US Week: Tenstorrent Raises $1.5 Billion, AI Everywhere

Giant rounds have dominated American funding, with $1.5 billion for Tenstorrent and $1 billion for Flapping Airplanes. Biotech, space, industrial software, and a working dogs project have also attracted tickets ranging from $160 million to $325 million. Several operations come with billion-dollar valuations.

$200M and Above Rounds Shape the Week

Several operations of $200 million and above marked the week. Whop raised $200 million in Series D, a round led by Sequoia Capital and Shopify Ventures, bringing its valuation to $5.1 billion. The platform is based in New York. Star Therapeutics announced it raised $200 million in a new funding round led by OrbiMed and Janus Henderson Investors, from South San Francisco. In July, Incyte acquired Vega Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Star, in a deal valued at up to $2 billion. Warhound emerged from the shadows with $200 million in initial funding from a list of backers including Sequoia Capital and 8VC. Co-founded by Palmer Luckey, the company plans to equip its dogs with technology from Anduril. Arda Industries, for its part, closed $160 million in Series A, co-led by Altimeter Capital, Accel, and Khosla Ventures, with a valuation of $1.5 billion. The San Francisco-based company develops AI-powered manufacturing engineering software and previously revealed a seed round of $72 million.

At the Top, $1.5B for Tenstorrent and $1B for Flapping Airplanes

Leading the amounts, Tenstorrent secured $1.5 billion in Series E, a round led by Trace Capital and Innovation X, establishing a valuation of $6.2 billion. The 10-year-old AI processor and systems designer, based in Santa Clara, marks the largest deal of the week. Flapping Airplanes follows with $1 billion in Series A, led by Lux Capital and Index Ventures. This one-year-old startup, located in San Francisco, aims for AI models that are cheaper to train and operate. This round comes less than 10 months after a seed round of $180 million.

Tickets from $215M to $325M for Infrastructure, Space, and Biotechs

ASI, based in Boston, raised $325 million in Series C led by Spark Capital, with a valuation of $3 billion. This company designs artificial intelligence solutions aimed at securing and managing critical infrastructure in aviation, transportation, and defense sectors. Xona, located in Burlingame, is developing a new generation of GPS and secured $250 million in a Series D round led by Future Ventures, valuing the company at $2.4 billion. In New York, Pathos AI completed a $237 million Series E round, led by Bristol-Myers Squibb, with a post-round valuation of approximately $3 billion, specializing in AI applied to drug development. Warp Sciences raised $215 million in Series A, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, to accelerate the development of new drugs using AI and robotics. These operations illustrate the sectoral diversity of the week’s funding, ranging from biotechs to space technology and physical AI.

Scope: American Companies, October 17 to 23, 2026

The list covers the period from October 17 to 23, 2026, and only includes rounds raised by companies based in the United States. The selection is based on the largest rounds announced in the Crunchbase database. A slight time lag is possible as some rounds are reported late in the week. The week featured several significant AI-related raises, and Warhound's $200 million case stands out as one of the most atypical.