San Francisco Startups Secure Over $350 Million in Fresh Funding

Across Tech and Biotech Sectors

Let's look at some notable fundraising activities in San Francisco's vibrant startup ecosystem.

Funding

Marea Therapeutics, a San Francisco, California-based clinical-stage biotechnology company incubated by Third Rock Ventures, has raised a combined $190 million in Series A and Series B financing rounds. Series A was led by Third Rock Ventures, while Series B was led by Sofinnova Investments and co-led by Forbion, Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund, and venBio, with participation from Alpha Wave Global, Omega Funds, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), and founding investor Third Rock Ventures. Marea Therapeutics plans to use the funds to advance the Phase 2 development of its lead program MAR001 and support additional pipeline programs, leveraging its innovative approach to developing therapies for various diseases.

Daydream, a one-year-old San Francisco startup, has raised a substantial $50 million seed round for its innovative e-commerce search engine. Founded by Julie Bornstein, a former executive at StitchFix and The Yes, the company aims to enhance online shopping experiences through personalized and efficient product searches. The funding round was co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Index Ventures, with participation from GV and True Ventures. This significant early-stage investment highlights the potential investors see in Daydream's approach to revolutionizing digital product discovery and purchasing in the e-commerce sector.

Decagon, a San Francisco-based generative AI company focused on enterprise customer support, has raised $35 million in combined Seed and Series A funding. The Seed round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), while Accel led the Series A round. Additional investors included A*, Elad Gil, and notable angel investors from companies such as Box, Airtable, Rippling, Okta, Lattice, and Klaviyo. Decagon plans to use this significant investment to develop its product further and grow its team, aiming to enhance its AI-powered customer support solutions for enterprises.

Constructor, a San Francisco-based company that offers an AI-powered product discovery and search platform for enterprise e-commerce businesses, has raised $25 million in a Series B funding round. This latest investment values Constructor at $550 million. Sapphire Ventures led the round, with Silversmith Capital Partners participating. Constructor plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate its product development and innovation efforts and expand its operations internationally. The platform uses artificial intelligence to enhance large online retailers' product search and discovery capabilities.

Speak, a decade-old San Francisco startup, has secured a $20 million Series B funding round led by Buckley Ventures, with participation from the OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, Paul Graham, and Jeff Weiner. The investment values the company at $500 million, bringing its total funding to $84 million. Speak's innovative app utilizes artificial intelligence to help users learn new languages through real-time conversations and instant feedback, offering an immersive and interactive approach to language acquisition.

Amplify Life Insurance, a San Francisco-based digital platform focusing on wealth-building through permanent life insurance, has secured $20 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Crosslink Capital and Anthemis, with new investors Moneta Ventures and Evolution Ventures joining. Existing investors Greycroft, Munich Re Ventures, and Foxe Capital also continued their support. Amplify plans to use this new capital to launch a suite of proprietary products shortly, furthering its mission to empower wealth-building through innovative life insurance solutions.

Autify, a company based in San Francisco and Tokyo that provides an AI platform for quality engineering, has raised $13 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Globis Capital Partners and LG Technology Ventures, with participation from existing investors WiL, Salesforce Ventures, Archetype Ventures, and Uncorrelated Ventures. Autify plans to use the fresh capital to expand its capabilities in supporting code-based test automation and build a comprehensive, generative AI-powered quality engineering platform featuring its newest product, Zenes.

Aikido Technologies, a San Francisco-based startup focusing on floating wind technology, has secured $4 million in seed funding. The company's innovative approach aims to reduce costs, shorten fabrication times, and enable serial production in the floating wind sector. Led by Azolla Ventures, the funding round attracted support from various investors, including Propeller Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, Cisco Foundation, and Anthropocene Ventures. Aikido plans to use this capital to develop its technology for offshore deployment further, expand its team, and build a commercial pipeline. The company is also backed by Breakthrough Energy Fellows, which is funding its first pilot project, the Aikido One.

Scoop Analytics, Inc., a San Francisco-based company offering a business analytics tool powered by spreadsheets, has raised $3.5 million in Seed funding. The round was led by Ridge Ventures, with participation from returning investors Engineering Capital and Industry Ventures. Ridge Ventures partner Yousuf Khan, a former CIO and advisor to early-stage companies like Material Security, Productiv, and Zoom, is joining Scoop's board. The company plans to use the funds to expand the features of its spreadsheet-driven analytics solution.

Maxim AI, a San Francisco-based startup that has been operating for a year, has secured $3 million in funding. Elevation Capital led the investment round. Maxim AI is focused on developing tools and platforms to evaluate and observe artificial intelligence models. The company aims to utilize the raised capital to enhance its product offerings and expand its AI monitoring and evaluation capabilities, catering to the growing demand for transparent and trustworthy AI systems.

Proofs, a San Francisco-based company leveraging AI agents to streamline the proof-of-concept phase in software sales, has raised $2.6 million in Pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Earlybird Digital East Fund, with participation from RTP Global, Step Function Ventures, Expeditions Fund, and angel investors. The company plans to utilize the funds for product development, talent acquisition, and go-to-market preparation, focusing primarily on mid-market and enterprise customers in the United States.

SUBMIX, INC., a San Francisco-based audio technology company, has secured $1 million in Pre-Seed funding from investors, including Angel Invest Ventures, SCNE, TSIC, and Vesna Capital. Led by CEO Paul Jeszenszky, Submix aims to revolutionize remote collaboration in the music industry by providing a platform that allows musicians, producers, and audio professionals to work together in real time, regardless of their preferred tools, software, or operating systems. The company plans to use the newly acquired funds to expand its operations and further develop its technology, aiming to stream the collaborative process for audio professionals worldwide.

Funds

A16z alumnus Kevin Hartz's venture capital firm, A*, has secured its second fund since its inception. The San Francisco-based company specializes in early-stage investments, particularly in the artificial intelligence and consumer technology sectors, and has raised $315 million. This new fund will focus on seed-stage deals in these high-growth areas just three years after the firm's establishment.