Seed funding is critical for early-stage startups to validate concepts, build prototypes, or initiate preclinical studies. In 2025, AI and biotech sectors have seen robust seed activity, particularly in North America, driven by investor enthusiasm for innovative technologies. Below are key examples and trends:

AI Startups

Lila Sciences: Raised $200 million in a seed round to develop a science superintelligence platform. Led by Flagship Pioneering, with participation from March Capital, General Catalyst, and ARK Venture Fund. Valued at an undisclosed amount, this Cambridge, MA-based startup focuses on AI-driven scientific discovery.
LMArena: Secured $100 million in a seed round on May 21, 2025, valuing the company at $600 million. Co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and UC Investments, with Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and Felicis. LMArena focuses on community-driven AI model benchmarking.
Rifa AI: Raised $1.1 million in a seed round to enhance real-time voice interfaces for enterprise support. Investors included LAUNCHub Ventures, Rain Capital, and others. This smaller round reflects the diversity in seed deal sizes for AI startups.
Thinking Machines Lab: Secured a record-breaking $2 billion seed round, the largest on record, contributing significantly to Q2 2025 seed funding totals. This outlier highlights the concentration of capital in high-potential AI ventures.
Emerald AI: Raised $24.5 million in seed funding, led by Radical Ventures, to develop software addressing AI’s energy demands in the electric power system. Announced in July 2025, based in Washington, D.C.

Trends:

AI Dominance: AI startups accounted for over $60 billion in Q1 2025 venture funding globally, with seed rounds contributing significantly despite a 14% year-over-year decline to $7.2 billion. Large seed rounds, like Thinking Machines Lab’s, skew totals, but smaller rounds remain active.
Investor Focus: VCs prioritize AI startups with clear applications (e.g., infrastructure, legal tech, or healthcare). Notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Lightspeed, with a shift toward application-layer AI solutions.
Geographic Concentration: North America, especially the Bay Area, captured 70% of global funding in H1 2025, with AI seed rounds heavily concentrated in the U.S.

Biotech Startups

DISCO Pharmaceuticals (Germany): Raised €20 million ($21.75 million) in a seed round for drug discovery, focusing on small cell lung cancer surfaceome mapping.
Bioptimus (France): Secured $35 million in a seed round for AI-enabled drug discovery, highlighting the convergence of AI and biotech.
Infinitopes (UK): Raised £12.8 million ($16.07 million) for preclinical cancer vaccine development.
Radar Therapeutics (USA): Secured $13.4 million in a seed round for smart programmable medicines, targeting preclinical undisclosed targets.
Ability Biologics (Canada): Raised $18 million in a seed round for targeted therapy discovery, emphasizing preclinical innovation.
Vima Therapeutics (USA): Launched with $60 million in Series A (noted as a significant early-stage round) for oral therapies targeting movement disorders, led by Atlas Venture.

Trends:

Selective Investment: Biotech seed funding dropped to $900 million in Q2 2025 from $2.6 billion in Q1, reflecting investor caution and a focus on startups with de-risked assets or clinical potential.
High-Impact Areas: Oncology, gene therapy, and AI-driven drug discovery remain top-funded, with startups like DISCO and Bioptimus leveraging AI for faster development. Median seed valuations in biotech reached $20.3 million in Q3 2023, a trend continuing into 2025 due to demand for precision medicine.
Global Spread: While North America leads, Europe (e.g., Germany, France, UK) and Asia (e.g., China) see active seed rounds, with China-sourced biotech candidates gaining traction for cost-effective development.

Venture Capital Trends (2025)

Seed Funding Volume: Global seed funding in Q2 2025 reached $10.3 billion, up from Q1’s $7.2 billion, driven by mega seed rounds in AI. Biotech seed funding, however, saw a decline, indicating sector-specific challenges.
Valuation Increases: AI startups like LMArena and Lila Sciences command high seed valuations ($600M and above), while biotech valuations are rising more modestly but still significantly (e.g., $20.3 million median in biotech).
Investor Sentiment: VCs are cautious about late-stage biotech due to IPO slowdowns and valuation concerns, but seed-stage investments remain robust, especially for AI and biotech startups with strong IP or clinical paths.
X Sentiment: Posts on X highlight active angel and pre-seed investments in AI, with VCs like @patmatthews
funding AI-native startups (e.g., $100k-$1M checks for pre-seed AI jobs network). Biotech funding is less discussed on X but noted for larger Series A rounds.

Additional Context

AI vs. Biotech: AI seed rounds are larger and more frequent due to investor enthusiasm for scalable tech, while biotech faces stricter scrutiny for clinical milestones.
Data Lags: Seed funding totals often increase post-quarter as deals are reported, so Q2 2025 figures may rise.
M&A and IPO Outlook: Slow IPO markets push startups toward bridge rounds or M&A, with biotech M&A up in 2025 (17 deals in 2024, similar pace in 2025).