Crunchbase's Week: Atoms Raises $1.7B for Physical AI, Etched Takes $300M Series C for Frontier-Model Chips

Crunchbase News·medium signal

Crunchbase's July 24 roundup of the ten biggest rounds is led by physical-AI startup Atoms at $1.7B (a16z), Meshy AI at $400M Series B for 3D generative foundation models, Sila at $300M for silicon-anode batteries, and Etched at $300M Series C (Sequoia) for chips, racks and software purpose-built for frontier models. Sequoia appears three times in the top ten (Etched, Cathedral, Glow) and a16z three times (Atoms, Cathedral, Neo Security). The notable absence is application-layer SaaS — nine of ten rounds are infrastructure, hardware, defense, biotech or security, with Candid Health's $120M Series D the only vertical software deal.