Saronic raised the largest AI round in Austin from January through September 2026: a $1.75 billion Series D in March, led by Kleiner Perkins at a $9.25 billion valuation. The company builds autonomous vessels for defense customers. Base Power, which runs a network of home batteries, raised $1 billion in a Series D in August at a $13 billion valuation, and Apptronik, which makes the Apollo humanoid robot, added a $520 million extension to its Series A in February, taking that round past $935 million.
By Bot Memo’s count, AI startups headquartered in Austin raised $4.31 billion in equity across 73 rounds in 2025. By mid-September 2026 they had already raised more than that.
This guide covers notable rounds raised in 2025 and 2026 by Austin companies that build AI products, plus the chip, power and cooling companies that sell to AI data centers. It also covers the investors writing the checks.
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Notable Austin AI rounds of 2025
Base Power raised the largest round in this guide for 2025, a $1 billion Series C in October led by Addition. The company installs batteries in Texas homes and runs them together as a virtual power plant, and it makes its batteries in Austin. CapitalG, Ribbit and Spark joined the round as new investors, alongside returning backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, Thrive Capital and Valor Equity Partners.
Saronic raised a $600 million Series C in February 2025 at a $4 billion valuation. Elad Gil led it, General Catalyst came in as a new investor, and 8VC, Caffeinated Capital and Andreessen Horowitz returned. The same month, NinjaOne, which sells endpoint management and automated patching software to IT teams, raised $500 million in Series C extensions led by ICONIQ Growth and CapitalG at a $5 billion valuation. Part of the money went toward its $262 million purchase of Dropsuite.
Apptronik raised $403 million in its Series A over two closes. The first $350 million, announced in February 2025, was co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, an Austin accelerator and fund, with Google taking part. A March extension added Mercedes-Benz, Japan Post Capital, ARK Invest and others. The company started in 2016 in the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.
Further down the list:
- Ontic, which builds AI software that gathers threat signals for corporate security teams, raised a $230 million Series C led by KKR in August 2025. JMI Equity, Silverton Partners, Ridge Ventures and Ten Eleven Ventures also invested.
- Anaconda, the Python and open-source AI platform used by data science teams, raised more than $150 million in a Series C led by Insight Partners in July 2025.
- Mythic, which designs analog compute-in-memory chips that run AI models at the edge, raised $125 million led by DCVC in December 2025.
- ICON, the 3D home printing company that also built an AI architect called Vitruvius, raised a $56 million Series C co-led by Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global in February 2025.
- Allen Control Systems raised a $30 million Series A led by Craft Ventures in March 2025 for Bullfrog, a weapon system that uses computer vision to shoot down drones.
- Autonomize AI raised a $28 million Series A in June 2025 for AI agents that handle care management and benefits checks at health plans. Valtruis, the Cigna Group Ventures and Tau Ventures were the new investors.
- Hello Patient, which answers patient calls and texts with conversational AI, raised a $22.5 million Series A led by Scale Venture Partners in September 2025.
- Nudge Security, which finds and governs the SaaS and AI tools employees use, raised a $22.5 million Series A led by Cerberus Ventures in November 2025.
Notable Austin AI rounds of 2026 so far
Saronic’s Series D in March was the largest round in this guide. Kleiner Perkins led it, Advent International, Bessemer Venture Partners and DFJ Growth were among the new investors, and Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC returned. Base Power’s Series D was led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, and brought the company’s total funding to more than $2.5 billion. Apptronik’s February extension was led by existing investors B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz and PEAK6, with AT&T Ventures, John Deere and the Qatar Investment Authority joining.
NinjaOne added a Series C extension of more than $400 million in June 2026 that valued the company at $12.3 billion, more than double its February 2025 valuation.
Other notable 2026 rounds went to AI chips, AI security, developer tools, defense and health:
- Neurophos raised a $110 million Series A led by Gates Frontier in January 2026 to build optical processors for AI inference. M12, Aramco Ventures and Bosch Ventures also invested.
- HiddenLayer, which protects AI models and agents from attack, raised a $100 million Series B led by Delta-v Capital in September 2026, with Ten Eleven Ventures, Morgan Stanley, M12 and Booz Allen Ventures.
- Coder, which runs self-hosted development environments where companies can also run AI coding agents, raised a $90 million Series C led by KKR in April 2026.
- Smack Technologies, which builds AI for military planning and decision-making, raised a $61 million Series B co-led by Costanoa Ventures and First In in August 2026.
- Circuit, co-founded by former Silicon Labs CEO Tyson Tuttle, raised $30 million from individual investors including Jim Breyer in February 2026. Its AI helps manufacturing and field service teams configure, quote, install and troubleshoot equipment.
- NODA AI, which coordinates fleets of autonomous and unmanned systems from different vendors, raised a $25 million Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners in February 2026.
- Arintra, which automates medical coding for hospitals and physician groups, raised a $25 million Series B led by Define Ventures in August 2026, a year after a $21 million Series A led by Peak XV Partners.
Chips, power and cooling for AI
A second group of Austin companies sells the hardware and power that AI data centers need. They do not build AI models, but they raised some of the city’s largest rounds.
Fab2, formerly Atomic Semi, raised a $500 million Series A led by Fundomo in September 2026 at a $3.7 billion valuation. Founded by Sam Zeloof and Jim Keller, it designs compact chip fabs and the tools inside them, and it runs a fab in Austin. TAR raised a $120 million Series A led by Spark Capital in September 2026 at a $1 billion valuation, three months after a $27 million seed round. It builds off-grid solar, battery and backup gas systems to power AI data centers.
Aalo Atomics raised a $100 million Series B led by Valor Equity Partners in August 2025 to build small nuclear reactors paired with a data center. Accelsius, which makes liquid cooling that sits directly on AI and high-performance computing chips, raised a $65 million Series B led by Johnson Controls, with Legrand, in January 2026. Samsung is also building a chip plant in Taylor, about 30 miles northeast of Austin.
Austin AI startups at a glance
The table lists the rounds covered above, newest first.
| Company | What it builds | Funding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fab2 | Compact chip fabs | $500M Series A led by Fundomo, $3.7B valuation | Sep 2026 |
| TAR | Off-grid power for AI data centers | $120M Series A led by Spark Capital, $1B valuation | Sep 2026 |
| HiddenLayer | Security for AI models and agents | $100M Series B led by Delta-v Capital | Sep 2026 |
| Smack Technologies | AI for military planning | $61M Series B co-led by Costanoa Ventures and First In | Aug 2026 |
| Arintra | Automated medical coding | $25M Series B led by Define Ventures | Aug 2026 |
| Base Power | Home batteries run as a virtual power plant | $1B Series D led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, $13B post-money valuation | Aug 2026 |
| NinjaOne | Endpoint management and automated patching | More than $400M Series C extension, $12.3B valuation | Jun 2026 |
| Coder | Self-hosted development environments and AI coding agents | $90M Series C led by KKR | Apr 2026 |
| Saronic | Autonomous vessels for defense | $1.75B Series D led by Kleiner Perkins, $9.25B valuation | Mar 2026 |
| Apptronik | Apollo humanoid robot | $520M Series A extension | Feb 2026 |
| Circuit | AI for manufacturing and service teams | $30M from individual investors | Feb 2026 |
| NODA AI | Coordination software for unmanned systems | $25M Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners | Feb 2026 |
| Neurophos | Optical processors for AI inference | $110M Series A led by Gates Frontier | Jan 2026 |
| Accelsius | Direct-to-chip liquid cooling | $65M Series B led by Johnson Controls | Jan 2026 |
| Mythic | Analog AI inference chips | $125M led by DCVC | Dec 2025 |
| Nudge Security | SaaS and AI security governance | $22.5M Series A led by Cerberus Ventures | Nov 2025 |
| Base Power | Home batteries run as a virtual power plant | $1B Series C led by Addition | Oct 2025 |
| Hello Patient | Conversational AI for patient calls | $22.5M Series A led by Scale Venture Partners | Sep 2025 |
| Ontic | AI threat intelligence for security teams | $230M Series C led by KKR | Aug 2025 |
| Aalo Atomics | Small nuclear reactors for data centers | $100M Series B led by Valor Equity Partners | Aug 2025 |
| Anaconda | Python and open-source AI platform | More than $150M Series C led by Insight Partners | Jul 2025 |
| Autonomize AI | AI agents for health plan workflows | $28M Series A | Jun 2025 |
| Allen Control Systems | Counter-drone weapon system | $30M Series A led by Craft Ventures | Mar 2025 |
| Apptronik | Apollo humanoid robot | $403M Series A, co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory | Feb to Mar 2025 |
| Saronic | Autonomous vessels for defense | $600M Series C led by Elad Gil, $4B valuation | Feb 2025 |
| NinjaOne | Endpoint management and automated patching | $500M Series C extensions, $5B valuation | Feb 2025 |
| ICON | 3D-printed homes | $56M Series C co-led by Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global | Feb 2025 |
Defense and robotics
Many of Austin’s biggest checks have gone to companies that build machines. Saronic, Allen Control Systems, Smack Technologies and NODA AI all sell to the military, from autonomous ships to counter-drone guns to the software that plans missions and coordinates unmanned fleets. Apptronik’s humanoid robots are aimed at factories, warehouses and retail. Contoro, which builds robots that unload boxes from trucks and shipping containers, took an investment of undisclosed size from Coupang in April 2026.
The University of Texas at Austin feeds part of this work. Apptronik came out of its Human Centered Robotics Lab. For more companies building physical AI, see Bot Memo’s top AI robotics startups.
Security and health AI
Security is the other large category. Ontic, HiddenLayer, Nudge Security and NinjaOne all sell to security or IT teams, and HiddenLayer’s product exists to protect AI systems themselves. See the top AI cybersecurity startups for the national picture.
Health AI shows up in smaller rounds aimed at the administrative side of care. Autonomize AI works on care management and benefits checks for health plans, Hello Patient answers patient calls, and Arintra codes medical charts for billing. More companies like these are in Bot Memo’s top AI healthcare startups.
Who invests in Austin AI startups
Capital Factory, founded by Joshua Baer in 2009, runs an accelerator and a fund and calls itself the most active early-stage investor in Texas. It co-led Apptronik’s first Series A close and was an existing investor in Autonomize AI.
Other Austin venture firms that invest at the early stage include Silverton Partners, which invested in Ontic’s Series C; ATX Venture Partners, an existing investor in Autonomize AI; LiveOak Venture Partners, which backs Texas founders from pre-seed to Series B; S3 Ventures, which writes seed to Series B checks in business and healthcare software; and Next Coast Ventures, which invests at seed and Series A.
Kleiner Perkins led Saronic’s Series D and Elad Gil its Series C. KKR led both Ontic’s and Coder’s rounds. Addition led Base Power’s Series C and co-led its Series D, Insight Partners led Anaconda, DCVC led Mythic, Gates Frontier led Neurophos, Delta-v Capital led HiddenLayer and Spark Capital led TAR.
Frequently asked questions
What AI companies are in Austin?
Austin AI companies that raised money in 2025 and 2026 include Saronic, Apptronik, NinjaOne, Ontic, Anaconda, Mythic, Neurophos, HiddenLayer, Coder, Smack Technologies, Circuit, NODA AI, Arintra, Autonomize AI, Hello Patient, Nudge Security and Allen Control Systems. Fab2, TAR, Aalo Atomics, Accelsius and Base Power build chips, power or cooling for AI and data centers.
How much AI funding did Austin raise?
By Bot Memo’s count, AI startups headquartered in Austin raised $4.31 billion in equity across 73 rounds in 2025, and by mid-September 2026 they had already passed that total. Saronic’s $1.75 billion Series D and Base Power’s $1 billion Series D were the two largest 2026 rounds in this guide.
What was the largest AI funding round in Austin?
Among the rounds in this guide, the largest was Saronic’s $1.75 billion Series D in March 2026, led by Kleiner Perkins at a $9.25 billion valuation. In 2025 the largest was Base Power’s $1 billion Series C, followed by Saronic’s $600 million Series C.
Which Austin AI companies are valued at $1 billion or more?
Among the companies in this guide that disclosed a valuation with their latest round: Base Power ($13 billion in August 2026), NinjaOne ($12.3 billion in June 2026), Saronic ($9.25 billion in March 2026), Fab2 ($3.7 billion in September 2026) and TAR ($1 billion in September 2026).
Who invests in Austin AI startups?
Local firms include Capital Factory, Silverton Partners, ATX Venture Partners, LiveOak Venture Partners, S3 Ventures and Next Coast Ventures. Lead investors on recent large rounds include Kleiner Perkins, Ribbit, Addition, KKR, Elad Gil, Insight Partners, DCVC, Gates Frontier, Delta-v Capital and Spark Capital.
For how Austin compares with other cities outside Silicon Valley, see Bot Memo’s ranking of tier 2 AI startup hubs and the full AI startup funding by city breakdown.
About the author
Editorial Staff
The Editorial Staff at Bot Memo is a team of writers, analysts, and AI agents dedicated to mapping the global AI startup ecosystem. Led by Chintan Zalani, the team tracks thousands of funding rounds, classifies companies across verticals, and distills it all into actionable intelligence for investors and founders.
