17 US AI Startups Secure $100M+ Funding Rounds in Early 2026: Market Analysis

The artificial intelligence startup ecosystem in the United States has demonstrated remarkable momentum in early 2026, with nearly 20 AI-focused ventures securing mega funding rounds exceeding $100 million within the first two months of the year.

This aggressive investment pace suggests the AI sector is poised for another year of substantial capital influx and elevated valuations, following 2025's record-breaking performance when U.S. AI startups raised over $76 billion through large-scale funding rounds.

February 2026 Funding Highlights:

• Simile secured a $100 million Series A round led by Index Ventures for its AI decision-making platform that replicates human cognitive processes. The round included participation from Hanabi Capital and Bain Capital Ventures.

• Anthropic announced a massive $30 billion Series G funding round, achieving a valuation of $380 billion. The round attracted over 30 institutional investors including Founders Fund, Coatue, and Nvidia.

• Runway, a media generation platform, raised $315 million in Series E funding at a $5.3 billion valuation. General Atlantic led the round with strategic investments from Nvidia, Fidelity, and Felicis.

• Goodfire, an AI research laboratory, completed a $150 million Series B round led by B Capital, reaching a $1.25 billion valuation. Juniper Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures participated.

• Fundamental, specializing in AI-driven data analysis, raised $255 million in Series A funding at a $1.4 billion valuation. Investors included Oak HC/FT, Salesforce Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners.

• ElevenLabs, a voice AI technology company, secured a substantial $500 million Series D round led by Sequoia, achieving an $11 billion valuation.

January 2026 Funding Highlights:

• PaleBlueDot AI, a compute infrastructure platform, raised $150 million in Series B funding led by B Capital, reaching unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation.

• Decagon, a conversational AI platform, announced a $250 million Series D round co-led by Coatue and Index Ventures, valued at $4.5 billion.

• Flapping Airplanes, an AI research lab, secured a remarkable $180 million seed round led by Google Ventures, Sequoia, and Index Ventures, achieving a $1.5 billion valuation.

• Baseten raised $300 million in Series E funding at a $5 billion valuation for its AI infrastructure solutions. IVP and CapitalG led the round.

• Inferact, an AI inference startup, secured $150 million in seed funding mere months after launch, reaching an $800 million valuation. Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners co-led the round.

• OpenEvidence, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, raised $250 million in Series D funding for its medical AI chatbot platform, achieving a $12 billion valuation. Thrive Global and DST Global co-led the round.

• humans&, an AI research laboratory, secured a massive $480 million seed round with participation from Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and GV, reaching a $4.48 billion valuation.

• SkildAI, developing AI models for robotics applications, raised a $1.4 billion Series C round at a $14 billion valuation. SoftBank and Nvidia led the investment.

• Deepgram, a voice AI platform, secured $130 million in Series C funding led by AVP, with participation from Tiger Global, ServiceNow Ventures, and Madrona, achieving a $1.3 billion valuation.

• Arena, a large language model evaluation platform, raised $150 million in Series A funding co-led by Felicis and UC Investments, reaching a $1.7 billion valuation just one year after launch.

• xAI, Elon Musk's AI research laboratory, initiated 2026 with a $20 billion Series E round, featuring investments from Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, and the Qatar Investment Authority. The company was subsequently acquired by SpaceX in early February.

The market dynamics observed in early 2026 indicate sustained investor confidence in AI technologies across diverse application domains, from infrastructure and research to specialized vertical solutions in healthcare, robotics, and media generation.