Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Clip secures $500M to accelerate consumer wallet rollout
Mexican fintech Clip raised $500 million, pushing its valuation above $2.5 billion. The new capital will fund the rollout of a consumer‑focused wallet and broaden its financial‑services platform. Investors were not disclosed and the round remains under review.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Francisco Partners raises $18B for new tech funds
Organic Flow Battery Company CMBlu Closes €50 Million Series C
CMBlu Energy announced the close of a €50 million (US$58.8 million) Series C round, pushing its valuation past the $1 billion mark. Samsung Ventures led the new capital while all existing backers, including Strabag SE, reinvested. The funding supports rollout of the SolidFlow organic‑redox‑flow battery, which blends solid‑state storage for higher energy density and avoids conflict‑metal supply risks. A conditional supply deal with Uniper could see up to 5 GW of systems delivered by 2037, positioning CMBlu for the growing US data‑centre market free of FEOC restrictions.
Pronto Extends Series B to $45 Million at $200 Million Valuation
Pronto, the instant household‑services platform, announced a $45 million Series B extension that lifts its valuation to $200 million, effectively doubling the figure within a month. The round includes a $20 million commitment from Lachy Groom, co‑founder of Physical Intelligence, alongside existing backers such...
Asterix Health Raises £2.1m to Boost NHS Primary Care Hiring
Asterix Health announced a £2.1 million (≈$2.7 million) pre‑seed round to scale its remote‑GP platform for NHS primary‑care practices. Founded in 2024 by Julian Titz and Max Thilo after personal health battles, the startup will use the capital to onboard new NHS...
Investing in Europe: Private Equity Activity 2025 Report Highlights Strong Fundraising and Investment Performance
Invest Europe’s 2025 Private Equity Activity report shows fundraising reaching €147 billion ($159 billion), a 16% jump from 2024 and the second‑largest on record. Buyout funds led the surge, pulling in €103 billion ($111 billion), while venture capital rebounded to €20 billion ($22 billion), 20% above...
Belgian AI Startup Tekst Raises €11.5 Million to Tackle the Bottleneck Holding Back Enterprise AI
Belgian AI startup Tekst closed a €11.5 million (≈$12.5 million) Series A round led by US venture firm Elephant. The Ghent‑based company targets the hidden, unstructured processes that prevent enterprises from scaling AI, automatically mapping workflows from emails, PDFs and system logs. Its...
Tagus Bytes (07.05.26)
Crypto venture‑capital activity plunged in April 2026, with only 55 deals totaling $860 million—a 68% drop from March and a 22% decline year‑over‑year. The slowdown follows an anomalously high $2.1 billion March, skewing the trend line. DeFi led the sector share at...
Stockholm’s Pit Exits Stealth with €13.6 Million A16z-Led Funding to Offer “AI Product Teams as a Service”
Stockholm‑based AI startup Pit announced its public launch with €13.6 million ($16 million) Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company positions itself as an "AI product team as a service," building custom, production‑grade software to replace spreadsheets, inboxes and rigid SaaS...
France’s OpsMill Raises €11.9 Million to Help Enterprises Prepare Infrastructure Data for AI and Automation
Paris‑based OpsMill announced a $14 million Series A round to accelerate its AI‑ready infrastructure data platform, Infrahub. The funding, led by IRIS with participation from BGV, Serena and Partech, will expand engineering and product teams. OpsMill’s graph‑based, version‑controlled platform transforms fragmented IT...
Can’t Code? This Startup Just Raised $9m to Make You a Workflow Automation Genius
London AI startup CodeWords raised a $9 million seed round led by Visionaries, with angels including Miro CEO Andrey Khusid and Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen. The platform lets non‑technical users build complex workflow automations via a chat‑based AI agent, currently running...
Clinical Value Is Not Commercial Value
Healthtech firms often mistake strong clinical data for commercial traction, overlooking the complex adoption machinery that governs hospital, payer, and pharma purchasing. The article argues that pilots and physician enthusiasm are insufficient unless they translate into budget authority, procurement pathways,...
Emerald Lake Closes $825 Million Fund, Outpacing $500 Million Target
Emerald Lake Capital Management announced a final close of $825 million on April 27, 2026, well above its original $500 million target and the $750 million hard cap. The fund secured $800 million from unaffiliated institutional limited partners and added $25 million from the general...
Robinhood’s Ventures Fund I IPO Draws Over 150,000 Retail Investors
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev announced that the IPO of the company’s first publicly traded venture fund, Ventures Fund I, attracted over 150,000 retail investors. The NYSE‑listed vehicle gives everyday traders exposure to private tech giants such as OpenAI, Stripe and...
Linkerbot Eyes $6 B Valuation as Investors Line up for New Funding Round
Beijing‑based Linkerbot is preparing a fresh funding round that could push its valuation to $6 billion, up from $3 billion in April 2026. The company commands over 80% of the global market for high‑degree‑of‑freedom robotic hands, a segment seen as the bottleneck...
Glooby Raises $500M to Disrupt Paper Clip Market
hello our name is glooby. we are disrupting the paper clip industry. we are post-idea, pre-product. we raised $500M
VC Concentration Surge Raises Questions for 2026 Founders
Is venture capital dead? Many argue that the concentration of capital, like we’re seeing right now, could mean the end of the industry. 5 firms committed 73% of all LP commits in Q1 this year… What does this mean for...
Moritz Raises $9 Million Seed Round Backed by Y Combinator and 20 Unicorn Founders
Moritz, an AI‑driven legal‑tech startup founded by former OpenAI counsel Pamir Ehsas and ML engineer Stefan Mandaric, closed a $9 million seed round in four days. The round was led by Y Combinator and included Urban Innovation Fund, 20VC, Inception Fund and...
New VCs Often Unaware of Pay‑to‑play Funding Models
Was tempted to cite $TSLA as a “pay-to-play → success anyway” example in a live interview, but figured I should fact-check before embarrassing myself. Maybe @relativityspace ends up there if Terran R works. Wild how many post-2021 VCs have never even seen...
Sierra Secures $950 Million Funding, Valued at $15 Billion to Scale AI‑Driven CX Platform
Sierra, the San Francisco‑based AI startup, announced a $950 million financing round that lifts its post‑money valuation above $15 billion. The round, led by Tiger Global and Alphabet’s GV, is earmarked for expanding its enterprise AI customer‑experience platform and accelerating global adoption.
VC Returns Rarely Beat Indexes, Retail Investing Risky
People think of VC as this gold rush where once you’re on the inside, you’re set, you’re loaded for life. The truth is that most VC funds don’t actually make money, certainly not enough to outperform something like the S&P....
Moment Energy Secures $40 M Series B to Build Second‑Life Battery Factory for AI Data Centers
Moment Energy announced a $40 million Series B round led by Evok Innovations, pushing total capital raised past $100 million. The financing will fund the construction of the largest North American second‑life battery factory, targeting the soaring power needs of AI‑driven data...
Blitzy Raises $200M at $1.4B Valuation to Build Autonomous Coding Platform
Cambridge‑based Blitzy announced a $200 million Series C financing that lifts its valuation to $1.4 billion. The round, led by Northzone and joined by PSG, Battery Ventures and Jump Capital, backs the company’s push to automate months of software development for Global 2000 firms.
Payments Startup Fun Raises $72M Series A to Expand Global Blockchain Layer
FinTech startup Fun announced a $72 million Series A led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire, bringing its blockchain‑enabled payments infrastructure out of stealth. The funding will fuel engineering, a Singapore office and selective acquisitions as the company seeks to grow its...
Seeds | Westlake Robotics Completes Pre-A+ Funding Round
Westlake Robotics, the first commercial AI and robotics venture from Westlake University, has closed a Pre‑A+ funding round. Existing backer Xiaomiao Langcheng led the round, with new investors Industrial Securities Capital and Bei Yu Capital joining. The capital will be...
Astranis, Scout Space Lay Out Next Steps Following Capital Rounds
Astranis secured $455 million in new capital—a $300 million Series E led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton plus a $155 million delayed‑draw credit from Trinity Capital—to accelerate production of its micro‑GEO communications satellites and chase U.S. military contracts, including a potential $4 billion GEO...
Reserves for Emerging Managers
John Felix of Pattern Ventures argues that emerging venture capital managers struggle to deploy reserves effectively because they lack timely, reliable data on their portfolio companies. While larger funds receive regular updates through board meetings and investor reports, micro‑funds writing...
SageOx Raises $15M Seed
Technology startup SageOx announced a $15 million seed financing round, led by prominent venture firms. The capital will fund product development, talent acquisition, and strategic partnerships to accelerate its AI-driven mobile living platform. SageOx aims to leverage the funding to expand...
XAI Will Breakeven by Renting AI Data Center to Anthropic
SpaceX’s xAI has agreed to rent roughly half of its Colossus 1 AI data center to Anthropic, moving the venture toward breakeven cash flow. The partnership gives Anthropic gigawatt‑scale compute for its Claude Pro and Claude Max services and positions both firms for...
OpenTrade Raises $17 Million to Meet Stablecoin Infrastructure Demand
OpenTrade, a UK‑based stablecoin infrastructure platform, closed a $17 million strategic round, bringing its total capital raised to over $30 million. The funding, led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital with participation from a16z crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global, gives the firm...
Metafare Secures $1 Million to Scale Virtual Wellness Solutions
Saudi health‑tech startup Metafare announced a $1 million seed round led by Harmonics Ventures and family offices. The funding will accelerate development of its AI‑driven, VR‑based virtual wellness platform and fund expansion across Saudi Arabia and later the Gulf. Since its...
Ignite Singularity: The End of Venture as We Know It with David S. Rose | Ep267
In this episode, serial entrepreneur and angel investor David S. Rose discusses the evolution of venture investing, emphasizing the need for scalable business models and personal investment theses. He shares his unique background—from early tech experiments in real estate (coining...
InsurTech Funding Slumps 50% in April 2026, Leaving Only Mid‑Size Rounds
Global InsurTech venture capital fell 50% month‑on‑month in April 2026, marking the deepest quarterly pullback since February’s $1 bn peak. The $99 m raised by Counterpart, Zego and PolicyStreet accounted for most of the $199 m total, underscoring a market now driven by...
LTZ Therapeutics Secures $38M to Advance Myeloid Engager Immunotherapy Pipeline
LTZ Therapeutics announced an oversubscribed $38 million financing round led by GL Ventures, bringing its total capital to roughly $130 million since 2022. The funds will propel the Universal Myeloid Cell Engager (U‑MCE) platform, supporting the Phase 1 trial of lead bispecific antibody...
Davis Secures $5.5M Pre‑Seed, Co‑Led by Heartcore and Balderton to Speed Real‑Estate Development
Paris‑based AI‑native real‑estate startup Davis announced a $5.5 million pre‑seed round on Tuesday, co‑led by Heartcore Capital and Balderton Capital. The round also includes Evantic, Yellow VC, Entrepreneurs First and a roster of angels from Meta, Hugging Face and other tech...
AlphaDrive Launches $100 M Fund Targeting AI‑driven Cyber‑security Startups
Veteran investors Yaron Elad, Elik Etzion and UBS veteran Gurinder Sidhu have launched AlphaDrive, a $100 million fund dedicated to AI‑enabled cybersecurity companies. Backed by anchor investor Leumi Partners and a slate of family offices and entrepreneurs, the fund aims to...
Latus Bio Secures $97 Million Series A to Scale Gene‑Therapy Access
Latus Bio closed a $97 million Series A financing, with a $43 million extension led by 8VC, to accelerate its AAV‑based gene‑therapy pipeline. The capital will fund IND filing for Huntington’s disease candidate LTS‑201 and a CLN2 trial, underscoring investor confidence in...
Financings for May 6, 2026
UK‑based Cytospire Therapeutics announced a £61 million (≈$82.7 million) Series A round to accelerate its EGFR‑targeted T‑cell engager pipeline for solid tumours. The capital backs multiple pre‑clinical programs and reflects strong investor confidence in next‑generation immunotherapies. Bio Korea 2026 highlighted a shift in...
Griffin Gaming Partners Launches $100 Million Fund for Indie Titles With Hollywood Potential (Exclusive)
Griffin Gaming Partners, a Santa Monica venture fund with $1.5 billion under management, announced a $100 million Special Opportunities Fund that will finance indie games through revenue‑share agreements rather than equity. The fund has already committed capital to 15 titles, nine of...
Create Sale Urgency: Chris Bond’s Amazon Exit Tactics
How do you create urgency in the sale of your business? Do what Chris Bond, founder of Thinkbox Software, did. Hear firsthand his story of feigned interest from buyers and his eventual sale to Amazon: https://lnkd.in/gd9ZJygN #founders #entrepreneurship #startups #mergersandacquisitions
Anthropic, OpenAI Mirror Enterprise JV Playbook, Signaling Market Shift
Anthropic and OpenAI announced enterprise joint ventures on the exact same day. Both with private equity firms. Both using the same playbook. That's a market signal.
Fathom Secures Strategic Investment From CVS Health Ventures to Scale Autonomous Medical Coding
Fathom, a leader in autonomous medical coding, secured a strategic investment from CVS Health Ventures to accelerate its platform that automates over 90% of coding tasks across multiple specialties. The company, recently named the #1 solution for Reducing the Cost...
Fund Size Drives Strategy: Align with Investor Goals
Fund size determines strategy. A $50M fund needs different outcomes than a $500M fund. Know what your investors are optimizing for before you take their check.
Seeking VC Experience with OTC Swaption Trading
question: can anyone name a VC that has priced and traded OTC swaptions for a portfolio company?
AI Consulting Startup Co-Founded by DeepMind Scientist Lands $22.75M Series A
London‑based AI consulting and recruitment startup Ethos announced a $22.75 million Series A round, led by Andreessen Horowitz and joined by General Catalyst, Evantic and XTX. The funding follows a $3.25 million seed round and brings total capital raised to about $30 million. Ethos...
HubSpot Leverages Crunchbase to Spot High-Potential Startups
@HubSpot for Startups, a program designed to help early-stage companies access tools and resources to grow, needed a smarter way to identify and prioritize high-potential startups beyond existing partner networks. Here's how they did it with Crunchbase. 🔗: https://t.co/nmnuoSZr7i
Investing in SpaceX SPV Lost $1M to Fraud
If you invested $1 million in SpaceX a year ago you’d have $0 today because it was actually a triple layered SPV and the GP diverted it to a mansion in LA
Astranis Raises $450 Million to Expand GEO Satellite Production
Satellite maker Astranis announced a $450 million financing round, pushing total capital raised to more than $1.2 billion and valuing the company at roughly $2.8 billion. The Series E, co‑led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and other institutional...
Griffin Launches Project Financing Fund for Indie Studios
Good news for indie game studios. Griffin is turning to project financing with a new fund, in addition to its traditional VC investments. https://t.co/47axlCnNYv https://t.co/cS1gcIJjLn
Backing UseCorgi's Series B to Revolutionize Insurance
we are excited to continue supporting @UseCorgi with their Series B as they work to transform insurance. Insurance is 12% of GDP, the largest words-based industry on earth, and incredibly hard to start-up in, given regulatory and operating complexity. https://t.co/E15YUJOf82
Ethos Raises $22.75M From A16z for Its Expert Network with Voice Onboarding
Ethos, a London‑based AI startup, announced a $22.75 million Series A round led by a16z, with participation from General Catalyst and others. The company uses voice‑powered onboarding to capture detailed expert knowledge, enabling AI to match natural‑language client queries with highly specific...
J‑Curve Shows Investment Leads
The JCurve is perhaps the most wonderful chart in all of life Invest, invest, invest… harvest, harvest, harvest. American Exceptionalism Manifest https://t.co/WKtJ4gFB1H