
Renasens, a Swedish start‑up, secured €10 million (approximately $10.8 million) in seed funding to scale its textile‑recycling technology that uses supercritical CO₂ to recover fibres from blended waste. The capital, led by Extantia with participation from Course Corrected and Norrsken Launcher, will finance an industrial pilot plant in Borås, Sweden. The process promises to separate mixed‑material fabrics more efficiently than conventional methods. Renasens aims to move the solution from lab to commercial scale within the next 18‑24 months.

Bulgarian private‑equity firm INVENIO Partners announced the first closing of its third fund, targeting a total of €75 million (≈ $81.5 million) to back high‑growth SMEs in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The fund will deploy equity and quasi‑equity investments of $3.3 million to $10.9 million...

Opendoor, the U.S. iBuying platform, announced plans to hire up to 100 employees in Toronto, renting a floor on King Street and Spadina Avenue for the new hub. CEO Kaz Nejatian, a former Shopify COO, emphasized Toronto’s deep talent pool...

Nigeria produces more than 30 million tonnes of waste each year, overwhelming municipal services. Ecobarter, a tech‑enabled social enterprise founded in 2018, pays households and businesses for recyclable and organic waste, using a mobile app to schedule pickups, track collections, and...

Nigerian crypto exchange Quidax announced a company‑wide layoff on March 2, terminating employees in sales, design and operations and offering one month’s severance. The cuts follow a February salary payout and are framed as performance‑related, though the exact numbers remain...

Karolina Pelc, a former casino dealer turned iGaming executive, founded the SaaS firm BeyondPlay and sold it to FanDuel in February 2024. She now mentors founders and has released her debut book, Her Play, which argues that luck is a...

Moving Tech Innovations, the Bengaluru‑based parent of Namma Yatri, has acquired Netherlands‑based Automicle Holding BV to launch its zero‑commission, community‑led mobility platform in Europe. The deal gives Moving Tech a foothold in European cities, where it plans to replicate its...

Uber announced the discontinuation of its Shuttle bus service in Delhi NCR, effective March 27, marking the exit of its bus‑based commute offering from India’s last remaining market. The move follows similar shutdowns in Mumbai and Hyderabad, which were attributed...

Pentathlon Ventures closed its second fund at Rs 255 crore (≈ $31 million), targeting 16–20 seed‑stage B2B tech startups. The fund expands its focus to enterprise AI transformation, fintech, healthtech, cybersecurity, logistics and manufacturing. Backed by family offices, HNIs and entrepreneurs across India, the...

Caroline Desmond explains that retail POS systems, designed for single‑owner inventory, break down when a store exceeds 100 consignors. As intake volumes rise, staff spend more time on manual ownership assignments, payout calculations, and answering basic seller queries. The article...

ELMED Life Sciences secured a $2.7 million Series A round led by NABVENTURES' AgriSURE Fund. The capital will fund new manufacturing capacity in Hyderabad, R&D acceleration, and broader distribution across Indian tier‑2/3 regions and overseas markets. ELMED develops probiotic and microbiome‑based products...

The global photo‑booth market, valued at $584.6 million in 2024, is projected to reach $1.4 billion by 2032 with an 11.5% CAGR. Southeast Asia contributes roughly one‑fifth of that market but remains highly fragmented, relying on outdated tools. ChackTok offers a hardware‑agnostic...

Yelen, a Côte d’Ivoire‑based startup founded by ex‑Google executive Ibrahima Sylla, launched in June 2025 as an all‑in‑one platform for African social sellers. The service lets merchants create storefronts, accept card and mobile‑money payments, and manage orders from WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook...

Reeve Benaron, co‑founder and co‑CEO of Intrivo Diagnostics and chairman of digital‑media firm AUDIENCEX, has built businesses at the nexus of technology, data and real‑world impact. He pioneered AUDIENCEX’s data‑driven advertising platform in 2012 and later launched Intrivo’s Diagnostics‑as‑a‑Service model,...

Bengaluru‑based NeoSapien launched Neo 1, a thumb‑size AI wearable that records conversations, creates transcripts and reminders, and retails for roughly $120. The startup recently closed a $2 million seed round backed by Merak Ventures and several angel investors, and claims to be...

Insurtech startup Plum announced a $20.6 million Series B round, raising ₹193 crore led by Peak XV Ventures with participation from Tanglin and GMO Venture Partners. The funding will finance talent acquisition, AI‑driven claims processing, enterprise‑grade security, and deeper HR‑payroll integrations. Plum also plans...

AI‑first law firm Keith has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to launch a fully automated conveyancing platform this summer. The firm will use a network of 38 specialized AI agents to handle up to 80% of the transaction workflow, aiming...

Nikolay Grebentsov, president of Nikovit Inc., is scaling a clean‑energy venture that sells affordable heat‑pump and mini‑split systems through its EZCOOL brand. Recent accolades—including the Best Entrepreneur in HVAC award and a Small Business Breakthrough Award—coincide with a push to...

JTC Corporation announced major upgrades to LaunchPad @ One‑North, including the new Meeting Point co‑working and event space. The hub now partners with NUS Enterprise, INSEAD and 19 international startup nodes, giving Singaporean startups direct access to markets in Paris,...

Verse8, an AI-native platform that lets creators instantly turn ideas into playable games, announced a $5 million seed round. Since its stealth launch in July, the service has attracted more than 3.5 million monthly active users, supported by over 5,000 active creators...

The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Digital is adopting a lean‑startup mindset, using small OTA‑backed bets to prototype emerging technologies. Early initiatives such as Naval Identity Services and the Enterprise Service Desk have transitioned from pilots to full enterprise services,...
A journalist with no coding background used Anthropic's Claude to create Telos Tax, an AI‑generated, free tax‑preparation app that handles both federal and state returns. The "vibe coding" approach produced roughly 234,000 lines of code in a few weeks, a...

Dan Schaefer of Schaefer Beef Consulting says the convergence of an aging cattle‑producer base, robust consumer demand for beef, and underutilized land makes now an optimal moment for young entrepreneurs to launch beef operations. He highlights that leasing arrangements—particularly cost‑sharing...
Amazon is abandoning its traditionally frugal reputation to embark on an unprecedented AI spending spree, dubbed a “Capexapalooza” by JPMorgan Chase. The e‑commerce giant is allocating billions of dollars to build custom AI chips, expand data‑center capacity, and integrate generative...
Friending, a Raleigh‑based startup, launched a social app that nudges users toward in‑person meetings by restricting chat and confirming proximity via phone detection. The platform verifies identities through a third‑party service, aiming to combat the loneliness epidemic highlighted by the...

Performance Drone Works (PDW) announced a Series B round that raised over $110 million, led by Ondas and joined by strategic investors such as Hood River, Cedar Pine, Hanwha’s venture fund and Booz Allen Hamilton. The capital will fund a hiring...

Payy Network announced a $6 million seed round led by FirstMark Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures and DBA Crypto. The private‑by‑default stablecoin platform uses zero‑knowledge proofs to conceal transaction details, addressing transparency concerns that deter enterprise adoption. Payy’s services, including...

Wealthsimple, the Toronto‑based fintech valued at roughly $10 billion, secured initial approval from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) to launch prediction‑market contracts linked to economic indicators, financial markets and climate trends. The clearance permits binary “yes‑or‑no” forecast contracts, though the...

At GDC Festival of Gaming 2026, Playable Worlds’ vice‑president Niina Fujioka detailed how their Kickstarter campaign for the MMORPG *Stars Reach* exceeded its goal by over four times. The success stemmed from a story‑focused trailer, a modest funding target, and...

Startale Group closed a $63 million Series A round, secured by SBI Group ($50 million) and Sony Innovation Fund ($13 million). The Singapore‑based firm builds blockchain infrastructure, including the Strium tokenized‑securities ledger, JPYSC and USDSC stablecoins, and a consumer‑facing app. The capital will be...

M1X Global, a public‑private partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, announced the public launch of its on‑chain sovereign finance platform and closed an oversubscribed $3 million angel round. The funding, sourced from prominent crypto‑finance figures and the Stellar Development...
Swiss startup Pave Space announced a $40 million private funding round to develop a reusable orbital tug and conduct a demonstration flight. The round was led by Visionaries Club and Creandum, with participation from several European investors. Originating as a student‑led...

Mandel AI, a Y Combinator‑backed startup, secured $3.9 million in seed funding to launch an AI‑driven supply‑chain coordinator. The platform sits atop existing email and ERP systems, using specialized agents to read supplier messages, reconcile purchase orders and invoices, and act...

Toronto‑based Beachman Motor Co. assembles all‑electric, retro‑styled motorcycles using mostly Chinese‑made components, employing about a dozen staff in a scaled‑down plant. The flagship Beachman ’64 retails for roughly $4,400 USD and targets urban commuters seeking a simple, design‑forward ride. After a...

London‑based Eunice, which builds AI‑driven due‑diligence infrastructure for regulated markets, announced an $8 million seed round led by Moonfire Ventures and Speedinvest, with participation from Openspace Ventures and a roster of high‑profile angel investors. The funding will accelerate the rollout of...

Sift, a Southern California startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, announced a $42 million Series B round led by StepStone Group with participation from Google Ventures and other investors. The capital will be used to grow its engineering team and enhance its...

Thesis Care, formerly Trovo Health, closed a $45 million Series A round led by Oak HC/FT, bringing total funding to $60 million. Founded in 2024 by ex‑Cedar executives, the startup uses AI agents backed by clinicians‑in‑the‑loop to automate end‑to‑end clinical workflows. By delivering...

Former SpaceX engineer John C. Foster launched Puresteel, a plastic‑free coffee maker priced around $80. The device uses medical‑grade stainless steel and glass, eliminating polymer components that can shed microplastics into brewed water. Foster cites recent studies linking microplastic exposure...

Qualified Health, a public‑benefit AI firm, closed a $125 million Series B led by NEA, adding investors such as Transformation Capital and Anthropic. The round will fund expansion of its generative‑AI platform that offers governance, risk‑alert, privacy safeguards and workflow automation for...

Dymeka Harrison, a commercialization veteran, argues that breakthrough products alone don’t guarantee lasting companies; adoption hinges on disciplined commercial execution. She cites the 70‑90% startup failure rate as largely driven by underdeveloped commercial foundations. Harrison outlines a holistic commercial system—segmentation,...

AI startup Zivy, backed by Blume Ventures, announced it will cease operations on March 31, 2026 after struggling to convert users into paying customers. The Bengaluru‑based firm, which raised $1.2 million in a September 2024 pre‑seed round, saw demand evaporate as...

Magic Mind transformed a niche 2‑ounce functional shot into a nationwide retail brand after surviving 67 investor rejections and years of product refinement. The caffeine‑and‑botanical blend, offered in three potency levels, leverages nano‑encapsulation technology to promise five‑times better absorption than...

Many organizations prioritize avoiding failure, which hampers fundraising innovation. The article argues that embracing failure is essential because most new ideas start as bad and only through experimentation can successful concepts emerge. It notes that effective fundraising tactics decay over...

US‑based startup Feels has launched a video music‑messaging app that lets users send 15‑second lyrical clips as a keyboard extension on iOS and Android. The company has secured licensing agreements with all three major record labels and their publishing arms,...

Emily Lyons, a Toronto‑based serial entrepreneur, turned an $80 startup into a multimillion‑dollar event‑staffing firm and luxury dating service. Despite hitting profitability and being named Entrepreneur of the Year, she admits wealth triggered deep‑seated anxiety from a childhood of financial...

Krvvy, a women’s innerwear and shapewear brand, and Ugees, an intimate‑wear wash brand, announced a strategic partnership to broaden their product ecosystems and drive direct‑to‑consumer growth. The collaboration will enable cross‑selling and post‑purchase care, aiming to improve retention and lower...

Catch The Upswing, a new weekly business and leadership podcast, launches on March 25, 2026, hosted by global finance executive Jessica Espinoza. The show features candid conversations with leaders ranging from former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres to media researcher...