San Francisco Startups Secure $500M+ in Fresh Funding
AI Companies Lead the Pack as Writer Hits $1.9B Valuation
In a significant display of venture capital confidence, San Francisco's startup ecosystem has attracted over $500 million in fresh funding, with artificial intelligence and enterprise technology leading the charge. The standout deal came from Writer, an enterprise AI platform provider, which secured an impressive $200 million Series C round at a $1.9 billion valuation, backed by notable investors including Premji Invest and Salesforce Ventures.
The cybersecurity sector also saw substantial investment, with Upwind Security poised to close a $100 million Series B round. Biotechnology remained a strong contender, as TRexBio raised $84 million to advance its therapeutic development platform. The AI momentum continued, with 11x securing $50 million for its AI-powered revenue team solutions and Zero Gravity Labs raising $40 million to build a decentralized AI operating system.
Beyond the headline-grabbing AI investments, San Francisco's startup landscape showed remarkable diversity. Companies spanning biotechnology (oneskin), marketplace solutions (Fleek, Bounce), real estate technology (Fractional), and construction software (Outbuild) all secured significant funding rounds. This breadth of investment demonstrates the city's continued ability to nurture innovative companies across multiple sectors, even as artificial intelligence and enterprise software solutions dominate the funding landscape.
The robust funding activity, particularly in early and growth-stage rounds, suggests strong investor confidence in San Francisco's ability to produce market-leading companies, with a notable emphasis on enterprises leveraging artificial intelligence to transform traditional industries.
Writer, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a generative AI platform for the enterprise, raised $200M in Series C funding at a $1.9B valuation. The round was co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Growth, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, Citi Ventures, IBM Ventures, Workday Ventures, Accenture, Balderton, Insight Partners, and Vanguard. The company intends to use the funds to consolidate its position in the enterprise-generative AI category and accelerate its development of enterprise-grade agentic AI.
Upwind Security, a two-year-old cybersecurity startup with operations in Israel and San Francisco,  is close to securing $100 million in Series B funding. Backed by investors like Craft Ventures and Greylock, the company leverages runtime data to provide real-time cloud security insights.
TRexBio, a San Francisco, CA-based biotechnology company decoding human tissue immune biology to create new therapeutics, raised $84M in Series B funding. Delos Capital led the round with participation from Avego BioScience Capital, Agent Capital, Eli Lilly and Company, SV Health Investors, Pfizer Ventures, Johnson & Johnson, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Polaris Partners. TRexBio is a biotechnology company developing purpose-built therapeutics by leveraging computational biology tools, a focus on human tissue, and expertise in immunobiology. Its platform maps human tissue Treg behavior to disease processes to identify and characterize novel targets for therapeutic intervention.
11x, a San Francisco, CA-based company developing AI-powered digital worker services for revenue teams, raised $50M in Series B funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round.
Zero Gravity Labs, a year-old San Francisco startup, has raised $40 million in funding from Hack VC, Delphi Digital, OKX Ventures, Polygon, and Animoca Brands. The company is building a decentralized AI operating system that enables users to run AI applications on a distributed network of computers. Zero Gravity Labs has also secured a $250 million token purchase commitment.
Fleek, a four-year-old San Francisco-based startup, has raised $20.4 million in a Series A funding round led by HV Capital. Previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator also participated in the round. Fleek operates an online marketplace that connects retailers and resellers with verified vintage and secondhand clothing suppliers.
oneskin, a San Francisco, CA-based biotech skin health brand, closed its Series A funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $20M, was led by Selva Ventures, alongside PLUS Capital, Unilever Ventures, Able Partners, and former investors SOSV and Meta Planet. Additional investors include Brazilian-American model and designer Camila Alves McConaughey, from PLUS Capital’s collective of artist and athlete partners, and tech entrepreneur Kevin Rose. https://www.finsmes.com/2024/11/oneskin-closes-series-a-funding-round.html
Bounce, a San Francisco-based startup that offers short-term luggage storage and package pickup services, has raised $19 million in a Series B funding round. Sapphire Sport led the round, which included participation from 20VC Growth, FJ Labs, Shilling, Thayer Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and General Catalyst. Bounce, founded six years ago, has become popular among travelers seeking convenient and affordable luggage storage solutions.
Fractional, a four-year-old real estate technology startup based in San Francisco, has successfully raised a $15 million Series A funding round. Led by Fifth Wall, with participation from Left Lane, the funding will be used to expand Fractional's platform and accelerate growth. Fractional's innovative platform allows individuals to co-own investment properties, making real estate investment more accessible to a wider range of investors.
Neon VR Game, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a direct-to-consumer platform built for games, raised $14M in funding. Backers included Renegade Partners, Thrive Capital, a16z Speedrun, SciFi VC, and Ribbit Capital. The company intends to use the funds to double its team while accelerating investment in its product and go-to-market efforts.
Leland, a San Francisco-based startup that pairs users with expert coaches for educational and career advancement, has secured $12 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Forerunner Ventures, with participation from GSV Ventures. This brings Leland's total funding to $17.1 million.
Outbuild, a San Francisco, CA-based construction scheduling and planning software company, raised $11M in Series A funding. The round was led by Sway Ventures and participated in by Hilti Venture, Trimble Ventures, and venture capital firms BGV and Zacua Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to support team expansion and advance a product roadmap that includes artificial intelligence.
Substack, an eight-year-old company that empowers writers to publish newsletters and earn directly from their subscribers, has secured $10 million in funding from investors such as Omeed Malik and Nate Silver.
Fastino, a newly founded San Francisco startup, has raised $7 million in a pre-seed funding round. The round was co-led by Insight Partners and M12, with participation from NEA and Valor. Fastino aims to develop specialized AI models tailored for businesses, focusing on performance, efficiency, and specific task optimization.
Oyster®, a San Francisco, CA-based employment solution for employing, paying, and caring for distributed teams, received a $5M investment from ServiceNow Ventures.
Lume AI, a two-year-old San Francisco-based startup, has raised $4.2 million in a seed funding round led by General Catalyst. Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Floodgate, and Soma Capital also participated in the round. Lume AI leverages AI to automate the complex task of organizing and converting data between various formats, streamlining business data management processes.
thesys, a San Francisco, CA-based user interface startup focused on AI apps, raised $4m in seed funding. The round was led by Together Fund, with participation from 8vc.
Corgea (YC S23), a San Francisco, CA-based cybersecurity startup providing an AI-powered security platform, raised $2.6M in Seed funding. The round was led by Shorooq Partners, with participation from investors Y Combinator (YC), Propeller, Decacorn Capital, Unbound Ventures, and various angels such as Jawed Karim (co-founder of Youtube & Y Ventures) and Sam Kassoumeh (Co-founder of SecurityScoreCard).
Connecty AI, a San Francisco, CA-based company offering enterprise data agents, raised $1.8M in pre-Seed funding. Market One Capital led the round, including Notion Capital, Marcin Zukowski, and Maciej Zawadzinski.
Voxela, Inc., a San Francisco, CA-based AI care management system company, raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A funding. Voxela is an agetech startup that leverages AI technology to offer Voxela VCare, addressing eldercare challenges with rapid and effective solutions. The service – empowered by AI-driven image analysis technology – detects accidents and risks, such as falls or wandering in care facilities and hospitals, while providing comprehensive monitoring, incident reporting, evaluation, and prevention.