The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Fervo Energy And Glean Lead The Way In Another Strong Week

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.

After two crazy weeks where we saw 18 raises of $100 million or more, this week saw a slight slowdown but was still relatively strong when it came to big-dollar deals. Five companies raised nine-figure rounds, but none hit $250 million. The quintet that did raise big were from three of the usual sectors — biotech, energy and AI — however one was from a sector we don’t normally see — a vertical farming agtech startup.

We’ll see if things speed back up as the Ides of March approaches.

1. Fervo Energy, $244M, energy: A big energy funding round from Houston leads the way this week. Fervo Energy, a geothermal developer, locked up a big $244 million round led by shale oil and gas firm Devon Energy Corp. The new cash will support Fervo’s new drilling operations in Utah — which will begin delivering clean electricity to the grid in 2026. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $431 million, per Crunchbase.

2. Glean, $200M, artificial intelligence: Despite some predictions about a slowdown in AI investing, investors are showing the same insatiable appetite for the sector they showed last year. AI-enhanced work assistant and enterprise search startup Glean became the latest to hit it big, locking up a more than $200 million Series D at a $2.2 billion valuation in a round led by Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Palo Alto, California-based startup hit unicorn status in May 2022 after raising a $100 million Series C led by Sequoia Capital. Glean’s generative AI search tool connects with enterprise companies’ applications and databases, while also offering conversational AI assistants to help employees work. The startup has nearly quadrupled its annual recurring revenue in the past year. Founded in 2019, Glean says it has raised $360 million.

3. FogPharma, $145M, biotech: It sure feels like this will be a big year for biotech startups, as a few make this list every week. This week it was FogPharma which closed a $145 million Series E led by Nextech Invest. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical startup developing a new class of therapies for intracellular targets, understood to be significant drivers of disease. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $530 million, per Crunchbase.

4. Oishii Farm, $134M, agtech: U.S.-based vertical farming seemed to explode a year or two ago and then got relatively quiet. However, it’s back this month as New Jersey-based Oishii raised a $134 million Series B led by Japanese telecom giant NTT. The firm, known for selling high-priced strawberries to high-profile New York restaurants, will use the cash for a massive indoor farm under construction in New Jersey. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $184 million, per Crunchbase.

5. Alamar Biosciences, $128M, biotech: Alamar Biosciences is next in a big week for biotech. The firm nabbed a $100 million Series C led by Sands Capital. The Fremont, California-based startup says it also plans to close on an additional $28 million within the next 30 days. The company studies proteins to enable early detection of disease. Founded in 2018, Alamar has raised $250 million, per the company.

6. Kenai Therapeutics, $82M, biotech: San Diego-based Kenai Therapeutics locked up yet another big biotech round — this one an $82 million Series A co-led by Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Cure Ventures and The Column Group. The biotechnology startup is focused on induced pluripotent stem cell technology to cell therapies for neurological disorders. Founded in 2022, the company has raised a total of $89 million, per Crunchbase.

7. Intenseye, $64M, artificial intelligence: New York-based Intenseye, which uses a computer vision AI platform to help with workplace safety, secured a $64 million Series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $93 million, per Crunchbase.

8. (tied) B.well Connected Health, $40M, healthcare: Baltimore-based B.well Connected Health, which offers unified healthcare platforms to providers, locked up a $40 million Series C led by Leavitt Equity Partners. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $99 million, per Crunchbase.

8. (tied) Passes, $40M, apps: Miami-based Passes, a  fan engagement platform, raised a $40 million Series A led by Bond Capital. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $57 million, per Crunchbase.

10. Inkitt, $37M, publishing: San Francisco-based self-publishing startup Inkitt raised a $37 million round led by Khosla Ventures. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $117 million, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals

Despite all the big rounds in the U.S., the biggest came from China.

• Zhiji Automobile, a developer and manufacturer of electric vehicles, raised a $1.1 billion Series B.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Feb. 24 to March 1. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.