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Shield AI, a San Diego-headquartered unicorn defense tech company, raised the largest venture capital round among local tech companies in 2025.

SAN DIEGO — 11 San Diego-based companies secured venture funding rounds totaling more than $100 million-plus in 2025, according to data collected by Connect.

The largest round went to Shield AI, which raised $240M in a Series F round at a $5B valuation. Crystalys Therapeutics followed, emerging from stealth and announcing a $205M Series A round in September 2025.

Deal activity in San Diego declined slightly, with deal count down 6% year over year, from 161 to 152.

Despite a more selective investment environment, dozens of San Diego life science companies raised mega-rounds in venture capital. A total of three companies went public, including Aardvark Therapeutics, Carlsmed and Aptera Motors.

The local startup ecosystem ranked No. 7 in venture capital funding behind Seattle and Austin, according to Carta, which evaluated total seed through Series C rounds across major U.S. ecosystems in 2025.

Gary Steele (right) with Michael Yang (center), Chief Legal Officer, and Ryan Tseng, Chief Strategy Officer.Thomas Miller, co-founder and CEO of Iambic Therapeutics. The company uses generative AI to design and discover differentiated drugs, accelerating the path from discovery to clinic.

Sarah Boyce, CEO of Avidity Biosciences. She led a successful IPO in June 2020, advanced multiple therapies into clinical development, and expanded the company’s RNA technology platform ahead of its October 2025 acquisition.