Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Clip raises $500M, pushes valuation past $2.5B
Mexican fintech Clip secured a $500M financing round, lifting its valuation to over $2.5B. The capital will fund a consumer‑focused wallet rollout and broaden its financial‑services platform. Investors were not disclosed and the round remains open.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OpenAI secures $122B private financing round
Retailgrid Targets Retail Spreadsheets with €358K Pre-Seed Round
Helsinki‑based Retailgrid raised €358,000 (approximately $390,000) in a pre‑seed round led by Finnish B2B SaaS investors Ali Omar, Henry Nilert and Pekka Ylitalo, with Innovestor Angel CoFund participating. The startup offers an AI‑powered workbook that blends spreadsheet familiarity with cloud analytics for pricing, assortment planning and forecasting, aimed at mid‑market retailers and FMCG companies. By linking directly to ERP, e‑commerce and market‑data feeds, the platform lets users run AI‑driven models via natural‑language prompts while keeping the underlying logic visible. The capital will accelerate product development, European customer acquisition and team growth.
Ghent-Based Exhibitly Raises €1.4 Million to Bring AI Personalisation to B2B Events
Exhibitly, a Ghent‑based EventTech startup, raised €1.4 million (≈$1.53 million) in a pre‑seed round led by New School VC to expand its AI‑driven personalization platform for B2B event websites. The solution creates a 10‑second, job‑title‑based mini‑site that highlights relevant sessions and exhibitors,...
Dolfin Secures €2.1 Million Seed Funding to Replace Spreadsheet‑Based Sales Compensation
Barcelona‑based AI platform Dolfin raised €2.1 million ($2.3 million) in a seed round led by Swanlaab to eliminate spreadsheet‑driven sales compensation. The funding will accelerate product development and fuel expansion across Europe and the U.S., targeting firms that collectively generate over €851 million...
Arkeus Secures A$25 M Series A After Winning Pentagon Drone Sensor Contracts
Melbourne‑based Arkeus closed a A$25 million (≈US$16.5 million) Series A round at a $100 million post‑money valuation, driven by newly won US Department of Defense contracts for its hyperspectral AI drone sensors. The funding will fund a Queensland manufacturing hub and expand the...
Searchable Raises $14M, Hits $85M Valuation as AI Search Reshapes Marketing
Searchable, the AI performance‑marketing platform, closed a $14 million funding round led by Headline, bringing total capital raised to £31 million (≈$38 million) and valuing the company at $85 million. The cash will accelerate product development and expand the firm’s US‑UK footprint amid a...
South Korea Q1 Venture Investment Jumps 24% to $2.5 Bn; Fund Formation Hits Record $3.4 Bn
South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups reported that Q1 2026 venture investment reached 3.3 trillion won ($2.5 bn), a 24.1% year‑on‑year rise, while newly created venture funds totaled a record 4.4 trillion won ($3.4 bn), up 30.7%. The surge reflects heightened activity in...
Last Week in ConTech - 18 May 2026
Brick & Mortar Ventures, a veteran construction‑tech fund, reflected on its $3 billion exit track record and the unique challenges of scaling limited‑partner (LP) models in the sector. The firm highlighted that strategic LPs—general contractors, material suppliers, and software firms—typically write...
Multiverse Raises $70 Million to Fuel AI Upskilling Push Across Europe
Multiverse, the London‑based upskilling platform, closed a $70 million funding round led by Schroders Capital, lifting its valuation to $2.1 billion. The capital will be used to roll out its AI and data skills platform across Europe, addressing a widening talent gap...
Cooley Advises Full-Life Technologies on $110 Million Series D Equity Financing
Cooley advised Full-Life Technologies on closing a $110 million Series D equity round, bringing the company’s total funding since 2021 to nearly $350 million. The round was led by Vivo Capital and included strategic partner SK Biopharmaceuticals alongside several venture firms. The capital...
Qatar Foundation Announces $30 Million DeepTech Fund Backed by Five Global VCs
Qatar Foundation unveiled a $30 million deep‑technology fund on Tuesday, secured with immediate co‑investment commitments from five leading international venture capital firms. The fund aims to accelerate startups in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced materials, while showcasing a rare LP‑GP...
Violet Therapeutics Lands $4.75M Seed
Violet Therapeutics, a preclinical biotech focused on neurodegenerative diseases, secured a $4.75 million seed extension. The round was led by Lifespan Vision Ventures with participation from the Dementia Discovery Fund, UTEC, Ono Venture Investment, and Mass General Brigham Ventures. The funding...
GridCARE Inks $64M Series A Financing
GridCARE announced the closing of an oversubscribed $64 million Series A round, led by Sutter Hill Ventures and joined by John Doerr. The round also attracted utility strategics National Grid Partners, Future Energy Ventures, Emerson Collective, Stanford University, and existing backers. Valuation...
6 Practical Strategies To Raise Capital And Fund Your Startup From Scratch
Raising capital from scratch forces founders to explore multiple financing routes beyond personal savings. The article outlines six practical avenues—angel investors, venture capital, crowdfunding, equity loans, side‑hustles, and government SBA programs—each with distinct trade‑offs. It stresses the importance of a...
VoltaGrid Scores $1B Funding
VoltaGrid, a meter‑scale power generation firm, announced a $1 billion equity raise led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Halliburton. The round includes a $775 million primary capital raise and a $225 million secondary purchase from existing investors. In parallel, VoltaGrid signed an agreement...
Reimagining Medical Devices in the AI Era: The 3 Structural Shifts Driving Venture-Scale Growth
Aegis Ventures released a whitepaper that spotlights three AI‑driven structural shifts reshaping the medical‑device sector. Historically, medtech has captured only 2‑3% of U.S. healthcare venture capital despite a $200 billion annual market, reflecting long development cycles and limited exit paths. The...
Cowboy Raises $275M and Files for 20,000 Orbital Data Centers, Forcing the ODC Thesis Into View
Cowboy Space Corporation, formerly Aetherflux, closed a $275 million Series B round led by Index Ventures, valuing the firm at $2 billion. The startup filed an FCC request to launch up to 20,000 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites—named “Stampede”—each housing a one‑megawatt data‑center payload with roughly...
Sigma Computing Doubles Valuation to $3 Billion in Series E as Agentic Analytics Race Heats Up
Sigma Computing secured $80 million in a Series E round, lifting its valuation to $3 billion—double the figure from a year ago. The funding, led by Princeville Capital and joined by Databricks Ventures, ServiceNow Ventures, and Workday Ventures, comes as the company reports...
Tomorrow.io Raises $35M to Expand AI Weather Intelligence Infrastructure
Tomorrow.io announced a $35 million extension to its Series F round, bringing total Series F capital to $210 million. The funding will accelerate the rollout of its DeepSky satellite constellation and AI‑driven weather‑forecasting platform, which turns raw atmospheric data into real‑time operational intelligence. The...
Nectar Social Lands $30 Million Series A From Menlo Ventures to Scale AI Marketing Platform
Nectar Social announced a $30 million Series A financing round led by Menlo Ventures. The funding will fuel product development, team expansion, and deeper enterprise adoption of its AI‑powered social intelligence and marketing automation system.
Lightrock Unveils $500 Million Accelerate7 Fund for Energy‑Access Startups in Southeast Asia
London‑based Lightrock has closed a $500 million Accelerate7 fund aimed at growth‑stage companies that expand affordable, reliable energy in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. Backed by major oil majors and the private‑bank LGT, the fund will deploy $10‑$50 million per company...
Playground Global Announces $475 Million Fourth Fund
Playground Global announced a $475 million fourth fund aimed at backing the next generation of deep‑technology companies. The new capital follows a $410 million Fund III closed in December 2023, reflecting a sizable increase in investor commitment. Cooley LLP advised the fund formation, continuing...
Juliang Guangqi Raises $28M+ USD Angel Round to Industrialize Superconducting Quantum in China
Shanghai‑based Juliang Guangqi announced the close of a $28 million‑plus angel round, one of the biggest early‑stage quantum hardware financings in China. Backers include Heli Capital, Junshan Capital and SMIC’s private‑equity arm, underscoring strong investor confidence. The startup is developing silicon‑substrate...
Roche’s $1.05 B PathAI Deal Highlights Massachusetts AI Hub Momentum
Roche agreed to buy Boston‑based PathAI for $750 million upfront, with a potential $300 million earn‑out, a deal valued at up to $1.05 billion. The transaction, praised by coalition members including Whoop, signals deepening venture capital confidence in Massachusetts’ AI cluster.
Building Venture Markets Where None Exist: Coordination, Capital, and Evidence
African venture capital and private equity markets often fail to emerge because of simultaneous coordination gaps—absence of skilled fund managers, credible exit routes, and patient investors—rather than just a financing shortfall. Development finance institutions (DFIs) are stepping in with blended‑finance...
Arkeus Banks $25M Series A as Its Drone Sensors Win Pentagon Contracts
Melbourne‑based defence tech startup Arkeus closed a $25 million Series A round, valuing the company at roughly $100 million. The funding, led by QIC Ventures and joined by R+VC, Folklore Ventures and Dyne Ventures, will finance a new Queensland manufacturing hub and expand...
Eclipse Ventures’ $2.5 B Cerebras IPO Return Bolsters Physical‑World Bet
Eclipse Ventures realized a $2.5 billion return from Cerebras Systems’ public debut, turning a $147 million stake into a 17‑fold gain. The windfall validates the firm’s decade‑long focus on hardware that touches the physical world, a theme echoed by a $400 million Mind...
Cosmico Raises €12M in Series B Round
Milan‑based Cosmico raised €12 million (about $13 million) in a Series B round that blends equity and debt, with P101 SGR as lead investor and participation from existing backer Prana Ventures. The capital infusion coincided with the full acquisition of Flatmates, a creator‑agency...
Stitch Closes $25M Series A Led by Andreessen Horowitz
Stitch, a Riyadh‑based cloud‑native operating system for banks, closed a $25 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total funding to $35 million. The platform unifies lending, cards, payments and ledger functions, allowing institutions to replace legacy cores module‑by‑module. In...
Greenpixie Raises £4.7M to Cut Cloud and AI Waste
Greenpixie closed a £4.7 million ($6 million) pre‑Series A round led by VERBUND X Ventures to help large enterprises eliminate wasted Cloud and AI spending. Its software identifies idle “zombie” resources, suggests lower‑carbon regions, and already serves Fortune 1000 clients such as Mastercard. With data...
Bain Capital Announces Final Close of Asia Fund VI at $10.5 Bn
Bain Capital announced the final close of its Asia Fund VI, raising $10.5 billion, including roughly $9.1 billion in external commitments, well above the original $7 billion target. The fund’s capital was completed by Bain partners, employees and related entities, making them the single...
Isomorphic Labs Raises $2.1 B to Expand AI-Driven Drug Discovery Platform
Isomorphic Labs announced a $2.1 billion financing round led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Alphabet, GV, CapitalG, MGX, Temasek and the UK Sovereign AI Fund. The capital will accelerate development of its IsoDDE AI drug design engine and aim to...
Monaco Secures $50M Series B Led by Benchmark, Boosting AI Sales Automation
Monaco, an AI‑powered sales automation platform, announced a $50 million Series B financing led by Benchmark. The round lifts the company’s total capital to $85 million after a $25 million Series A in February 2026, signaling strong investor confidence in AI‑driven B2B go‑to‑market...
As IPO Momentum Fades, VCs Embrace Partial Exits and M&A
Venture capital firms are shifting away from IPOs toward secondary sales, founder buybacks, and strategic M&A as public market conditions deteriorate. In India, 51 secondary VC transactions totaling $1.1 billion were recorded in 2025, while startup mergers and acquisitions remained robust...
Anduril Secures $5 B Series H, Valuation Hits $61 B
Anduril Industries announced a $5 billion Series H financing that lifted its valuation to $61 billion, doubling the figure from a year earlier. The round, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, brings the company’s total capital raised to $11.4 billion and underscores...
Sygaldry Technologies Raises $139 Million to Build Quantum‑Accelerated AI Servers
Sygaldry Technologies closed a $139 million financing round—$105 million Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and $34 million seed from Initialized Capital—to build quantum‑accelerated AI servers. The capital will fund hardware that integrates quantum processors with classical data‑center infrastructure, targeting the soaring...
Stitch Secures $25 Million Series A Led by Andreessen Horowitz, A16z’s First GCC Deal
Stitch, a cloud‑native fintech platform headquartered in Riyadh, closed a $25 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total funding to $35 million. The round, which also included Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures and Saudi Venture Capital, underscores growing...
How To Invest In SpaceX Before The IPO: 5 Questions To Ask First
Investors eyeing SpaceX before its anticipated IPO can gain exposure through regulated vehicles such as ETFs, interval funds and closed‑end funds. The article outlines a five‑question framework—fees, liquidity, premium, valuation freshness, and upside pass‑through—to compare these wrappers. Fees range from...
🧾 Weekly Wrap Sheet (05/15/2026): Control & Context
Anthropic announced that any share sale or transfer not approved by its board—including transactions through special‑purpose vehicles—is void, a move aimed at curbing fraud and cleaning its cap table ahead of a planned IPO. The company warns that unauthorized secondary...
Panthalassa Secures $140 Million to Deploy Wave‑Powered Floating Data Centres
Panthalassa closed a $140 million financing round led by Peter Thiel, valuing the start‑up at nearly $1 billion. The capital will fund the construction of 85‑metre solid‑steel nodes that generate electricity from ocean waves to power AI‑intensive data centres, a direct response...
Silicon Road Ventures Launches $18 M India‑focused AI Fund with US Expansion Pathway
Silicon Road Ventures (SRV) announced a ₹150 crore (≈$18 million) Category II AIF dedicated to Indian AI startups building agentic solutions for B2B commerce. The fund, already closed on its first round, pairs capital with a cross‑border growth engine that links Indian founders...
From $55M to $10B: Belief Beats Doubt
$55M first close when we thought we needed $200-300M. People called it a "vanity project." Now it's $10B raised and 2,000 assets. You have to be the one who believes in your idea. Sometimes that takes years. @EnergyEmpirePod https://t.co/GCWS1j3k7d
For Eclipse, the $2.5B Cerebras Win Is Just the Start of Realizing Its Physical-World Thesis
Eclipse Ventures’ early $6.5 million Series A bet on Cerebras Systems has culminated in a $2.5 billion IPO windfall, delivering a 17‑fold return on its total $147 million investment. The firm’s broader thesis—digitizing the physical world—has gained traction as hardware‑focused startups raised nearly $15 billion...
Martha Stewart’s AI Startup Secures $10 Million to Power Home‑Management Platform
Martha Stewart’s AI‑focused PropTech startup announced a $10 million financing round to launch a suite of home‑management tools. The capital, sourced from undisclosed investors, will fund product development, AI training and go‑to‑market efforts, underscoring rising investor appetite for consumer‑oriented real‑estate technology.
WEF Report Says AI Will Upend Venture Capital Valuations and Liquidity
The World Economic Forum’s latest report warns that artificial intelligence is rewriting venture‑capital economics, rendering traditional SaaS valuation metrics obsolete and demanding new liquidity mechanisms. It cites AI‑native firms hitting $100 million ARR in under a year, five companies accounting for...
Acuta Capital Partners Invests $4.2 M for 1.35% Stake in Erasca’s Targeted Cancer Pipeline
Acuta Capital Partners, LLC acquired 354,575 shares of Erasca Inc. for an estimated $4.19 million, giving the fund a 1.35% ownership stake. The investment underscores growing investor interest in Erasca’s RAS/MAPK‑focused cancer therapeutics despite recent clinical setbacks and a steep cash...
DoubleRock Partner Suraj Rajwani Says Execution, Leadership Drive 2026 VC Deals
Suraj Rajwani, managing partner at DoubleRock, told reporters that 2026 investors prioritize execution, market‑focused solutions, and strong leadership over hype. The Palo Alto‑based VC’s insights signal a tighter funding climate for founders who can prove durable business models.
Why Most Fund Strategies Break at Portfolio Construction
HealthVC’s latest essay warns that many venture fund strategies collapse during portfolio construction, not because of weak theses but due to flawed fund math. LPs scrutinize fund size, ownership stakes, reserve policies and exit assumptions to ensure the thesis can...
Meridian Ventures Secures $35 Million Fund to Back MBA‑Deferred Founders
Meridian Ventures announced the close of a $35 million, oversubscribed fund dedicated to backing pre‑seed and seed‑stage companies founded by MBA‑deferred entrepreneurs. The fund, raised from public‑bank investors, family offices and Fortune 500 executives, aims to deploy $500k‑$750k checks over the next...
Lansdowne Partners Raises €128.9 Million ($150 Million) for UK University IP Fund
Lansdowne Partners announced a €128.9 million ($150 million) first close on a new venture fund aimed at commercialising intellectual property from UK universities. Backed by the British Business Bank, Aviva Investors and Lloyds Banking Group, the fund targets early‑stage spin‑outs and plans...
Nectar Social Secures $30M Series A to Scale AI‑Powered Marketing OS
Nectar Social announced a $30 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures and its Anthology Fund. The funding will accelerate hiring and product rollout for the AI‑driven marketing operating system used by brands like Liquid Death and Figma.