
EngineAI Robotics lands $200M Series B to accelerate AI-driven automation
EngineAI Robotics Technology Co. closed a $200 million Series B round, pushing its valuation above 10 billion yuan (≈$1.4 billion). The round was co‑led by Henan Investment Group’s Huirong Fund and Luxshare Precision, with plans to tap Henan’s provincial supply‑chain network for regional expansion.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Masters’ Union raises $12M fund for under‑25 founders

Access to Success (ATS) has launched its first physical Innovation Hub on Toronto’s eastern waterfront, providing a dedicated co‑working space for accessibility‑focused startups. The nonprofit, which runs a free zero‑equity virtual accelerator, has already supported 78 companies that have reached over 2.5 million people with disabilities. Demand is soaring—more than 200 applications were received for just 15 spots in 2025. Corporate partner HP Canada backs the hub, enabling roughly $37,000 USD in annual grants for emerging firms.

Sara Erickson launched AlaSkins in 2016 to convert discarded fish skins from Alaska’s commercial fisheries into premium pet treats. Starting with a $7,000 credit‑card investment, she persuaded processing plants to save skins, eventually scaling to a dedicated plant that purchases...
Most Fonuders never get rich because they chase vanity metrics. A big fundraise (because their competitors did), a fancy office and a bunch of employees and perks, growth achieved through burning money. The way to get rich is easy. Take...
Who's making more money with AI? Not people selling spades, but existing founders shipping more marketing work that's driving revenue? I see lots of founders running more experiments, trying new things, and saving time. But who can attribute extra revenue to work delivered...
Aria Networks, founded by former Apstra CEO Mansour Karam, announced the general availability of its Deep Networking platform and disclosed a $125 million funding round led by Sutter Hill Ventures, Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners and Eclipse Ventures. The platform...

The venture‑capital market that once rewarded rapid, unstructured growth is now in a slowdown, forcing investors to scrutinize how startups use capital. Founders must demonstrate disciplined capital efficiency, realistic growth assumptions, and early signs of sustainability rather than relying on...
Most people assume operations work is about systems, tools, or task management. But really it’s about creating a business that no longer depends on you to keep everything moving. That’s what I build with my clients. 🩵

Most solopreneurs duct‑tape launches with: Notion for tasks ChatGPT for copy Sheets for revenue Then wonder why everything feels fragile. The problem isn’t AI. It’s context. If your “assistant” doesn’t know your offers, price points, deadlines, and minimum revenue target, it can’t run your business. I’m betting the...
Kitty Mayo, newly appointed CEO of Project Europe, leads an accelerator backed by Harry Stebbings and roughly 200 entrepreneurs. The program focuses on founders under 25, aiming to nurture the next generation of European companies worth €100 bn (about $109 bn). After...

Singapore‑based fintech Aspire announced its official launch in the United States, extending its AI‑driven financial operating system to America’s startup ecosystem. The platform, already serving more than 50,000 businesses worldwide, combines multi‑currency accounts, foreign‑exchange, payroll, spend management and real‑time controls...

Zazu, a pan‑African digital bank for SMEs, has teamed up with Visa to launch a fully online business account in Morocco. The partnership lets Zazu issue Visa Business cards and tap into Visa’s global payments network, adding card issuance to...
Construction productivity has lagged far behind other sectors, with McKinsey reporting only 0.4% annual gains from 2000‑2022. Builders are now adopting technologies—AI, autonomous equipment, and digital invoicing—to close the gap, and many are partnering with later‑stage startups to customize solutions....
Find a $10M Problem 'This goes beyond “choosing your niche” It’s the category-defining answer to a problem your market is desperate to solve.

At a recent WeShine panel, founders, investors and operators dissected why most fundraising collapses before the formal pitch. The consensus was that fundraising is a system of internal fund advocacy, investor targeting, and early credibility, not merely a deck presentation....
Livid, an ad‑free video‑hosting platform for creators and small businesses, raised $10 million from StreamYard co‑founders Geige Vandentop and Dan Briggs. The funding follows Bending Spoons' acquisition of Vimeo and subsequent layoffs that left many Vimeo users seeking alternatives. Livid introduced...

The post argues that entrepreneurship is rarely a straight‑line ascent; most founders encounter prolonged “dips” that feel like failure. It blames early schooling for the expectation that effort always yields immediate results, then shows how the reality of building online...

I exited my agency last April. I thought I’d need to hire immediately. I haven’t hired a single person yet. Advisor. Investor. Speaker. Board member. Author. Founder. Mom to two humans and three giant schnauzers. My entire staff? AI agents. The tools aren’t...
HeyDonto AI Technology announced a $20 million seed round that values the company at $200 million. The capital will be used to scale Conduit, its AI‑powered dental interoperability platform that links dental practice systems with medical EHRs, payers and patient apps. Conduit...

In this episode, Dave Marver, CEO of Onward, explains how the company’s spinal cord stimulation platform, ArcIM, combined with a minimally invasive epidural brain‑computer interface (BCI), can translate a patient’s movement intentions into real‑time leg stimulation, enabling paralyzed individuals to...

Halter now manages nearly 650,000 cows, and is currently raising at a $2B valuation. Half the world's habitable land is farmland. This is AI being applied to one of the oldest industries on earth and I think we're going to see...
An AI cow collar just created a billion-dollar company. Farmers draw boundaries on a phone app, and the collars guide cows using sound and vibration. It works by collecting over 6,000 data points per min, feeding ML models that track grazing patterns,...

Charismatic founders can spark early momentum, but reliance on personality creates a fragile organization. The article argues that durable companies are built on shared principles, systematic incentives, and distributed ownership that function without the founder’s constant presence. It outlines practical...

Irish start‑up registrations surged 14% in Q1 2026, reaching 7,263 new firms despite global inflation, high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. Growth was led by construction (+32%), community services (+23%) and manufacturing (+46%), while professional services saw a modest decline. Dublin...
Singapore‑based AI startup Atlas secured $6 million seed funding from Accel and Stellaris Venture Partners to accelerate its accounting‑focused AI platform. The solution promises to triple the capacity of partner firms by automating routine tasks such as audit preparation, bookkeeping, and...

Ailsa Harper, founder of the Brightest Light consultancy, helps musicians cut through digital noise and build sustainable careers while prioritizing mental‑health. She also mentors through Help Musicians and Tinderbox Music and co‑founded Not The DJ’s Girlfriend, a project amplifying women’s...
I talked with a government contractor dealing with something many small businesses are facing right now: contract cuts, team reduction, overwhelming priority list, business development. That moment lingered with me. Because this is the reality for many. The truth is...

Rosie Goldwasser turned her side‑project, More Than Matcha, into a six‑figure nationwide brand in just one year and recently left consulting to run it full‑time. A pivotal appearance on the reality series "60 Day Hustle" forced her to treat the venture as...

Eduriti, a bootstrapped AI‑native product studio founded by Sanjay Mukherjee, launched three live AI‑powered solutions: Designer for instructional design, Strategist for SMB business‑plan generation, and Sales Engine for prospect qualification. The suite is built on a constrained multi‑agent architecture that...
Venture capitalists poured $121 million in funding into startups focused on male fertility last year, according to data from PitchBook. One of the companies that raised money was Sperm Racing, a company that held a “sperm race” sporting event at...

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the $600 trillion global real‑estate ecosystem, automating valuation, deal sourcing, tenant screening and market analysis. Miami‑based World Property Ventures (WPV) is launching a venture‑studio model that builds, funds, scales and fully owns AI‑driven platforms ranging from...

Little Leaf Farms, a Devens, Massachusetts greenhouse grower, now commands more than half of North America’s indoor lettuce market. The company achieved this share by emphasizing disciplined operations, energy efficiency, and strong unit economics rather than chasing rapid tech expansion....

Vanessa Leppard, a 33‑year‑old former food‑industry professional, launched Margate Microgreens in a repurposed indoor unit in Margate, UK. The vertical farm grows pea shoots, red radish and broccoli garnishes using LED lights and heat mats. Within its opening week the...

AirHub, a European drone‑software firm, closed a €4.4 million ($4.8 million) Series A round led by Keen Venture Partners, RunwayFBU, Lumaux and LUMO Labs. The capital will fund expansion of its Drone Operations Center and the launch of MilHub for defense and SecHub...
7 million people are using DeeperDive every month. We launched it in September 2025. DeeperDive is emerging as one of the most used 'answer engines' in the world. Our new video is a fun look at why it’s grown so...
India’s startup funding fell sharply in Q1 2026, with total capital inflows dropping 26% YoY to $2.3 bn and no $100 million mega deals recorded for the first time since 2022. Despite the funding dip, the number of deals rose 17% as...
Amsterdam entrepreneur Shady Dnaf sold his Snapchat‑focused Sunny State Agency to Bent Pixels for over $23 million. The acquisition merges Bent Pixels' YouTube‑centric brand network with SSA’s short‑form distribution, creating a 850‑creator platform that generates 6 billion monthly views. Post‑deal, Dnaf joins...

Sidewinder Therapeutics announced a $137 million Series B round, surpassing expectations and bringing its total capital to $162 million. The round was led by Frazier Life Sciences and Novartis Venture Fund, with participation from OrbiMed, DCVC Bio, Goldman Sachs, and others. The funding...
Delphi, founded by Dara Ladjevardian and backed by Sequoia, Founders Fund, and Lux Capital, offers creators a platform to build AI-powered digital versions of their minds. By ingesting existing content—videos, podcasts, documents—the system creates a conversational interface that answers questions...

Red Roof has added more than 40 women and other underrepresented entrepreneurs to its franchise network through its RIDE and SHE initiatives. In 2025, the RIDE program welcomed six new “Riders,” while the company doubled its presence at industry events...
The best way to learn online income? Build a product even if no one buys it. Post stupid tweets even if no one reads them. Set up a landing page even if it doesn't convert. The best way to gain experience is to fail...
A couple cool cancer drug startups profiled this week in TR. Sidewinder Therapeutics with $137M for bispecific ADCs https://t.co/tJcQwI7C4U and Stipple Bio with $100M for novel targets for antibody drugs. https://t.co/rbXkuaRpoe

Spade, a payments‑intelligence platform, announced a $40 million Series B round led by Oak HC/FT with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and others. The company now processes 1.9 billion transactions daily, reflecting 470% year‑over‑year growth. Co‑founder and COO Tess Bloch, a former McKinsey consultant...

90% of startups don't make it to $1M ARR…and it's always the same reason. They build for 12-18 months before talking to anyone, then show up waiting for the world to buy it: Wrote down exactly what I'd do if I...
Userlens (@userlens_hq) turns every CSM into a 100x CSM. Userlens predicts churn months before it happens, allowing CSMs to be proactive rather than reactive. Congrats on the launch, @HaiTa & @ankur_d! https://t.co/GmpI0NnX8w https://t.co/ZZ19HPnqd1

The New York Times verified that Matthew Gallagher built Medvi, a telehealth startup, from his Los Angeles apartment with just $20,000 and two people, using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. In its first year Medvi posted $401 million...
Turned the tables on @joe_zappa for once this week on the pod and put him in the interviewee seat. Really good conversation about his journey w/ Sharp Pen, the state of adtech marketing, and more. Link below.
Running a bootstrapped, highly profitable, cash flowing SaaS is awesome. Your VC friends just don't know. Go get $10m ARR. Everything gets easier.
A $50M media company. 19 employees. Built from a small town. The moat wasn’t content... It was distribution. Traffic spikes are rented. Email lists are owned. If you’re still relying only on SEO, you don’t have a strategy. You have exposure. This conversation is...
make a product super usable and ppl will pay you for it we’re way past models maxing benchmarks - if they’re not doing actual work for you, you’re asleep at the wheel
soon we’re going to have a handful of startups that can raise $15m+ seed rounds and who can deliver a magical experience with $1m/month token budgets, then there’ll be everyone else.