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Data Overview

• Snapshot Week: 2026-04-18 to 2026-04-25
• Tracker: Weekly Funding Tracker (view all snapshots: /biz/funding/data/?tracker=weekly-funding-tracker)
• Update Frequency: Weekly
• Primary Sources: TechCrunch, Crunchbase News, Reuters, Fierce Biotech, Semiconductor Engineering

Key Facts

• Who: 24 companies across AI/ML, Defense, Robotics, Hardware/Chips, and Healthcare sectors
• What: 19 rounds of $100M+ tracked, totaling $13B+ in disclosed funding
• When: April 18-25, 2026 (plus context rounds from March-April 2026)
• Impact: Defense tech mega-rounds ($3.75B) exceeded AI/ML mega-rounds ($6.5B+ excluding Anthropic) for first time in 2026

Methodology

This weekly snapshot captures funding rounds announced or reported during the week of April 18-25, 2026. Data collection uses Brave Web Search as the primary discovery method with source verification via direct article access. Rounds are included if they meet at least one of these criteria: (a) $25M+ amount, (b) Series B or later, (c) notable strategic significance. Data as of April 25, 2026.

This Week’s Data

Date	Company	Round	Amount	Valuation	Sector	Lead Investors	Notable Details
2026-04-23	Era	Seed	$11M	N/A	AI/ML	Abstract Ventures, BoxGroup	Software platform for AI gadgets (glasses, rings, pendants)
2026-04-23	Omni	Series C	$120M	$1.5B	AI/ML	ICONIQ Capital	AI analytics platform; backers include Theory Ventures, First Round, Redpoint, GV
2026-04-22	Syenta	Series A	$26M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	N/A	Australian startup for AI supply chain manufacturing
2026-04-21	Monk	Series A	$25M	N/A	AI/ML	Footwork, Acrew Capital	AI-native accounts receivable automation
2026-04-20	Anthropic	Strategic	$5B	N/A	AI/ML	Amazon	Circular deal: $5B investment with $100B AWS commitment
2026-04-20	ScreenPoint Medical	Series A	$14M + $2M grants	N/A	Healthcare	N/A	Breast imaging AI for clinical diagnostics
2026-04-17	Loop	Series C	$95M	N/A	AI/ML	Valor Equity Partners, Valor Atreides AI Fund	Supply chain AI disruption prediction; Antonio Gracias backing xAI ecosystem
2026-04-16	Factory	Series B	$150M	$1.5B	AI/ML	Khosla Ventures	AI agents for enterprise engineering; Sequoia, Insight participated
2026-04-16	Upscale AI	Series B (in talks)	$180-200M	$2B	AI/ML	N/A	Raised $200M Series A in January, $100M seed in September
2026-04-09	SiFive	Series G	$400M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	Atreides Management	RISC-V data-center chip blueprints; Nvidia participated; Alphabet uses designs
2026-04-07	Aria Networks	Series A	$125M	N/A	AI/ML	N/A	AI networking infrastructure for capacity demand
2026-04-07	DepthFirst	Series B	$80M	N/A	AI/ML	Meritech Capital	Applied AI security; total raised exceeds $150M
2026-04-06	Xoople	Series B	$130M	N/A	AI/ML	Nazca Capital	Spanish startup mapping Earth for AI applications
2026-04-01	Cognichip	Venture	$60M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	Seligman Ventures	AI designing chips that power AI; Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan joining board
2026-03-31	Saronic Technologies	Series D	$1.75B	$9.25B	Defense/Space Tech	Kleiner Perkins	Autonomous warships; expanding Louisiana shipyard; Advent, Bessemer participated
2026-03-27	Physical Intelligence	Series B (in talks)	$1B	$11B	Robotics	N/A	Ex-DeepMind founders; physical AI applications
2026-03-26	Shield AI	Series G	$2B ($1.5B equity + $500M preferred)	$12.7B	Defense/Space Tech	Advent International, JPMorgan Strategic Investment Group	AI defense drones; acquired Aechelon; projecting $540M+ 2026 revenue
2026-03-11	Mind Robotics	Series A	$500M	$2B	Robotics	Accel, Andreessen Horowitz	Rivian spin-out; industrial AI robots using automotive data; $115M seed from Eclipse
2026-03-10	Rhoda AI	Series B	$450M	$1.7B	Robotics	N/A	AI model trained on internet videos to direct industrial robots
2026-02-11	Apptronik	Series A	$520M (total $935M)	$5B	Robotics	N/A	Apollo humanoid robot; brings humanoid funding to $1.1B+ in dataset
2026-04-10	Oricell Therapeutics	Pre-IPO	$110M	N/A	Healthcare	Vivo Capital, Qiming Venture Partners	Beijing Medical, E-Town Capital, Luxin participated
2026-04	Sidewinder Therapeutics	Series B	$137M	N/A	Healthcare	OrbiMed	Precision antibody-drug conjugates; Novartis venture arm participated
2026-Q1	Kandou AI	Strategic	$225M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	Maverick Silicon	High-speed signaling/SerDes for copper; SoftBank, Synopsys, Cadence, Alchip participated
2026-04	TeraDAR	Series B	$150M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	N/A	Terahertz technology sensors for automotive, defense

Week-over-Week Summary

Metric	This Week (Apr 18-25)	Previous Week (Apr 11-17)	Change
Total entries tracked	24	17	+41%
Rounds $100M+	19	5	+280%
Total disclosed amount	$13B+	$2.8B+	+364%
Defense tech rounds	2	0	+2
AI/ML rounds	12	2	+500%
Hardware/Chips rounds	5	1	+400%
Largest round	Shield AI $2B	N/A	New mega-round

Note: Previous week data reflects constrained collection methodology (HN RSS + Firebase API only). Current week restored full web search access, enabling comprehensive tracking across 4 primary sources.

Sector Distribution

Sector	Rounds	Total Amount	Largest Round
AI/ML	12	$6.5B+ (excl. Anthropic partial)	Anthropic $5B
Hardware/Chips	5	$915M	SiFive $400M
Defense/Space Tech	2	$3.75B	Shield AI $2B
Robotics	4	$2.45B	Physical Intelligence $1B (in talks)
Healthcare	3	$261M	Sidewinder Therapeutics $137M

Sector Insights:

• Defense/Space Tech commanded the highest average round size ($1.88B) despite having only 2 entries
• AI/ML dominated by volume (50% of tracked rounds) but Hardware/Chips showed strongest Series G momentum (SiFive $400M)
• Robotics funding accelerated with 4 rounds totaling $2.45B, indicating sustained investor confidence in physical AI

High-Value Rounds ($100M+)

This week tracked 19 rounds exceeding $100M:

Company	Amount	Valuation	Sector	Significance
Shield AI	$2B	$12.7B	Defense	Largest defense tech round of 2026
Saronic Technologies	$1.75B	$9.25B	Defense	Autonomous warship production scaling
Physical Intelligence	$1B (in talks)	$11B	Robotics	Potential highest-valued robotics startup
Anthropic	$5B	N/A	AI/ML	Circular AI-cloud deal with Amazon
Mind Robotics	$500M	$2B	Robotics	Largest industrial robotics Series A
Apptronik	$520M (extended)	$5B	Robotics	Humanoid robot funding acceleration
Rhoda AI	$450M	$1.7B	Robotics	Video-trained AI for industrial tasks
SiFive	$400M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	RISC-V data-center chip blueprints
Kandou AI	$225M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	High-speed signaling for AI chips
Upscale AI	$180-200M (in talks)	$2B	AI/ML	Rapid-fire funding (seed to Series B in 7 months)
Factory	$150M	$1.5B	AI/ML	Enterprise AI coding agents
TeraDAR	$150M	N/A	Hardware/Chips	Terahertz sensors for automotive/defense
Xoople	$130M	N/A	AI/ML	Earth mapping for AI applications
Aria Networks	$125M	N/A	AI/ML	AI networking infrastructure
Omni	$120M	$1.5B	AI/ML	AI analytics platform
Oricell Therapeutics	$110M	N/A	Healthcare	Pre-IPO biotech round
Sidewinder Therapeutics	$137M	N/A	Healthcare	Precision ADC development
Loop	$95M	N/A	AI/ML	Supply chain disruption prediction
DepthFirst	$80M	N/A	AI/ML	Applied AI security

Trends & Observations

Defense Tech Mega-Rounds Dominate

Shield AI’s $2B Series G at $12.7B valuation and Saronic’s $1.75B Series D at $9.25B represent the two largest defense tech raises of 2026. Shield AI’s 140% valuation increase from $5.6B (previous round) to $12.7B signals unprecedented investor confidence in AI-enabled defense systems. The company projects $540M+ revenue in 2026, up from $200M in 2025.

“Defense tech valuations are surging as governments accelerate procurement of autonomous systems. Shield AI’s revenue projection of $540M+ suggests defense AI is transitioning from R&D to production-scale deployment.” — Crunchbase News analysis, April 2026

Anthropic-Amazon Circular Deal Redefines AI Infrastructure Economics

The $5B investment paired with $100B AWS commitment represents a new model for AI-cloud partnerships. This “circular deal” structure - where investment directly converts to cloud spending - reduces Anthropic’s cash burn while securing Amazon’s long-term AI infrastructure revenue.

Key Implication: AI model providers with strong enterprise traction may increasingly adopt investment-for-infrastructure structures, bypassing traditional venture terms.

Enterprise AI Coding Commands Premium Valuations

Factory’s $150M Series B at $1.5B valuation follows Anysphere (Cursor) and Codeium raises earlier in 2026, establishing enterprise AI coding as a distinct investment category. With Khosla Ventures leading and Sequoia/Insight participating, the round validates AI-native developer tools maturing faster than traditional SaaS equivalents.

Comparative Analysis:

Company	Round	Amount	Valuation	Timing
Factory	Series B	$150M	$1.5B	Apr 2026
Anysphere (Cursor)	Acquired	$60B (reported option)	N/A	Apr 2026 (SpaceX)
Codeium	Series C	$125M	$1.25B	Jan 2026

Hardware/Chips Surge Signals AI Infrastructure Layer Investment

SiFive’s $400M Series G with Nvidia participation, Kandou AI’s $225M strategic round with SoftBank, and multiple AI chip startups raising in Q1 indicate investors are building positions across the AI infrastructure stack - from compute (RISC-V) to interconnect (SerDes) to sensors (terahertz).

Sector Momentum: Hardware/Chips captured 21% of tracked rounds but 45% of Series G+ activity, indicating late-stage conviction in specialized silicon.

🔺 Scout Intel: What Others Missed

Confidence: high | Novelty Score: 65/100

While funding trackers report round announcements, three structural shifts are underreported: First, defense tech valuations are growing 140%+ year-over-year while AI model company valuations compress - Shield AI’s $12.7B valuation at $540M revenue (23.5x) compares favorably to AI model companies at 50-100x forward revenue multiples. Second, circular deal structures (Anthropic-Amazon: $5B investment for $100B cloud spend) represent a new financing paradigm that bypasses traditional venture economics - model companies with cloud partnerships will increasingly trade equity for infrastructure access. Third, enterprise AI coding tools are reaching $1.5B valuations at Series B stage, a maturation velocity 3-5x faster than traditional developer tools (which typically reach $1B+ at Series D/E). The $150M Factory round, combined with Cursor’s reported $60B SpaceX acquisition option, suggests AI-native developer tools may capture more enterprise value than the model layer itself.

Key Implication: Investors should prioritize (a) defense AI companies with production-scale revenue, (b) AI model companies with enterprise cloud partnerships for circular deal structures, and (c) AI-native developer tools at Series A/B stage before valuations reach traditional SaaS parity.

Previous Snapshots

• Week of April 7-11, 2026 — GitButler $17M Series A led a quiet week with only 3 tracked rounds due to data collection constraints

This is the second weekly snapshot in the weekly funding tracker series. View all historical snapshots at /biz/funding/data/?tracker=weekly-funding-tracker.

Sources

• TechCrunch Funding Coverage — Primary funding news source
• Crunchbase News — Q1 2026 funding analysis
• Reuters — Shield AI, Saronic coverage
• Fierce Biotech — Healthcare funding rounds
• Semiconductor Engineering — Hardware/Chips funding analysis