Atoms leads $3.4B weekly venture haul focused on AI infrastructure
Travis Kalanick's physical AI startup secured the week's largest round, highlighting a continued venture capital pivot toward heavy infrastructure, chips, and industrial automation.
Venture capital mega-rounds in the United States totaled over $3.4 billion this week, led by a $1.7 billion investment in Atoms. The Los Angeles-based physical AI company, founded by former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick, secured the capital in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Kalanick framed the company's mandate as "about the coming industrial revolution where large industrial economic sectors get completely digitized." The massive financing underscores a broader market shift, as institutional investors increasingly back capital-intensive deep technology over traditional software models.
The AI infrastructure layer captured the majority of top-tier capital. Etched, a San Jose-based designer of chips and software for frontier models, raised $300 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia Capital that set a $10 billion pre-money valuation. Meanwhile, Meshy AI, a developer of foundation models for 3D generation, closed a $400 million Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation with backing from Monolith Capital, IDG Capital, and Matrix Partners China.
Capital also flowed into the physical supply chains required to power advanced technology. Battery developer Sila secured $300 million, led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures, to expand its silicon anode manufacturing facility in Moses Lake, Washington.
Beyond AI and energy, the week's largest deals spanned defense, financial, and healthcare technology. Augustus, a fintech startup providing global institutions with direct dollar account access, hit a $1 billion valuation after a $180 million Series B led by Tiger Global. In defense tech, Cathedral raised $160 million from Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz to build cyber capabilities for the U.S. military, with a founding team reportedly composed of former DOGE employees.
Cybersecurity saw significant inflows as well. Glow emerged from stealth with $100 million in new funding—bringing its total to $180 million—supported by Sequoia, Cyberstarts, Greenoaks, and Redpoint. Neo Security added $100 million led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz for its enterprise software control platform.
Rounding out the top ten, biotech firm Crystalys Therapeutics raised $130 million in an oversubscribed Series B led by Frazier Life Sciences for gout therapies, and healthcare software developer Candid Health landed $120 million in Series D funding led by Sixth Street Growth. The concentration of these rounds among a small circle of elite venture firms signals a high-conviction strategy at the top of the market.
