As the third quarter of 2024 came to a close, artificial intelligence companies had raised a staggering $18.9 billion in venture funding according to data from Crunchbase, representing an impressive 28% of overall venture investments. Continuing the trend of massive funding rounds, no deal topped the one closed by OpenAI which raised a historic $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion, making it the single largest venture round of all time.
A total of 39 US AI startups crossed the notable threshold of raising over $100 million in funding for 2024. Leading the way was legaltech company EvenUp, bringing in $135 million for their Series D round led by Bain Capital Ventures at a $1 billion valuation. Mineral exploration startup KoBold Metals raked in $491.5 million while software development platform Poolside closed $500 million for their Series B.
Other startups achieving the $100 million club for 2024 included cybersecurity firm Abnormal Security with $250 million and pharmaceutical research company Xaira Therapeutics with their monster $1 billion Series A round. Additional heavy hitters were AI coding upstarts Magic with $117 million and Augment with $227 million. Powering the massive rounds were prominent investors like Coatue, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund.
As venture appetite for AI shows no signs of slowing, these startups are well positioned to advance cutting-edge technologies with the goal of solving major challenges across industries like law, drug discovery, cybersecurity and more. With blockbuster funding continuing to flow, 2025 is poised to deliver even more transformational artificial intelligence.
