Some significant rounds were announced this week, but perhaps even more interestingly, we saw some sizable valuation increases.
Hot like fusion: Nuclear startup Helion raised a $425 million Series F round of funding to help build a fusion reactor for Microsoft. This new round is smaller than the previous one, but valuation increased to $5.245 billion.
Perking up: Barcelona-based corporate travel management platform TravelPerk closed a $200 million Series E round of funding at a $2.7 billion valuation — almost twice its previous $1.4 billion valuation.
Quantum race: With $104 million in Series B funding, French startup Alice & Bob secured one of the larger rounds for a quantum computing startup in Europe.
AI against cancer: Quibim, a Spanish startup that's developing AI models for medical imaging, raised a $50 million Series A round of funding to double down on its U.S. expansion plans. Its flagship product, QP-Prostate, focuses on prostate cancer detection.
Challenging Autodesk: Motif, a startup developing architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software, secured $46 million in seed and Series A funding to challenge its founders' former employer, Autodesk, with a next-generation design platform for buildings.
Bigger target: Regulatory filing revealed that 8VC, the Austin-based VC firm led by Palantir founder Joe Lonsdale, is hoping to raise around $1 billion for its sixth fund. Its previous flagship vehicle closed at $880 million in 2023.
Taking it to 11: ElevenLabs, which works in the AI audio field, announced that it raised $180 million in a Series C round, valuing the company at $3.3 billion post-money. Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ Growth are co-leading investment.
