This story appears in the December 2025 issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.
Utah’s venture ecosystem had a blockbuster 2025 with record-breaking momentum, marked by massive funding rounds, high-profile IPOs, strategic acquisitions and major venture fund launches. From legal tech to AI, energy and fintech, Utah startups attracted global investor attention while local VCs expanded their firepower to support the next generation of innovation.
Mega-rounds
Utah tech companies scaled up in a big way in 2025. Notable rounds included:
- Filevine: $400M co-led by Insight Partners, Accel and Halo Fund to power the legal operating intelligence industry
- Entrata: $200M minority investment by Blackstone at a $4.3B valuation
- Torus: $200M to expand modular power plants and energy solutions, earning recognition from Time Magazine and R&D 100 awards
- Awardco: $165M Series B, catapulting the employee rewards platform to Unicorn status
- HeroDevs: $125M growth investment to expand security solutions for open-source software
- beatBread: $124M debt and equity to scale music funding for artists and labels for this St. George-based tech company
On the rise
Strong funding rounds between $10M and $100M show continued strength in Utah’s AI, fintech, cybersecurity, legal tech and even deep tech sectors, including energy and advanced materials.
- PassiveLogic: $74M Series C to meet global demand for AI-powered infrastructure
- Canopy: $70M to help accountants operate the accounting firm of the future
- Vector: $61M to bolster defense tech and modern warfare capabilities
- Nexus IT: $60M to provide world-class IT support and cybersecurity solutions
- Music AI: $40M to revolutionize how creators and listeners interact with music
- Rodatherm Energy Corporation: $38M for the largest first venture raise for a geothermal startup of all time
- Ionic Mineral Technologies: $29M for a vertically integrated U.S. producer of advanced materials for the energy, defense and technology sectors
- Hypercraft: $26M to maintain being a leading hybrid and electric powertrain supplier
- SchoolAI: $25M SeriesA to power an AI platform for teaching and learning that is now in 1 million classrooms
- Boostly: $22M investment will accelerate their mission to gamify marketing in the restaurant industry
- Jump AI: $20M to provide AI solutions for financial advisors
- Scrunch: $15M to build the infrastructure for AI-native marketing
- Synergy Suite: $12M to accelerate the next phase of its AI-powered back-of-house platform, built for restaurant operators
- Lumion: $10.7M seed for career and trade school operating systems
- Creekstone Energy: Undisclosed Series B to power energy infrastructure for artificial intelligence computing
Early-stage momentum
Seed and early-stage rounds in Utah were robust, spanning AI, biotech, education, aerospace and SaaS: Sequifi ($6.7M), AskElephant ($6M), Baxter Aerospace ($6M), Photopharmics Inc ($6M), Rebel Medicine ($6M), Ruck ($5M), SponsorCX ($4.6M), Mobly ($4.3M), Mindsmith ($4.1M), Annie ($4M), Crew ($3.8M), Flax Health ($3.5M), Paramify ($3.5M), Chief ($3.3M), Slant CRM ($3.3M), SCOREalytics Inc ($3m), Salesdraft ($3M), ToniqLabs ($2.7M), Driven ($2.5M), Gameday Men’s Health Clinics ($2.5M), Buster ($2.4M), Parallel ($2.4M), Vital Care ($2.4M), Sunshine Buns ($2M), Trace Air Quality ($1.25M) and Backswing ($1M). There were many more Utah venture rounds closed in 2025 that were either unannounced or below the $1M threshold for this article.
Public market highlights
Utah also made its mark on the public markets with two key debuts in 2025:
- Pattern Group: Raised ~$300M on its Nasdaq IPO, delivering AI-powered e-commerce acceleration for global brands
- Angel Studios: Completed a SPAC merger to go public on the NYSE, underscoring the growing intersection of media and technology from Utah
Strategic acquisitions
2025 also saw two notable Utah acquisitions that demonstrate the global competitiveness of Utah startups and the ecosystem’s ability to produce scalable, strategic targets.
- DX was acquired by Atlassian for $1B, reaching unicorn status in less than 5 years
- Bolt joined Digi for approximately $145M
Utah VC fund activity
In 2025, local venture firms showed up in a big way with both established and new funds announcing massive raises to continue investing into the Utah tech scene.
- Pelion Venture Partners launched a massive $500M Fund VIII in January 2025 to support both early-stage and growth-stage investments
- Run Ventures rebranded from Signal Peak Ventures and announced a $290M early-stage Series A focused fund
- Epic Ventures announced $200M fresh capital with strategic partners, including the University of Utah and ARUP Laboratories
- Sorenson Capital announced $150M Ventures Fund III focusing on cybersecurity and B2B software
- Tandem Ventures announced its $50M Fund I for early-stage tech
- Altitude Lab launched a pre-seed venture fund to support biotech startups
- Utah Innovation Fund rebranded to Nucleus Fund, bringing in $10M more of fresh capital in 2025 for an overall $40M preseed fund that supports commercialization out of Utah universities
- Convoi Ventures launched Convoi Accelerator to help fuel early-stage tech activity in the state. They also continue to successfully support the entire Utah Tech ecosystem with Utah Tech Week
Utah’s 2025 venture landscape was defined by massive capital inflows, diverse sector growth and rising exits, and the state continues to solidify its reputation as a national hub for innovation. With multiple large funds raising fresh capital, Utah’s maturing venture ecosystem is capable of supporting everything from seed-stage innovation to billion-dollar scale-ups. A killer 2025 has positioned Utah’s tech ecosystem for even greater activity in 2026.
What do you want to know about the Utah VC scene? Do you have an investment that deserves a shoutout? Send inquiries and information to angela@nucleusutah.org.
