Investments
After a flurry of billion-dollar raises, US startup funding settled into nine-figure territory this week, with AI infrastructure and space technology drawing the largest checks. According to Crunchbase data for Sept. 12–18, 2026, the top ten rounds were led by Temporal Technologies and Impulse Space, while sectors from investment management to geothermal energy also attracted significant capital. Temporal Technologies, based in Bellevue, Washington, secured $550 million in Series E funding at a $12.55 billion valuation. The company provides an open-source platform for building and operating long-running AI agents and enterprise systems. Lightspeed, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and Tiger Global led the round. Impulse Space, a Redondo Beach, California-based developer of space vehicles for moving payloads across orbits, raised $308 million in a Series D extension, bringing the total round to $808 million. Ridgeline, an AI-enabled investment management platform in Incline Village, Nevada, picked up $250 million in Series E funding led by founder and chairman Dave Duffield, valuing the company at $1.45 billion. Cornelis Networks of Wayne, Pennsylvania, closed $205 million for its AI and high-performance computing networking technology, backed by IAG Capital Partners. San Francisco-based Factory, which offers AI tools for enterprise software development, announced $200 million at a $5 billion valuation. Profound, a New York startup helping users appear more prominently in AI results, raised $180 million in Series D funding led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, reaching a $1.8 billion valuation.
Arcee AI, a developer of open-weight AI models in San Francisco, closed $150 million in Series B funding at a valuation above $1 billion, led by Vista Equity Partners, Cambium Capital, and Emergence Capital. Nex, also San Francisco-based, secured $150 million in equity and debt for its motion-based family games, with a Series E led by Baillie Gifford and BAI Capital. Mazama Energy, a Seattle geothermal developer specializing in superhot rock power, raised $135 million in Series B funding led by Centaurus Capital and Doerr Capital. Sling Therapeutics, an Ann Arbor, Michigan biotech developing a small-molecule therapy for thyroid eye disease, completed a $123 million Series C round led by Forbion Capital Partners. Data center developer Crusoe also officially confirmed its previously reported $3 billion-plus raise, co-led by Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, and Mubadala Capital.