Texas startups are drawing increased investment this year, driven by growing interest in sectors like cybersecurity, defense tech, robotics, and even the de-extinction of mammoths.

In just the first three months of 2025, venture investors have poured nearly $2.9 billion into companies in Texas. This represents a significant milestone for the past year and is the largest quarterly total in more than two years.

Focus on Mega-Rounds

The increase in funding is largely due to a few major deals. About two-thirds of this year’s investment in Texas startups has gone to just five companies.

The biggest recipient was Saronic, an Austin-based company developing autonomous maritime vessels. In February, it secured $600 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $4 billion. The investment was led by Elad Gil and comes during a period of increased venture interest in defense tech.

In addition, two large security-related deals also contributed heavily to the total. NinjaOne, an Austin-based provider of automated endpoint management, raised $500 million in February at a $5 billion valuation. Meanwhile, Island, a Dallas company developing a secure enterprise browser, secured $250 million in late March.

Robotics and Mammoths Lead the Charge

Robotics is another sector seeing strong growth in Texas. Apptronik, an Austin-based startup developing humanoid robots for workplaces, raised an additional $53 million in its Series A round, bringing its total funding to more than $403 million.

Meanwhile, Colossal Biosciences, also based in Austin, is gaining attention for its work in gene editing to bring woolly mammoths and other extinct species back to life. In January, the company raised $200 million in a Series C funding round.

Fewer Deals, Larger Investments

Although the total funding to Texas startups is rising, the number of deals being made has decreased. This could be partly due to delays in reporting seed funding rounds, meaning the number of deals may increase over time. Regardless, it’s clear that investments are becoming larger, with fewer but more substantial deals being made.

If this trend continues through 2025, the number of funding rounds could reach a multi-year low. However, when investors commit to Texas startups, they are willing to make larger investments, which helps offset the drop in deal volume.