Today's Angel Investing Pulse
AI transforms early‑stage investment due diligence
Early‑stage venture firms are turning to AI to cut through massive data flows, using algorithms that parse thousands of startup submissions and link revenue trends, retention metrics, hiring activity, and market signals. The technology speeds up screening, sharpens market‑size estimates, and structures due‑diligence workflows for faster deal sourcing.
Fireside Ventures Leads $5 Mn Series A Round in Skincare Brand CHOSEN
CHOSEN, a Chennai‑based skincare brand focused on melanin‑rich skin, closed a $5 million Series A round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from L’Oréal’s BOLD fund and several angel investors. The company previously raised $1.2 million in an angel round in 2024. Proceeds will fund expanded R&D, a larger Centre of Excellence, and talent acquisition to broaden its clinically validated product pipeline. CHOSEN now offers 58 SKUs, is present in over 2,000 Indian clinics, and drives 95% of its digital sales through its own D2C platform.
Pmtbox Closes $15 Million Seed Round to Build Unified Enterprise Commerce Platform
pmtbox announced a $15 million seed financing led by a group of Utah fintech founders, aimed at expanding its engineering and risk teams and accelerating go‑to‑market for its unified commerce layer. The round also brings Alex Bean and Nick Thomas onto...
Fund's Fake “Alumni Priority” Window Is a Scam
I got a mass email from a fund that claims they invest in YC startups "during the Alumni priority investment window." In fact there is no such thing as an "Alumni priority investment window."
Thoughtly Raises $5.5M to Embed AI Agents in CRMs, Targeting Lead‑coverage Gaps
Thoughtly closed a $5.5 million seed round led by Armory Sq. Ventures to launch a no‑code, omnichannel AI platform that embeds virtual agents directly into CRM workflows. The funding brings its total to over $8 million and aims to eliminate the industry‑wide...
Pmtbox Secures $15M For Enterprise Commerce Platform
pmtbox announced a $15 million seed round to accelerate its enterprise commerce platform that consolidates payments, risk management, and data analytics for merchants. The round was led by Tandem Ventures with participation from Element Ventures, Cynosure Investment Partners, and Pluralsight founder...
Term Sheet Mistakes Can Cost Founders Millions
Once you sign a term sheet, the deal is 90% done. Every clause inside that document is set in stone for the next 5 to 10 years of your company's life. I've negotiated 100s of these as a startup lawyer, and I've...
Fudi Protein Bags Funding to Make Egg & Dairy Alternatives From Rubisco
U.S. food‑tech startup Fudi Protein has closed an early‑stage round led by Green Boy Group to commercialise alfalfa‑derived Rubisco protein. The ingredient, harvested from the leaves of alfalfa, delivers 80% protein purity, a near‑complete amino‑acid profile and up to 94%...
Former Index Partner Raises $80m for Debut Seed Fund
Damir Becirovic, after a decade at venture firm Index, has launched Relentless, a new seed‑stage fund. He secured $80 million in commitments to back founders who are pursuing what they call their "life's work." Relentless will write initial checks ranging from...
Swiss BioTech Startup ALP Bio Raises €1.9 Million to Advance Immune Organoid and AI Platform
Swiss startup ALP Bio announced a €1.9 million (≈$2.1 million) pre‑seed round led by 42CAP to accelerate its immune organoid‑AI platform for antibody development. The platform couples human tonsil organoid readouts with generative AI to predict and reduce immunogenicity risk earlier in...
Why Startups Don’t Make It to Series A
Antler’s Path to Series A report, based on over 40,000 UK funding rounds, finds that only about 12% of seed‑stage startups advance to a Series A. Companies that rely solely on SEIS or EIS tax‑incentive investors see a conversion rate...
Auryx Raises $2M to Transform Earbuds Into Health Monitors
auryx raised $2 million in a pre‑seed round led by Celero Ventures to commercialize a platform that turns everyday earbuds into continuous health monitors using acoustic signals. The Cambridge‑based team will use existing in‑ear microphones to capture heart, lung and blood‑flow...
Piper Serica Leads Rs 10 Cr Seed Round in AIoT Startup Ubiqedge
Ubiqedge, a full‑stack AIoT startup founded in 2024, secured a Rs 10 crore (≈ $1.2 million) seed round led by Piper Serica, with participation from Atomberg CEO Shibam Das and investor Sumit Chhazed. The capital will boost its AI capabilities and expand deployments in...
Spiral Hydrogen Raises €3.4M to Build Green Hydrogen Pilot in Rotterdam
Estonian‑Dutch deep‑tech startup Spiral Hydrogen secured €3.4 million (≈$3.7 million) in pre‑seed funding and grants to advance its bubble‑free rotating electrolyser. The technology routes gases through a porous electrode, achieving over 90% efficiency and promising lower capital and operating costs for green...
Deep-Tech Startup Ctruh Secures $2.5 Mn in Seed Funding
Ctruh, a Bengaluru‑based deep‑tech startup, closed a $2.5 million seed round co‑led by Inflection Point Ventures and Avinya Ventures. The funding follows a $2 million raise in early 2023 and will fuel R&D, product innovation, and expansion into the United States and...
Impact+ Heads to FinovateSpring to Spotlight Early-Stage Fintech Innovation
FinovateSpring will host Impact+, a new session on May 4 that gives eight early‑stage fintech founders four‑minute pitch slots before investors, banks and industry leaders. The event opens with a keynote from Stripe’s Asya Bradley and follows with a panel and...
Mosaic SoC Secures Funding for Spatial Wearable Push
Swiss semiconductor startup Mosaic SoC announced a $3.8 million pre‑seed round led by Founderful and the Kick Foundation. The funding will accelerate development of a proprietary multi‑core chip designed to handle visual and positional sensor data without relying on power‑hungry GPUs....
Ron Conway Shows Generosity Is Silicon Valley’s Winning Strategy
When future historians write about Silicon Valley, they’ll have an entire chapter dedicated to the Ron Conway way: how he turned generosity, warmth, and showing up for founders into a winning strategy.
Exclusive: Groove Quantum Raises €16m to Ramp up Chip Production
Groove Quantum, a Dutch quantum‑chip startup, announced a €16 million seed round, roughly $17.4 million. The capital will be used to enlarge its quantum processors and launch industrial‑scale manufacturing. The financing marks a significant step toward commercializing quantum hardware in Europe. Investors...
General Analysis Snares $10M in Seed Funding
General Analysis, a startup building security infrastructure for agentic AI, announced a $10 million seed round. The financing was led by Altos Ventures and included 645 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Y Combinator and other strategic investors. Founded by former NVIDIA, Cohere and DeepMind researchers,...
VCs Should Prioritize Growth over Early Cash Positivity
I was asked if startups must now get to cash flow positive after raising early stage VC. My take: No. VCs should not be interested in that. I want to invest in founders that consistently grow at least 15% MoM...
Supabase Execs Invest After Dreambase Impresses Them
Exclusive: Supabase Execs Were So Impressed With Dreambase, They Became Investors In Its $3.7M Round https://t.co/77oCaZRoZe via @crunchbasenews
Aerospace and Defense Startup Hybron Closes $25 Million Seed Round
Hybron, an aerospace and defense manufacturing startup, announced the close of an oversubscribed $25 million seed round led by Marque Ventures. Founded by Stanford and UC Berkeley alumni, the company unveiled the world’s first carbon‑fiber compressor blade that operates at full power...
Spaceflux Extends Funding Round, Bringing Total to £9 Million
UK‑based Spaceflux has closed a £3.5 million extension to its seed round, bringing total capital to £9 million (about $11.3 million). The fresh funds, led by existing backer Blackfinch Ventures and new investor SPARX Asset Management, will finance the rollout of additional optical...
Marloo Raises $10m Seed to Transform Financial Advice
Marloo, a London‑based AI partner for financial advisers, announced a $10 million seed round, bringing its total capital to $12.7 million. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures, the early backer of Canva, which sees Marloo as a potential industry disruptor. The...
Finland’s Realm Raises $4.5 Million Seed to Automate Enterprise Sales Workflows
Finland‑based Realm secured a $4.5 million seed round led by Frontline Ventures, with participation from HubSpot Ventures, Lifeline Ventures, Slack co‑founder Cal Henderson and Axonius founder Alex Bouaziz. The startup builds a unified, AI‑ready representation of a company’s go‑to‑market data, enabling...
British Biomaterials Developer Ponda Seeks Fresh Backing to Scale Plant-Based Insulation for Fashion
British biomaterials startup Ponda launched a Republic crowdfunding campaign to raise at least €230,000 ($250,000) with no cap, aiming to scale its plant‑based insulation product BioPuff made from wetland‑grown bulrush. The round follows a €2 million (€2.2 million) seed round in November...
Optimized Electrotech Raises ₹35 Cr To Expand Into Space Imaging
Optimized Electrotech, a deep‑tech startup focused on electro‑optical defense systems, secured ₹35 Cr ($3.7 M) in a round led by Exfinity Ventures. The capital will fund satellite development and the launch of a real‑time imaging constellation for defence and security customers. The...
Seed Funding Is Bigger Than Ever — And Harder To Get
Seed funding in the United States is expanding in dollar terms, but the landscape is polarizing. In 2025, more than half of all seed capital was allocated to deals of $10 million or larger, while the total number of seed rounds...
Nox Mobility Raises €2 Million for Night Train Network
Berlin‑based Nox Mobility announced a €2 million (≈$2.2 million) pre‑seed round led by IBB Ventures to fund its launch of private‑room night trains across Europe. The startup plans to debut routes in 2027 and eventually link more than 100 cities by 2035....
Leipzig’s Primogene Raises €4.1 Million to Scale Enzymatic Biomanufacturing of Complex Bioactive Molecules
Leipzig‑based biotech Primogene announced a €4.1 million (≈$4.5 million) seed round led by High‑Tech Gründerfonds to expand its enzymatic biomanufacturing platform. The funding will be used to scale production, grow the team, and broaden its IP portfolio and strategic partnerships. Primogene’s enzyme‑driven...
Cleo Labs Secures €1.5M to Scale AI-Driven Product Compliance Globally
Cleo Labs, a Paris‑based regtech startup, closed a €1.5 million (≈$1.6 million) funding round led by Larry Berger with participation from Kima Ventures, Financière Saint‑James and an Accel scout ticket. The capital will accelerate its AI‑driven platform that automates product regulatory compliance...
Dex Lands $5.3M to Grow Its AI-Driven Talent Matching Platform
London‑based Dex, an AI‑driven recruitment platform for software engineers, closed a $5.3 million seed round led by Notion Capital with participation from Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun programme and other investors. The funding brings Dex’s total capital to $8.4 million and will be used...
SUNeVision Concludes Third Startup Program Cohort
SUNeVision Holdings, Hong Kong's largest data‑centre operator, completed the third edition of its Startup Programme, selecting four AI‑driven startups for awards. The cohort attracted nearly 100 high‑calibre applications spanning smart‑city, green tech, digital assets, EdTech and immersive entertainment. Winners—including maritime...
Manifest Raises $2 Million to Help Ad Agencies Eliminate Timesheets
Australian startup Manifest has closed a $2 million AUD pre‑seed round—about $1.3 million USD—led by Brand Fund and backed by Antler, Techstars and several ad‑industry veterans. The company’s AI‑powered platform automatically records agency workflows across tools, replacing traditional timesheets with real‑time visibility...
Cultivating Unicorns: Strategic Elements Incubates Australian Tech Breakthrough
Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) leverages Australia’s pooled development fund (PDF) – a tax‑exempt vehicle – to plug a $38 billion AUD (≈$25 billion USD) funding gap for growth‑stage SMEs. The fund incubates deep‑tech ventures such as Stealth Technologies’ EdgeiQ, which landed a $225,000 AUD...
Why We Invested in Dex
Notion Capital is leading a $6 million seed round in Dex, an AI‑powered recruitment platform that flips the traditional model by working on behalf of candidates. The $856 billion recruitment industry has seen time‑to‑hire climb to 44 days, highlighting deep inefficiencies. Dex’s voice‑agent...
Segura Raises $8M Seed Round
Brazilian insurtech startup Segura announced an $8 million seed round co‑led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kaszek. The platform consolidates quotes, policies, renewals and billing for brokers, powered by its AI assistant Helena that interprets policy data and guides renewals. Segura already...
California Startup Fermeate Closes $2M Seed Round for Light-Based Fermentation Control Technology
California startup Fermeate closed a $2 million seed round led by Newfund Capital, with participation from SOSV and Ajinomoto Group Ventures. The company’s optogenetics platform embeds light‑sensitive proteins in microbes, allowing real‑time gene activation or repression via an external light‑delivery device...
DOJO AI Secures $6 Million Seed Round to Deploy Agentic Marketing Platform
DOJO AI closed a $6 million seed round at a $30 million valuation, led by Armilar with Heartfelt VC participation. The funding will accelerate the rollout of its agentic marketing platform that automates data‑driven decisions, aiming to cut customer‑acquisition costs by 40%...
Tech Startup Tamber Raises $5M to Launch AI Music Tool, Backed by Adobe Ventures, Rackhouse Ventures and More
Los Angeles‑based startup Tamber announced a $5 million Series A round led by Adobe Ventures, Rackhouse, M13 and other investors, ahead of a May product launch. The company’s “sonic intelligence” platform blends text, voice and gesture inputs to retrieve real‑world audio samples,...
Dehaze Raises €3.2M for AI Chronic Disease Detection
Munich‑based healthtech startup dehaze announced a €3.2 million (≈$3.5 million) seed round. The round was led by YZR Capital and DN Capital with participation from Angel Invest, Zoho and Better Ventures. dehaze will use the capital to build a foundational causal AI...
Tapaya Raises €1M Pre-Seed to Power Payments on Any Device
Prague‑based Tapaya raised €1 million (about $1.09 million) in a pre‑seed round led by Passion Capital, with participation from Depo Ventures and BADideas.fund. The startup is building a software layer that lets banks, fintechs and SaaS platforms turn any Android or iOS...
Always Friday Raises €1.05M to Automate Corporate Event Planning with AI Agents
Italian AI-native startup Always Friday announced a €1.05 million (≈$1.14 million) pre‑seed round led by Vento Ventures and P3 Ventures. The platform uses proprietary AI agents to automate up to 90% of corporate event‑planning workflows, from venue sourcing to contracts and payments....
Rebalance Is Building India's Missing Capital Pipeline for Women Founders
Rebalance, founded in 2019 by Aishwarya Malhi and Vikas Kumar, is India’s first accelerator and angel network dedicated to women and diverse founders. Its 15‑week accelerator runs twice a year, takes 1% equity and offers high‑touch support, while the angel...
Startup Revenue Metrics Are Ambiguous; Trust Them Less
I find myself trusting founder revenue metrics less than at any point since I started investing. That includes 2021, which should tell you something. Only 1% to 2% of startups ever reach $100M in revenue. The headlines make it feel like...
Startup Equity Adventure Game Turns SAFE Fundraising Into Interactive Lesson
A free, web‑based game launched on Hacker News walks founders through a simulated SAFE round, showing how valuation caps and ownership percentages play out. By turning the most common early‑stage financing tool into a playable scenario, the game aims to...
TriFetch Scores $1.9M Pre-Seed Round
TriFetch, a San Francisco‑based health‑tech startup, announced a $1.9 million pre‑seed financing round. The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from angel investors affiliated with Google, Hipprocratic, Mercor and MIT. The capital will be used to scale its...
Botswana Tech Fund Sees Opportunity Where African Venture Capital Rarely Flows
The Botswana Tech Fund, anchored by billionaire Stephen Lansdown, has secured £10 million ($13.5 million) to invest in under‑funded Southern African startups. Its multi‑stage approach combines a pre‑seed accelerator offering £100 k ($135 k) cheques to about 100 companies over five years with growth‑stage...
Exclusive: Morphing Machines Raises ₹42 Cr To Close Series A Round At ₹80 Cr
Indian semiconductor startup Morphing Machines announced the close of its Series A round at ₹80 Cr (approximately $10.7 million), adding a fresh ₹42 Cr ($4.4 million) from Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures, Colossa Ventures and Navam Capital. The funding brings the total Series A capital to about...
Europe’s Startup Boom Shatters Funding Records
i'm German. Europe's startup ecosystem is MOONING right now the record for the largest seed round in european history just got broken twice in a row and the largest series c in european history just happened ...all in the past 2 months > largest seed...