The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Defense And Space Tech Lead For Large Rounds

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This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s Top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding deal roundup here.

Growth-stage companies and startups enjoyed another robust week of large capital infusions. Defense tech specialist Shield AI, known for its work in autonomy and virtual simulations, claimed the top spot with a massive $2 billion financing package. Following closely behind was drone delivery enterprise Zipline International, which brought in an additional $1.5 billion.

The remaining positions on the list featured substantial investments across various domains, including agentic AI, space technology, and AI infrastructure.

1. Shield AI, $2B, defense tech: Shield AI, a creator of autonomy software, defense systems, simulation, and synthetic reality tech, collected $2 billion in equity funding alongside $500 million in debt financing. The equity portion featured a $1 billion Series H co-led by Disruptive and Innovation X Capital, plus a $1 billion structured equity commitment from Blackstone-managed funds. JPMorganChase spearheaded the $500 million debt transaction. Headquartered in San Diego, Shield also revealed plans to acquire radar manufacturer Echodyne in a deal valued at $5.3 billion.
2. Zipline International, $1.5B, drones: Drone delivery firm Zipline International secured $1.5 billion in late-stage capital, establishing a post-money valuation of $21.5 billion. Paradigm, WCM Investment Management, and Layer Global directed the investment for the South San Francisco-based enterprise, which intends to deploy the funds toward growing its domestic manufacturing footprint and scaling hiring efforts for a nationwide drone delivery network.
3. CesiumAstro, $730M, space tech: Austin-based CesiumAstro, which builds space and defense communications systems as well as satellites, finalized $730 million in Series D financing, pushing its valuation past $4.5 billion. Janus Henderson directed the equity portion, while the business also obtained $100 million in debt financing via the Export-Import Bank of the United States and JP Morgan.
4. Northwood Space, $375M, space tech: Torrance, California-based Northwood Space, a builder of ground infrastructure designed to back satellite networks, gathered $375 million in Series C financing. Andreessen Horowitz and DFJ Growth managed the round for the 3-year-old enterprise, which completed its Series B roughly nine months prior.
5. Applied Compute, $350M, AI models: Applied Compute, developer of a cloud computing platform utilized by developers and businesses to train and operate large AI models, unveiled $350 million in fresh capital at a $3.25 billion valuation. Elad Gil spearheaded the round, backed by an extensive investor group that includes Nvidia. The San Francisco-based firm, which debuted 18 months ago, reported that its annual recurring revenue has already surpassed $100 million.
6. Harbinger, $240M, electric trucks: Harbinger, an electric truck technology startup expanding its footprint into defense systems and battery storage, brought in $240 million in Series D financing. Tiger Global, Capricorn Investment Group, and Ridgeline co-led the round for the Garden Grove, California-based organization.
7. Sentra, $150M, AI data security: Sentra, a developer of agentic data security solutions, closed $150 million through a strategic investment round overseen by Capital One Ventures. Established in 2021, Sentra maintains dual headquarters in New York and Tel Aviv.
8. Traversal, $120M, agentic AI: Traversal, a startup designing AI agents tailored for enterprise site reliability engineering, pulled in $120 million in new backing at a $1 billion valuation. Kleiner Perkins, Redpoint, and Khosla Ventures jointly managed the round for the New York-based startup.
9. Ocient, $100M, agentic AI: Chicago-based Ocient, an enterprise agentic AI provider specializing in data analytics, captured $100 million in Series C financing, co-led by BOKA Capital and OCA Ventures.
10. (tied) Tutor Intelligence, $75M, robotics: Watertown, Massachusetts-based Tutor Intelligence, a company concentrating on robot foundation model training and the creation of robotic workers, secured $75 million in Series B financing directed by Andreessen Horowitz.
11. (tied) Kalepa, $75M, insurtech: Kalepa, a creator of AI solutions tailored for the insurance sector, closed on $75 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $470 million. Updata Partners directed the round for the New York-based company.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2026. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.