This story appears in the September 2026 issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.
Utah’s technology landscape continues to move beyond its traditional software roots, with recent investment activity highlighting the state’s growing presence in artificial intelligence, robotics, healthcare technology, entertainment software and advanced nuclear energy.
Xenter raises $58.25M to accelerate TechMed platform
Draper-based Xenter closed a $58.25 million Series B financing on June 30, which the company announced in July. The company is developing what it calls a TechMed platform at the intersection of medical devices, healthcare data, wireless connectivity and artificial intelligence. The financing attracted existing shareholders, family offices and healthcare-focused investors. The company plans to use the new capital to support the commercial launch of its diagnostics business, expand manufacturing, advance clinical and regulatory initiatives and continue development of its Physical Intelligence platform.
Quantizr raises $5M to bring AI to live entertainment
Park City-based Quantizr announced a $5 million seed round led by TTV Capital, with participation from music industry veterans Jonathan Azu, Chris Kappy and Andy Levine. Quantizr is building an AI-powered financial operations platform for the live entertainment industry, automating many of the manual processes involved in managing tours, budgets, expenses, contracts and settlements. The company’s approach is notable in an industry where much of the AI conversation has focused on concerns about replacing creative work. Rather than using AI to replace artists, Quantizr is applying the technology to the business infrastructure surrounding them, which allows managers and teams to spend less time on administrative work and more time supporting artists and live experiences.
Peppy raises pre-seed to make robotics more accessible
Salt Lake City robotics startup Peppy closed a pre-seed financing led by Element Ventures, with participation from Rock Creek Capital, Mana Ventures and Colin Gardiner of Yonder. The company did not disclose the size of the round. Peppy is developing what its founders call the “Lovable for Robotics,” a platform designed to make robotic programming dramatically more accessible. Users can provide text prompts and generate working robotic code that can be tested in simulation and deployed in the physical world.
Fluidx Medical Technology advances next-generation embolics
Salt Lake City-based Fluidx Medical Technology also announced the closing of a financing to support development and growth across its medical-device portfolio. The company did not disclose the size of the financing. Fluidx is developing embolic technologies for vascular and neurovascular applications. The new capital follows completion of the GPX IDE clinical trial and continued advancement of its ULTRA platform, while supporting development of IMPASS, a next-generation neurovascular embolic technology.
Valar Atomics brings $1B nuclear bet to Utah
The biggest announcement with a significant Utah connection came from Valar Atomics, which closed a $1 billion Series B led by Sequoia Capital, alongside a $200 million credit facility led by Erebor Bank and supported by J.P. Morgan, Crescent Cove and Hercules Capital.
Valar is headquartered in El Segundo, California, but its second campus and first small modular nuclear reactor are located in Orangeville, Utah, at the San Rafael Energy Labs. The company is pursuing a vertically integrated approach to nuclear power and recently achieved the first active SMR outside of a national lab at its Ward 250 reactor in Orangeville in June. Valar has also demonstrated the reactor generating electricity to power an NVIDIA Blackwell system and announced plans with NVIDIA for a waterless 30 MW AI factory.
Deep tech on the rise
August’s activity reinforces a broader shift in Utah’s technology economy, but the sector mix is particularly interesting. The state’s innovation story is increasingly moving from software alone to the intersection of software, AI, physical technology, energy and life sciences. AI is showing up as an enabling technology across different industries rather than as a standalone category, while life sciences and advanced technologies are attracting larger pools of capital.
Particularly of note is the Valar raise. While this article series strives to capture deals headquartered in Utah, the Valar deal is flowing large amounts of capital into the state, putting us at the cutting edge of energy development and making us a leader in nuclear development.
