By Jia Lissa 
The venture capital landscape remains in a state of high-octane transformation as we move through 2026. This past week served as a stark indicator of investor sentiment: while market volatility persists in public sectors, the appetite for transformative, capital-intensive technology remains ravenous. AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and deep-tech hardware are not merely attracting capital—they are commanding billion-dollar valuations that signal a long-term bet on the backbone of the future economy.
In this edition of our weekly funding roundup, we analyze the 10 largest venture deals in the United States. Collectively, these rounds represent a massive infusion of liquidity into companies aiming to redefine how we compute, secure, power, and navigate the world.
The Billion-Dollar Benchmark: Keyfactor and SambaNova
The most striking feature of this week’s activity was the dual crowning of two companies reaching the elusive $1 billion financing milestone.
Keyfactor: Securing the Digital Identity
Keyfactor, the Independence, Ohio-based cybersecurity heavyweight, successfully closed a $1 billion private equity round. Led by Summit Partners, with significant participation from Insight Partners and Sixth Street Growth, the round underscores the escalating necessity of machine identity management. As enterprises accelerate their transition to cloud-native architectures, the security of encryption keys and digital certificates has become a mission-critical vulnerability. With this latest infusion, Keyfactor has solidified its position as a dominant player in the cybersecurity ecosystem, bringing its cumulative funding to approximately $1.21 billion.
SambaNova Systems: Powering the AI Engine
In a parallel move, Palo Alto’s SambaNova Systems announced a highly anticipated $1 billion Series F round at a $11 billion post-money valuation. Led by General Atlantic, the deal attracted a veritable "who’s who" of institutional capital, including BlackRock, Intel Capital, T. Rowe Price, and the Qatar Investment Authority. SambaNova’s pivot toward full-stack AI infrastructure—developing both the specialized chips and the enterprise software required for massive training and inference workloads—has placed it in direct competition with the industry’s most established incumbents. Having raised nearly $2.5 billion to date, SambaNova is now squarely focused on scaling its deployment of high-performance AI hardware for enterprise applications.
Quantum and Clean Energy: The "Deep Tech" Surge
While AI and security captured the largest checks, the breadth of investment this week demonstrates that venture capital is diversifying its portfolio into high-barrier-to-entry sectors.
Oratomic’s Quantum Leap
The third-largest deal of the week went to Oratomic, a South Pasadena-based quantum computing startup that secured a $300 million Series A. Co-led by ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Spark Capital, the round highlights the maturation of the quantum hardware space. Oratomic is focused on neutral-atom quantum architectures, a field that has transitioned from theoretical physics to a viable commercial race. The participation of notable figures such as Robinhood’s Baiju Bhatt and computer scientist Scott Aaronson speaks to the industry-wide consensus that fault-tolerant quantum computing is nearing a breakthrough.
Quaise Energy: Drilling for Carbon-Free Power
Energy independence remains a top-tier priority for global markets. Quaise Energy, the Houston-based innovator, secured $134 million in Series B funding to scale its millimeter-wave drilling technology. By leveraging techniques developed in fusion research to drill deeper than ever before, Quaise aims to unlock geothermal energy as a base-load power source. With a total of $225 million raised, the company is positioning itself to disrupt the traditional energy grid, proving that "hard tech" in the climate sector is seeing a renewed resurgence.
AI Infrastructure and Regulatory Compliance
Beyond the billion-dollar giants, the AI ecosystem continues to foster specialized platforms that address the "plumbing" of the industry.
Prime Intellect: The Open-Source Infrastructure
Prime Intellect’s $130 million Series A is a testament to the growing demand for decentralized AI training. Led by Radical Ventures, the round attracted a diverse group of Silicon Valley luminaries, including the CEOs of Box, Perplexity, and Cloudflare. Prime Intellect is building an open platform designed to facilitate the training and deployment of AI models across distributed networks, directly addressing the compute bottlenecks that currently plague AI development.
Norm AI: Automating the Rulebook
Regulatory compliance is often the hidden tax on innovation. New York-based Norm AI, which recently raised $120 million at a $1.2 billion valuation, is tackling this challenge by using AI to automate the interpretation and application of legal codes. Led by Khosla Ventures, the company has attracted backing from titans of finance and industry, including former Blackstone executive Hamilton James. Their success reflects a broader trend: as AI models grow more powerful, the need for automated guardrails to ensure compliance with global regulatory standards has become an urgent business requirement.
Financial Technology and Aerospace Innovations
Rounding out the top 10 are sectors that serve as the fundamental infrastructure of global commerce and mobility.
- Gauntlet (Crypto Infrastructure): The New York-based firm raised $125 million from SBI Group. As decentralized finance (DeFi) matures, Gauntlet provides the necessary simulation and risk-management software to keep these protocols solvent.
- Venus Aerospace (Hypersonic Propulsion): Houston-based Venus Aerospace secured $91 million to continue its work on hypersonic engines. With backing from Lockheed Martin Ventures and Airbus Ventures, the company is clearly aligned with the defense and commercial aviation sectors’ goals of radical speed and efficiency.
- EDX Markets (Digital Asset Exchange): With $76 million in funding from SBI Group, EDX is signaling the professionalization of crypto trading. Designed specifically for institutional investors, this platform reflects the ongoing integration of digital assets into the traditional financial fabric.
- Fore Biotherapeutics (Biotech): Closing the list with $67.4 million in Series D funding, this Philadelphia-based precision oncology company is targeting rare cancer mutations. The strong participation from institutional biotech investors confirms that medical innovation remains a high-priority vertical for venture firms.
Implications: A New Era of Capital Allocation
The trends observed this week suggest a shift in venture capital strategy. We are moving away from the "growth at all costs" mentality of the previous cycle and toward a "strategic infrastructure" model.
1. The Consolidation of Compute
Investors are no longer betting on every AI application; they are betting on the foundation. The massive rounds for SambaNova and Prime Intellect demonstrate that the next phase of the AI gold rush is about owning the infrastructure layer—the chips, the distributed networks, and the training pipelines.
2. The Return of Physical Realism
The success of Quaise Energy and Venus Aerospace indicates that VCs are once again comfortable with long-horizon, capital-intensive hardware projects. The "software eats the world" era is evolving into a "software powers the physical world" era, where breakthroughs in energy and aerospace are deemed as essential as advancements in software.
3. Institutional Integration of Crypto
The rounds for Gauntlet and EDX Markets suggest that the "crypto winter" is firmly in the rearview mirror, replaced by an "institutional spring." Investors are betting that the future of finance involves the same simulation and trading rigor used in traditional markets, applied to digital assets.
4. The Compliance Moat
Norm AI’s massive valuation highlights a growing realization: the AI models of the future will be restricted by their ability to navigate complex legal environments. Companies that can bridge the gap between "machine intelligence" and "regulatory compliance" are set to capture massive market share.
Final Thoughts: Navigating the 2026 Landscape
The current venture climate is defined by a concentration of capital in companies that provide systemic stability. Whether it is Keyfactor securing the digital identity, Oratomic pushing the boundaries of quantum physics, or Quaise Energy reimagining the power grid, the common thread is utility.
As we look toward the remainder of 2026, the question for investors will no longer be about the potential of a specific technology, but about its scalability and its ability to integrate into the existing economic infrastructure. The startups that succeed will be those that do not just promise a faster future, but provide the secure, compliant, and efficient bedrock upon which that future can be built.
Methodology Note: This report tracks the largest announced venture rounds in the Crunchbase database for U.S.-based companies between July 4 and July 10, 2026. While the data represents the most significant activity in the market, minor adjustments may occur as late-reported rounds are integrated into the database.
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Nana Wu 
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