800 million post-money, CEO and co-founder told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News. That鈥檚 鈥渘early double鈥� the company鈥檚 previous valuation at the time of its , he said.

Existing backers and also participated in the latest financing. Other existing investors include , and . In total, Boulevard has raised about $188 million in funding since its 2016 inception.

The company started as an online booking platform for salons and spas. It has evolved over time into an AI-driven SaaS platform that powers a number of functions for appointment-based self-care businesses, including scheduling, personalized text and e-mail marketing, and payment processing.

Boulevard declined to reveal hard revenue figures, noting that it has seen 鈥�500%-plus鈥� revenue growth since its 2022 funding round. More than 5,000 businesses 鈥� such as hair and nail salons, spas and medspas 鈥� use Boulevard, according to Danna. The company helps customers book more than 2 million appointments per month, and facilitates $5 billion in processed payments annually, he added.

Finding growth

A 鈥渉uge鈥� driver of recent growth for Boulevard over the past three years has been going after the medspa market, according to Danna.

Historically, medspas have operated on electronic medical record systems that focus on insurance coding and medical billing, he said.

鈥淏ut medspas often don鈥檛 accept insurance anyway and want to provide an elevated patient experience, similar to what our salon and spa customers are able to provide to their clients,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been three years since we really started going after the medspa market in earnest.鈥�

Overall, the startup claims that it serves 15% of the U.S. medspa market, which amounted to an in 2024.

Boulevard鈥檚 flagship product is called Precision Scheduling. That offering leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to do things like analyze historical booking patterns, appointment durations, provider availability and sales forecasting 鈥渢o suggest the most efficient appointment times in a way that maximizes revenue for the business,鈥� Danna said.

Presently, Boulevard has 375 employees.

Backstory

Danna and co-founder , who serves as the company鈥檚 CTO, founded Boulevard after realizing the options to book salon appointments online was not readily available.

Danna said he would tease Stavropoulos, who was a friend and co-worker at the time at another company, about being 鈥渋n desperate need of a haircut.鈥�

鈥淲henever I鈥檇 give him a hard time about it, he’d tell me he just kept forgetting to call his salon during the day,鈥� Danna recalls. 鈥淭his was back in 2015, when you could book pretty much everything else online, so it didn鈥檛 make sense to us that you couldn鈥檛 book a haircut online.鈥�

The pair started visiting salons and spas in the downtown Los Angeles area, posing as college students conducting a research project in an effort to discern the extent to which the businesses were or weren鈥檛 using technology.

鈥淲e came to learn that most of them did, in fact, have online booking systems that they were paying for, but they were so ill-suited to the very specific needs of their businesses that they just wouldn鈥檛 use them,鈥� Danna recalls. 鈥淭he more we learned, the more we realized we were onto something, and by 2016, Boulevard was officially born.鈥�

Looking ahead, Boulevard plans to incorporate AI even further into its offering.

鈥淲e feel as though there are countless revenue-optimizing use cases for AI within these self-care businesses,鈥� Danna said.

, partner at lead investor JMI Equity, told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News via email that his firm viewed Boulevard as 鈥渁 clear leader in the self-care market with a best-in-class product and many of the characteristics of JMI鈥檚 other leading vertical SaaS + payments businesses.鈥�

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 query:

Illustration:

Beverage sales data backs up this notion. Last year, global sales of nonalcoholic beer rose 9% by volume, per trade group . In 2025, the group predicts the zero-proof drinks will surpass ale to become the second-largest beer category.

It鈥檚 not just beer. Cruise store shelves dedicated to beer, wine and liquor these days, and you’ll also likely see a selection of alcohol-free options. Bars tempt us with trendy mocktail menus. You can even arrange a nonalcoholic tasting tour of Napa Valley wine country.

Startups have played a big part in the sector鈥檚 growth. Over the past few years, investors have poured hundreds of millions into promising upstarts batch-producing nonalcoholic craft beer, mixed drinks, spirits and wines, 小蓝视频色情网页版 data shows.

To illustrate, we put together a list of 21 global companies funded in roughly the past couple years.

Crazy big market

The best-known brand among funded startups is , whose craft beers are now widely available at stores, bars and restaurants across the U.S. At , the brand鈥檚 lineup of alcohol-free IPAs, dark beers and reduced-calorie options is reportedly that it outsells regular beer.

The Milford, Connecticut-based company is also a VC favorite, having raised close to $250 million in equity funding, with and among its chief backers. A year ago, the business was reportedly valued at

While one might associate nonalcoholic beer, wine and cocktails with the sober living scene, market research indicates this isn鈥檛 necessarily the core user base. Rather, consumers who drink sometimes are also rotating in nonalcoholic options for use cases like avoiding hangovers, staying awake or remaining sober enough to drive home.

Taste is also a big driver. While nonalcoholic beers and cocktails were once associated with pale imitations of the real thing, today鈥檚 offerings compare much more favorably. With products often priced similarly to alcoholic beverages, upstarts are also big on promoting the use of premium ingredients and small-batch craftsmanship.

That鈥檚 the marketing tactic at play for , a nonalcoholic spirits and prepared cocktail brand that鈥檚 raised at least . It touts a globally sourced collection of natural essences, extracts and distillates used to create spirits that rival the real thing. At $38 for a bottle of gin, it鈥檚 priced like the real thing, too.

In the wine space, meanwhile, Paris-based is pitching sparkling wines made from dealcoholized chardonnay and pinot noir with similar panache. Co-founded by a former director and a supermodel, the company markets itself for festive events.

Everybody at the bar staying sober

Following a year of Shaboozey with a song about 鈥渆verybody at the bar getting tipsy,鈥� it might seem incongruous to see zero-proof mocktails having their moment too. But perhaps there鈥檚 a connection.

After all, a lot of what makes a beer, cocktail or shot great isn鈥檛 the alcohol but rather the experience around it. Think barbecues and beer, or slushy concoctions under an umbrella by the pool. Even zero-proof, it still holds its appeal.

Moreover, while that might sound like a blast, many of us still have to wake up and go to work the next day.

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 query:

Illustration:

After all, there will inevitably come a time when cash becomes scarcer. And dry spells can sometimes drag on for years.

That鈥檚 certainly been the case for a high number of well-funded U.S. startups. Per 小蓝视频色情网页版 data, around 1 that raised $100 million or more in venture funding haven鈥檛 closed new financing since 2021.

The list includes quite a few one-time unicorns and emerging unicorns 2. Many are in sectors such as connected fitness, e-commerce and consumer-facing platforms, where overall venture funding has dropped precipitously since the boom.

To illustrate, we put together a sample list of some of the more heavily funded names that met this criteria:

The $77 billion club

Before they stopped raising money, these well-funded startups closed on considerable sums.

Collectively, an estimated $77.4 billion in equity funding went to the 279 companies on our list that last raised funding in 2021. To put that in perspective, that鈥檚 the average quarterly sum that went into all global startups last year. In other words, it鈥檚 a lot of money.

Not all has gone to waste either. It should be noted that the list is more than just struggling companies in sectors with heavily beaten down valuations.

The lineup also includes still well-regarded companies like developer and web hosting provider , which had a reported $7.5 billion valuation following its last round in 2021. Late last year, one investor its stake by 10%, which is not nothing, but is hardly catastrophic.

Or take , which picked up $200 million at a unicorn valuation in 2021. It just got taken off the list after announcing a $1 billion financing last week.

Still chugging along, but valuations have changed

Others are still chugging along, but prevailing valuations and investor tastes鈥� have changed drastically over the years.

For example, , which partners with cities to offer electric bikes and scooters for short trips, in February that it achieved record revenue and positive free cash flow last year. Even so, after a string of disappointments, the micromobility space has long been out of favor with venture and public investors.

Another that鈥檚 seen ups and downs and made some sharp pivots along the way is , which garnered a $3.7 billion valuation in 2021 as a weight loss app. Today, the company markets GLP-1 weight loss medications, along with hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women.

In the cloud kitchen space, meanwhile, 鈥檚 has also adapted to changing times. The space is no longer a startup investor favorite. However, CloudKitchens is still a going concern, with its founder at ways AI could optimize the business.

While they haven鈥檛 raised a reported round for a while, we wouldn鈥檛 count these businesses out.

Much variety in how startups age

As anyone who follows startups knows, the post-funding trajectory is anything but predictable. Even heavily funded unicorns might crash and burn, while others go on to be worth hundreds of billions.

Still others follow a pattern not too unlike a worn pair of shoes. They鈥檙e not worth the valuations investors paid, but they鈥檙e still quite functional. And who knows? For some of them, many good years may still lie ahead.

Related 小蓝视频色情网页版 queries:

Related reading:

• The 小蓝视频色情网页版 Unicorn Board
• 小蓝视频色情网页版
• Hundreds Of Unicorns Haven鈥檛 Raised New Funding Since 2021
• With An Eye Toward More Acquisitions, AI-Powered Grammarly Raises $1B from General Catalyst
• Boom-Era Excesses Haunt The Ghost Kitchen Space

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out the biggest funding rounds of last week here.

It was a big week for the space and defense sectors, as investors clearly were looking to the skies. However, other sectors including cyber, healthcare and even data orchestration also saw some big raises. While nothing came close to $1 billion, it was still a pretty good week for big rounds.

1.听, $275M, defense: Less than six months after raising $145 million in a Series B, defense and critical infrastructure tech startup locked up $275 million in a Series C that values the startup at $2 billion. The new round was led by and . Los Angeles-based Chaos specializes in advanced detection, monitoring and communication solutions for the defense and commercial sectors. The company鈥檚 Vanquish radar provides early warning and tracking capabilities against unmanned aerial systems, missiles and aircraft. Founded in 2022, Chaos has raised $490 million, per the company.

2.听, $260M, space: Centennial, Colorado-based True Anomaly, which develops hardware and software systems to help space security and readiness, is accustomed to large raises. Back in late 2023, the space tech startup raised a $100 million round led by . It鈥檚 back again after raising a $260 million Series C led by . The startup helps the government and commercial customers keep an eye on threats to assets they have in space, such as satellites. Founded in 2022, True Anomaly has raised $418 million, .

3. (tied) , $200M, space: Less than a year after landing a $95 million Series B, space manufacturing company locked up a $200 million Series C led by 1 and . The Los Angeles-based startup is helping streamline the approach to satellites with the ability to mass produce spacecraft buses 鈥� the main body and structural component of satellites 鈥� to help meet increasing demand from customers like the . Founded in 2022, the company has raised $322 million, per 小蓝视频色情网页版.

3. (tied) , $200M, cybersecurity: Cybersecurity has proven pretty strong with investors recently, and this week was no exception. Verified identity platform Persona raised a $200 million Series D co-led by and that values the company at $2 billion. The San Francisco-based startup鈥檚 identity platform allows businesses to securely collect, verify, manage and make decisions about individuals’ and businesses’ identities. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $418 million, .

5. (tied) , $108M, software development: Miami-based Cast AI, which helps optimize workloads with automation, closed a $108 million Series C round led by and 2. While the company is mainly known for its work with Kubernetes workloads, it now is helping to optimize workloads for AI. Founded in 2019, the company has raised $181 million, per 小蓝视频色情网页版.

5. (tied) , $108M, cybersecurity: Veza raised a $108 million Series D investment led by . The Redwood Shores, California-based identity security startup said it more than doubled its annual recurring revenue last year and the new round values it at $808 million. Founded in 2020, Veza has raised $235 million, per the company.

7.听, $107M, healthcare: Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Persivia, a developer of an AI-powered platform that helps healthcare decision making, completed a $107 million recapitalization with . Founded in 2005, Persivia鈥檚 platform turns data into real-time insights to help drive decisions and streamline workflows. It is used in more than 200 hospitals nationwide.

8.听, $93M, data orchestration: Astronomer, the developer of data orchestration platform Astro, locked up a $93 million Series D led by . The New York-based startup鈥檚 Astro platform has proven valuable as AI has exploded 鈥� as automating and processing data workflows across different systems has become a necessity for anyone wanting to produce AI applications. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $376 million,

9.听, $75M, predictive analytics: Columbus, Ohio-based AssetWatch, a predictive maintenance platform developer for the manufacturing industry, closed a $75 million Series C led by . Founded in 2014, the company has raised $166 million, .

10.听, $61.3M, artificial intelligence: Providence, Rhode Island-based Utilidata, a developer of an AI platform for the energy industry, secured a $60.3 million Series C led by . Founded in 2012, the company has raised $95 million, .

Big global deals

The biggest raise this week outside the U.S. again came from Singapore.

• Singapore-based , a developer of听 global payments infrastructure, raised a $150 million Series D.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 小蓝视频色情网页版 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of April 26 to May 2. 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:

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding rounds here.

Not a lot of activity this week when it comes to big, nine-figure rounds with only two of $100 million or more. No single sector dominated either, as money was spread all over the place from contact centers to cybersecurity.

1. , $140M, healthcare: Medicare Advantage insurer Zing Health raised $140 million from investors that included and . The Chicago-based startup鈥檚 mission is to provide managed care 鈥渢hat address social determinants of health to reduce healthcare disparities among historically underserved populations.鈥� Founded in 2019, the company has raised $330 million, .

2. , $125M, information technologies: Whatfix locked up a $125 million Series E led by private equity firm . The San Jose, California-based startup is a digital adoption platform 鈥� a software application that helps users learn how to use other software products more easily. Large enterprises deploy these platforms to help their employees more effectively use new technology tools. The new round comes at a reported valuation of around $900 million 鈥� 50% higher than its Series D valuation in a SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led round in 2021.

3. , $80M, database: Supabase, an open source developer platform and Postgres database service raised an $80 million Series C round led by and . The San Francisco鈥揵ased startup is being helped by the database demand AI is creating. Founded in 2020, the company has raised $196 million, .

4. , $76M, contact center: Perhaps no space is more ripe for an AI takeover than the contact centers industry 鈥� and VC investors seem to agree. Ujet, an AI-powered cloud contact center startup, locked up a $76 million Series D led by . The cash infusion values the company at $500 million, . The San Francisco-based startup鈥檚 platform allows clients to use generative AI technologies for 鈥渕ore efficient, hyper-personalized customer experiences at enterprise scale,鈥� according to the company’s . Contact and customer service centers are an obvious use for the ever-improving conversational AI technologies being produced. More AI means fewer people needed to take or route calls and perhaps even more efficiency for large companies using it. That鈥檚 likely why investors have funded a slew of startups such as , and several others this year. Founded in 2015, Ujet has raised $177 million, .

5. (tied) , $75M, healthcare: Buffalo, New York-based Centivo, which offers a primary care-centered health plan, secured $75 million in a mix of equity and debt financing. The round included investment from and ‘s unit. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $226 million, .

5. (tied) , $75M, artificial intelligence: Harmonic, which has developed an听 artificial intelligence platform for the development of mathematical superintelligence, closed a $75 million Series A funding round at a $325 million post-money valuation led by . Founded in 2023, this is the Palo Alto, California-based company鈥檚 first disclosed round, .

7. , $73M, healthcare: San Mateo, California-based Mendaera, a healthcare startup leveraging robotics, AI and imaging to enhance patient care, announced the closing of $73 million in Series B funding led by . Founded in 2020, the company has raised $97 million, .

8. , $70M, cybersecurity: New York-based Torq, a developer of a no-code automation platform designed to enhance security operations, closed a $70 million Series C led by . Founded in 2020, Torq has raised $192 million, per the company.

9. , $53M, energy: Houston-based Utility Global, which tries to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency through clean energy generation systems, raised $53 million as part of an ongoing Series C led by the . Founded in 2018, the company has raised $86 million, .

10. Three companies that raised $50 million each, tied for the No. 10 spot this week, including: San Mateo, California-based , San Diego-based and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based .

Big global deals

The biggest deal of the week came from Europe.

• Germany-based , a smart fitness startup that provides fitness and health facilities, raised a $200 million Series G.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 小蓝视频色情网页版 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Sept. 21 to Sept. 27. 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: