Top U.S. AI Firms Securing $100 Million-Plus Funding in 2026

# Nvidia # xai # Startups # artificial intelligence # Anthropic # evergreen

In just under two months of 2026, nearly 20 AI startups based in the United States have already secured massive funding rounds of $100 million or more.

If the initial weeks of the year are any indication, the AI startup scene is poised for another year of colossal funding deals at staggering valuations. According to TechCrunch's data, U.S. AI startups raised over $76 billion through these mega-rounds in 2025.

Whether 2026 will see similar levels of success remains to be seen.

Here is the complete list of U.S.-based AI startups that have raised $100 million or more so far this year:

February

Simile, which builds AI to mimic human decisions, raised a $100 million Series A round led by Index Ventures. The funding was announced on February 12 and included Hanabi Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and several angel investors.  Anthropic announced a $30 billion Series G funding round that valued the AI research lab at $380 billion on February 12. More than 30 investors participated, including Founders Fund, Coatue, and Nvidia.  Media generation platform Runway raised a $315 million Series E round, valuing the company at $5.3 billion. Announced on February 10 and led by General Atlantic, the round also saw investment from Nvidia, Fidelity, and Felicis.  Goodfire, an AI research lab, announced a $150 million Series B round on February 5. B Capital led the round, with participation from Juniper Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures, resulting in a $1.25 billion valuation.  AI research company Fundamental announced a $255 million Series A round on February 5, valuing the company at $1.4 billion. Investors included Oak HC/FT, Salesforce Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and QP Ventures.  Voice AI companyElevenLabsraised a$500 million Series D roundannounced on February 4. Led by Sequoia Capital, the round valued the company at$11 billion.

January

PaleBlueDotAI, a computeplatform, raised a$150 million Series B round, valuingthe startupat$1 billion. The round was announced on January 28 and led by B Capital.Conversational AI platformDecagonannounced a$250 million Series D roundon January 28. Co-led by Coatue and Index Ventures, the funding valued the company at$4.5billion.AI research labFlapping Airplanesraiseda$180 million seed roundled by Google Ventures,Sequoia, and Index Ventures. Announcedon January 28, the round valued the company at$1.5 billion.Basetenraised a$300 million Series E round, valuing the AIinfrastructurestartup at$5 billion. The round wasled by IVP andCapitalGand announced on January 23.Inferact,an AI inference startup, raised a$150 million seed roundjust months after its founding. Announced on January 22, the round gave thecompanyan $800 million valuation and was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners.Cambridge, Massachusetts-basedOpenEvidenceraised a$250 million Series D roundfor its medical AI chatbot. Co-led by Thrive Global and DST Global and announced on January 21, thisround valuedOpenEvidenceat$12 billion.AI research labhumans&raised a massive$480 million seed roundannounced on January 20.Investors includedNvidia, Jeff Bezos, and GV, among others, valuing the young startup at$4.48 billion.SkildAI, which builds AI models to power robots, raised a$1.4 billionSeries C round, valuingthe startupat$14 billion. Announced on January 14, the round was led by SoftBank and Nvidia.Voice AI platform Deepgram raised a $130 million Series C round led by AVP, with participation from Tiger Global, ServiceNow Ventures, and Madrona. Announced on January 13, the round valued the company at $1.3 billion.  Arena, a large language model evaluation platform, raised a$150 million Series A roundco-led by Felicis and UC Investments. AnnouncedonJanuary 6, this roundvalued the one-year-old startup at$1.7 billion.Elon Musk’s xAI started the new year with a bang, announcing a $20 billion Series E round on January 6. Participants included Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, and the Qatar Investment Authority. The company was acquired by Musk’s SpaceX several weeks later.

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