Although the current macroeconomic scenario is one of uncertainty, new data shows a boom in megadeals – investment rounds of at least $100 million. According to The Crunchbase Megadeals Board, 240 rounds of millionaire investments were obtained by startups based in the United States in 2024. Among the categories, the 1st position was not occupied by the hyped artificial intelligence, but by biotechnology and health startups. Some of these rounds have a crossover, as they are from healthcare companies that work with AI.

Focusing only on biotech, 68 startups between the US and Europe have raised $100 million or more this year, surpassing the 2023 mark and heading towards at least approaching the 2021 record, with 106 mega rounds closed. They include Xaira Therapeutics’ massive $1 billion-plus round in April and Radiology Partners’ growth equity investment of approximately $720 million in February, 2024.

Next in line, the AI sector saw the two largest rounds last year, with OpenAI’s $6.6 billion round raised at a post-money valuation of $157 billion this month and xAI’s $6 billion round valuing the company at $24 billion post money earlier this year.

However, this year’s mega deals have been slower to materialize. This is because competition for deals has decreased, giving investors more time to evaluate startups and find convincing data and reasonable market values. The high amounts invested help these companies push drugs through clinical trials and reduce one of the biggest risks in biotechnology: that a company runs out of money before its drug shows potential.

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Source: Crunchbase News