U.S. startup investment boom reignites... Kelsey leads $1 billion mega deal

The US venture capital market regained momentum as the year drew to a close. In the first week of December alone, US startups confirmed 10 large-scale financing deals. The most notable of these was prediction market platform Kalshi, which officially announced a $1 billion Series E funding round. This is one of the largest funding rounds for US startups this year.

Kalshi, a New York-based prediction market platform, saw this round led by crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm. Although previously reported several times, this financing indicates that Kalshi is steadily growing into a legitimate, institution-facing prediction platform operating within regulatory frameworks. It is poised to become a model of compliant Web3 enterprises in the venture capital market.

In the defense technology sector, Castelion, founded in 2022 by former SpaceX talent, raised $350 million in a Series B round. Castelion is developing hypersonic munitions, and the round was co-led by Altitude Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners. This further demonstrates investors’ strong interest in US defense tech startups.

In the AI infrastructure sector, Eon, which provides cloud backup technology, secured $300 million in a Series D round. Founded less than two years ago, the company has already reached a $4 billion valuation. The round was led by Gil Capital, founded by Elad Gil.

Healthcare startups also performed strongly. Austin, Texas-based Curative raised $150 million in a Series B round with its no-deductible health insurance model, reaching a $1.27 billion valuation. AI-driven health insurance platform Angle Health also raised $134 million in its Series B round.

Boston-based 7AI, which is developing an AI security platform, secured $130 million in a Series A round less than a year after its founding. Meanwhile, biotech startup Protego Biopharma also raised an equal amount, further underscoring the ongoing potential in the biotech sector.

Triana Biomedicines, a startup using advanced technologies such as molecular glues for new drug development, received a $120 million investment. In addition, Antithesis, which develops simulation-based software testing tools, received $105 million from Jane Street Capital.

Lastly, Axiado, focused on increasing AI server efficiency through chip development, rounded out the week’s top 10 by raising $100 million in a Series C+ round, with Maverick Silicon among the co-investors.

The information on each funding round is based on data registered in the Crunchbase database between November 28 and December 5, with some discrepancies possible regarding announcement dates. Despite the year’s end approaching, the US startup market continues to attract large capital inflows, reflecting fierce technological competition and growth potential across various sectors. This was a meaningful week for emerging startups.