News•Jan 28, 2026
Finding Quality Niches for Infrastructure Investments
Christian Schwenkenbecher of MPC Capital says energy infrastructure offers niche investment opportunities for institutional investors amid Europe's push for decarbonisation and high‑interest‑rate caution. The firm targets majority‑owned renewable generation assets—onshore wind, solar PV, storage—and seeks partnerships across the full value chain, from generation to grid services. Growing regulatory support in the UK and US, plus heightened defence spending on ports, creates a robust pipeline of European projects. MPC Capital leverages recurring service revenues to maintain earnings visibility while navigating interest‑rate volatility.
By World Finance
News•Jan 28, 2026
What Messy Finance Stacks Signal to Investors – and How to Fix Them Before Series B
Venture capitalists are now treating operational discipline as a core due‑diligence criterion, especially as startups approach Series B. Investors from Accel, Octopus, Cherry, Firstminute and 13books warn that messy finance stacks, inflated ARR figures, and disorganized bookkeeping are strong red flags....
By Sifted Fintech
News•Jan 28, 2026
Pallma AI Closes $1.6M Pre-Seed Round for AI Agent Security
London‑based Pallma AI announced a $1.6 million pre‑seed round led by Marathon Venture Capital, with participation from tech leaders at AWS, Meta, and Google. The startup offers an AI‑native security platform that monitors, detects, and mitigates risks such as prompt injection...
By Tech.eu
News•Jan 28, 2026
Batteries as a New Theatre of Geopolitical Rivalry
Europe’s battery market is overwhelmingly dependent on China, with 85‑87% of imports sourced from Beijing. The article warns that a Chinese suspension of battery exports would destabilize Poland’s energy transition, logistics, industrial output, and military readiness, and could similarly cripple...
By Defence24 (Poland)
News•Jan 28, 2026
PitchBook Forecasts Cautious Improvement for Venture-Backed IPOs in 2026
PitchBook’s 2025 report sees a cautiously optimistic outlook for U.S. venture‑backed IPOs in 2026, noting that the IPO window has reopened but remains thin. Only 48 companies went public last year, delivering modest exit value while more than $4.3 trillion stays...
By SiliconANGLE
News•Jan 28, 2026
Why Economic Pain Won’t Stop Russia’s War
Sanctions and economic pressure have strained Russia’s economy, but the war persists. The article argues that historical cases show economic pain rarely forces a state to abandon a large‑scale conflict unless it triggers military defeat, elite fragmentation, or regime collapse....
By RUSI
News•Jan 28, 2026
Old Ships, Modern Menace: How to Tackle the World’s Shadow Fleets
Shadow fleets—aging, flag‑hopping tankers that spoof AIS—now move roughly 12% of global maritime trade and account for at least 48% of the world’s large oil tankers. The United States seized a seventh covert tanker in January 2026, while France and...
By RUSI
News•Jan 27, 2026
Northwood Space Raises $100M in Series B and Works With Space Force on Satellite Control Network
Ground‑tech startup Northwood Space announced a $100 million Series B round, co‑led by Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, and disclosed a $49.8 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to bolster the Satellite Control Network. The financing follows a $30 million Series A and...
By Via Satellite
News•Jan 27, 2026
Boeing Posts Fourth-Quarter Profit Despite Losses in Commercial Aircraft, Defense Units
Boeing reported a fourth‑quarter profit of $8.2 billion, buoyed by the $10.6 billion sale of its Jeppesen software unit and a record 160 commercial aircraft deliveries. However, its Commercial Airplanes and Defense, Space & Security divisions posted losses of $632 million and $507 million...
By Aerospace America (AIAA)
News•Jan 27, 2026
The West and Ukraine Are Capsizing Russia’s Shadow Fleet
Western naval forces, aided by Ukrainian intelligence, are disrupting Russia's clandestine oil‑shipping network, known as the shadow fleet. On Jan 22, French helicopters boarded the tanker *Grinch* off Spain, discovering a false Comorian flag and 730,000 barrels of sanctioned Russian crude....
By The Economist – Finance & Economics
News•Jan 27, 2026
Memcyco Receives $37M Series A Financing
Memcyco announced a $37 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to $47 million. The oversubscribed round was led by NAventures, E. León Jimenes, and PagsGroup, with existing backers Capri Ventures and Venture Guides participating. Memcyco’s real‑time, agentless platform protects enterprises from phishing,...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 27, 2026
SECURE 2.0 Amendment Deadline Extended for IRAs, Other Retirement Plans
The IRS issued Notice 2026‑9, pushing the deadline for amending IRAs, SEP and SIMPLE IRA plans to comply with the SECURE 2.0 Act to at least Dec. 31 2027. The extension follows the agency’s need to finalize model amendment language that will guide trustees, custodians...
By The Tax Adviser (AICPA & CIMA)
News•Jan 27, 2026
Dear IRS, Give Us the Practitioner Party Line NOW
The article revives a 2020 tweet urging the IRS to create a “practitioner party line” that lets tax professionals on hold talk to each other. It explains the nostalgic concept of party lines from the pre‑internet era, where callers shared...
By Going Concern
News•Jan 27, 2026
California Employment News: Employee Benefits 101
In a recent episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin partners Chris Horsley and Ryan Abernethy unpack employer obligations surrounding 401(k) retirement plans, the state‑mandated CalSavers program, and health benefit requirements. They explain fiduciary duties, contribution timelines, and the criteria...
By The Labor & Employment Law Blog (California)
News•Jan 27, 2026
How Porn Stars Can Survive in the Age of AI
The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo highlighted a turning point for the porn industry as artificial intelligence reshapes content creation. Performers face mounting threats from AI‑generated deepfakes that can siphon revenue and damage reputations. In response, stars are adopting subscription services,...
By The Economist » Business
News•Jan 27, 2026
Republic Europe Promotes Later Stage Investments
Republic Europe has launched the R Access series, a platform that gives individual investors direct exposure to later‑stage private companies. The first offering, a Kraken special‑purpose vehicle, aggregates existing private shares ahead of the crypto exchange’s anticipated 2026 IPO. By...
By Crowdfund Insider
News•Jan 27, 2026
Concourse Raises $12 Million Series A to Build AI for Finance Teams
Concourse announced the general availability of its enterprise‑grade AI agent platform for finance teams and closed a $12 million Series A round led by Standard Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, CRV and Y Combinator. The platform now lets any finance team connect...
By Finextra
News•Jan 27, 2026
Nerd Apply Raises $3.2M in Seed Funding
NYC‑based Nerd Apply, a privacy‑first college counseling platform, announced a $3.2 million seed round. The round was led by Riverpark Ventures and featured investors such as Alumni Ventures, 1.61 Ventures, Google Ventures CEO David Krane, and others. Nerd Apply currently supports...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 27, 2026
The Changing Shape of Variation Margin Collateral
Variation margin (VM) collateral, long dominated by cash, is facing pressure from higher funding costs, stricter regulations, and market stress, prompting firms to explore non‑cash alternatives. A Risk.net survey of 114 collateral specialists shows 57% of sell‑side and 33% of...
By Risk.net — Fixed Income topic
News•Jan 27, 2026
AI Dominant Theme in Forge Q1 2026 Investment Outlook
Forge’s Q1 2026 Investment Outlook shows AI cementing its dominance across private‑market capital flows, with mid‑ and late‑stage companies raising $154.9 billion in 2025—more than double 2024’s total. AI‑focused firms alone attracted $56.7 billion, highlighted by OpenAI’s $40 billion round and Anthropic’s $16.7 billion, while...
By Crowdfund Insider
News•Jan 27, 2026
Fiddler AI Raises $30M in Series C Funding
Fiddler AI announced a $30 million Series C round led by RPS Ventures, bringing its total funding to $100 million. The Palo Alto‑based AI observability and security platform plans to use the capital to scale across regulated sectors such as healthcare, financial services,...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 27, 2026
Vention Raises $110M to Accelerate Physical AI Deployments in Manufacturing
Vention Inc., a Montreal‑based industrial automation firm, announced a $110 million Series D round to accelerate its “physical AI” strategy. The funding will expand its Zero‑Shot Automation platform, add AI‑driven tools, and support a four‑playbook growth plan focused on enterprise customers, AI...
By The Robot Report
News•Jan 27, 2026
Why Owning the Learning Loop Matters More Than Owning the Lab
Nimbus Therapeutics, founded in 2009, has built a successful small‑molecule drug engine without owning any laboratories, relying on a Design‑Make‑Test‑Analyze (DMTA) learning loop executed through CRO partners. By keeping hypothesis generation, molecular design, data integration and decision‑making in‑house, the company...
By LifeSciVC
News•Jan 27, 2026
Symbiotic Security Raises $10M in Seed Funding
Symbiotic Security, a Paris‑based AI‑first customer research firm, announced a $10 million seed round. The round was led by Alven and Drysdale with participation from Lerer Hippeau, Axeleo, Factorial Cap and angels from Hugging Face and Adaptive ML. The capital will fund rapid product...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 27, 2026
Healthier Capital Closes $220M Oversubscribed Fund 1
Healthier Capital announced the closing of its oversubscribed $220 million inaugural fund, attracting universities, endowments, family offices, and healthcare organizations. Led by former Amazon One Medical CEO Amir Dan Rubin, the fund targets early‑stage health‑tech innovators that blend AI, genomics, and...
By AI-TechPark
News•Jan 27, 2026
Northwood Space Raises $100 Million Series B, Lands $49 Million Space Force Deal
Northwood Space announced a $100 million Series B round led by Washington Harbour Partners and co‑led by a16z, following a $30 million Series A nine months earlier. The funding supports the rollout of its multi‑beam phased‑array ground station, Portal, which can handle eight to...
By SpaceNews
News•Jan 27, 2026
Northwood Space Secures a $100M Series B and a $50M Space Force Contract
Northwood Space announced a $100 million Series B funding round led by Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, following a $30 million Series A less than a year earlier. The startup also secured a $49.8 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to modernize the...
By TechCrunch - Space
News•Jan 27, 2026
Northwood Closes $100M Series B
Northwood Space announced a $100 million Series B round led by a16z and Washington Harbour Partners, following a $30 million Series A less than a year earlier. The funding will accelerate production of its Portal phased‑array ground systems, now capable of building eight units...
By Payload
News•Jan 27, 2026
Barclays Axpands Demo Directory for Startups
Barclays has launched the second phase of its Demo Directory, a digital platform that matches UK‑based startups with corporate investors and partners. The expansion widens eligibility to a broader range of sectors and adds new tools for pitch preparation, due‑diligence,...
By Finextra
News•Jan 27, 2026
Brazilian Financial Infrastructure Startup Lerian Raises R$30 Million in Seed Round
Lerian, a Brazilian open‑source financial‑infrastructure startup, closed a R$30 million seed round led by MAYA Capital, surpassing its original US$3 million target. The oversubscribed round follows a prior R$18 million raise that funded its core banking platform. The new capital will fuel AI‑driven...
By Finextra
News•Jan 27, 2026
Brickanta Closes $8M Round to Expand AI Use in Construction Planning
Brickanta, a Stockholm‑based AI platform for construction, closed an $8 million seed round led by Northzone, with participation from tech‑savvy angels and Y Combinator. The startup’s AI‑native operating system focuses on pre‑construction workflows such as bid analysis, cost estimation, and procurement. It...
By Tech.eu
News•Jan 27, 2026
Brickanta Raises $8M in Seed Funding
Brickanta, a Stockholm‑based developer of an agentic AI platform for construction, announced an $8 million seed round. The financing was led by Northzone with participation from Y Combinator, 20VC, and angels linked to OpenAI, Google and Meta. High‑profile athletes Mario Götze...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 27, 2026
Flowla Raises $2.5M to Scale Sales and Customer Automation
London‑based Flowla, an AI‑assisted automation platform for sales and customer success, closed a $2.5 million seed round led by Revo Capital. The funding will accelerate development of its buyer‑journey automation engine and fund a U.S. go‑to‑market team. Flowla’s no‑code digital sales...
By Tech.eu
News•Jan 27, 2026
Compa Gets $35M Series B for Real-Time Pay Analytics
Compensation platform Compa secured $35 million in Series B financing, led by Jump Capital with participation from Crosslink, Storm Ventures and others. The AI‑driven solution aggregates nine million real‑time market observations to replace traditional salary surveys, delivering instant pay analytics across salary,...
By Just AI News
News•Jan 27, 2026
Miles Gerson, Sofia Guerra Among VCs Landing New Roles
Miles Gerson and Sofia Guerra, two prominent venture capitalists in the life‑science sector, have announced new senior positions at leading biotech‑focused firms. Gerson is joining XYZ Ventures as Managing Partner, while Guerra moves to ABC Capital as General Partner. Both...
By BioCentury
News•Jan 27, 2026
Profit Warnings Citing Global Upheaval Hit ‘Record High’
EY’s latest analysis shows 240 UK‑listed firms issued profit warnings last year, the lowest total since 2021 but the highest proportion citing policy and geopolitical uncertainty. About 42 percent of those warnings named regulatory flip‑flops, tariffs and wage hikes as profit‑dragging...
By City A.M. — Markets
News•Jan 26, 2026
Ricursive Intelligence Scores $300M Series A
Ricursive Intelligence, a frontier artificial‑intelligence laboratory based in Palo Alto, announced a $300 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and featured participation from DST Global, NVentures, Felicis Ventures, 49 Palms Ventures, Radical AI, and Sequoia Capital....
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 26, 2026
Why AI Won’t Wipe Out White-Collar Jobs
Since ChatGPT’s debut in late 2022, AI has sparked both excitement and anxiety among white‑collar professionals. While managers see cost‑cutting potential, many desk‑bound workers fear displacement. Analysts argue that AI will primarily expand the scope of these roles, automating routine...
By The Economist – Finance & Economics
News•Jan 26, 2026
VC Firm 2150 Raises €210M Fund to Solve Cities’ Climate Challenges
European venture firm 2150 closed a €210 million second fund, lifting its assets under management to €500 million. The fund targets climate‑focused startups that address urban infrastructure bottlenecks, with an eye on data‑center efficiency, industrial automation and AI‑driven solutions. It plans to...
By TechCrunch Venture Feed
News•Jan 26, 2026
New York Governor Proposes “No Tax on Tips” Legislation
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed eliminating state income tax on up to $25,000 of tipped income for 2026, and Senate Bill S587‑A would codify the deduction. The measure mirrors the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s qualified‑tip deduction but does not include...
By Littler – Insights/News
News•Jan 26, 2026
Standard Nuclear Raises $140M in Series A Funding
Standard Nuclear, an Oak Ridge‑based producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, secured $140 million in Series A financing led by Decisive Point, with participation from Chevron Technology Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and other investors. The capital will fund a scale‑up to over two metric...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 26, 2026
Merz’s Party Vows to Clamp Down on Germany’s ‘Lifestyle Part-Time Work’
Germany’s Christian Democratic Union business wing is proposing to abolish the statutory right to part‑time work, replacing it with a permission‑based system. The current law guarantees every employee the ability to reduce hours, a provision heavily used by women for...
By The Guardian – Work & careers
News•Jan 26, 2026
January 22, 2026 – Closed Meeting
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced a closed‑door board meeting held on January 22, 2026, providing only a brief notice and a contact for information requests. The meeting’s agenda was not disclosed, reflecting standard practice for discussing confidential supervisory and resolution matters....
By FDIC – Press Releases
News•Jan 26, 2026
Mine Raises $14M in Funding
Mine, a New York‑based personal‑finance startup, closed a $14 million financing round led by 359 Capital, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, FJ Labs, Y Combinator and U.S. News & World Report. The new capital brings its total funding to $28 million. Mine...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 26, 2026
Barnwell Bio Raises $6M in Seed Funding
Barnwell Bio, a New York‑based precision animal health intelligence firm, announced a $6 million seed round. The financing was led by Twelve Below and included a roster of agritech‑focused investors such as Max Ventures, Dorm Room Fund, and AgVentures Alliance. Barnwell...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 26, 2026
Tradespace Raises $15M Series A Led by AVP
Tradespace announced a $15 million Series A round led by AVP, with participation from existing backers Eniac Ventures, Amplo VC, and Scrum Ventures. The funding will accelerate its AI‑native intellectual property platform that aims to halve external legal spend and...
By Just AI News
News•Jan 26, 2026
Grid Aero Raises $20M in Series A Funding
San Leonardo‑based Grid Aero, an autonomous aircraft startup, announced a $20 million Series A round. The financing was led by Bison Ventures and Geodesic Capital, with participation from Stony Lonesome Group, Alumni Ventures, and returning backers such as Ubiquity, Calibrate, and Commonweal...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 26, 2026
Former Google DeepMind Scientists Raise $300M for AI Chip Startup
Ricursive Intelligence, founded by former Google DeepMind scientists behind AlphaChip, closed a $300 million Series A round at a $4 billion post‑money valuation. The funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and backed by NVentures, Sequoia and others, will expand its research team and...
By Just AI News
News•Jan 26, 2026
Upwind Secures $250 Million to Expand Runtime-First Cloud Security for AI Workloads
Upwind announced a $250 million Series B round, bringing total capital to $430 million. The funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital, will accelerate the company’s runtime‑first cloud security platform aimed at AI‑driven workloads. Upwind claims...
By Help Net Security
News•Jan 26, 2026
The Dissonance of Davos 2026: Capital Allocation in an Age of Fragmentation and the AI–Energy Nexus
The 56th World Economic Forum in Davos revealed a widening gap between political climate rhetoric and the market‑driven push for an infrastructure‑led energy transition. While the United States delegation framed energy policy as a nationalist, fossil‑friendly agenda, Europe repositioned renewables...
By CFI.co (Capital Finance International)