The US startup market saw a significant surge in funding between September 5 and 11, 2026, with four companies securing at least $1 billion each. The Boring Co. led the week with a $3 billion Series D round, valuing the tunnel-drilling firm at $23 billion. AI coding startup Cognition followed, raising $2 billion in a Series E round that brought its valuation to $48 billion.
Fleet management provider Motive secured $1.3 billion in private equity funding, while reusable rocket developer Stoke Space raised $1 billion in a Series E round, achieving a valuation of $10 billion. Other notable deals included solar manufacturer Suniva with $835 million and defense tech firm Mach Industries, which raised $600 million at a $3.7 billion valuation.
The legal AI sector saw Harvey raise $550 million, valuing the company at $15.5 billion. In the hardware and infrastructure space, Fab2 and Positron each raised $500 million, with valuations reaching $3.7 billion and $5 billion respectively. Celero Communications and Encoded Therapeutics rounded out the top ten, each securing $275 million in their respective funding rounds.
