🎯Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Updated 2h agoWhat's happening: AI fuels a 17% surge in 2025 venture fundraising despite fewer deals
Venture fundraising jumped to $119.5 billion in 2025, up 16.9% from the prior year, while the total number of rounds fell 41% to 4,859, marking a six‑year low. Capital concentrated in larger, AI‑focused rounds, with AI startups capturing 58% of Series D cash, and median valuations rose across all stages.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OpenAI raises $110B in corporate funding
News•Feb 27, 2026
ICYMI Fintech Funding Round-Up: Confido, WafR, Burst, and More
Fintech investors continued to pour capital into niche infrastructure this week, with Confido securing $9 million to expand its legal‑tech payment platform, and Morocco‑based WafR raising $4 million to grow a digital network for corner stores. In the U.S., health‑spending paytech Burst closed a $2.1 million seed round, while Platinum Credit Uganda obtained a $4 million term facility to broaden its loan suite. Meanwhile, liquid‑staking specialist TruFin and shareholder‑communication platform Proxymity each attracted strategic investments from Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures and Euroclear respectively, underscoring broader confidence in specialized fintech layers.
By Fintech Futures
News•Feb 27, 2026
Amazon Joins $110B OpenAI Funding Round
OpenAI closed a record‑breaking $110 billion funding round, with Amazon contributing $50 billion—$15 billion now and $35 billion later. The deal also ties OpenAI to Amazon Web Services, committing $100 billion in cloud spend over eight years and integrating Amazon’s Trainium chips. A new Stateful...
By MediaPost
News•Feb 27, 2026
Handl Health Raises $14.2M to Optimize Employer-Sponsored Health Plans
Handl Health announced a $14.2 million Series A round led by Arthur Ventures, aimed at scaling its unified health‑plan platform for brokers, carriers, and TPAs. The solution aggregates pricing, utilization, benefit, and quality data to let employers model and continuously...
By HIT Consultant
News•Feb 27, 2026
Deepinder Goyal’s New Startup Temple Raises $54 Mn at a $190 Mn Valuation
Deepinder Goyal’s new venture Temple closed a $54 million friends‑and‑family round, valuing the stealth‑mode startup at roughly $190 million post‑money. Goyal contributed ₹104.07 crore, while Steadview Capital, Dharana Fund, Peak XV Partners and Aaroh Fund led the institutional side. More than 30 Temple employees...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 27, 2026
Dash0 Targets $1bn Valuation with Balderton-Led Funding Round, Reports Say
Dash0, an AI‑native cloud‑monitoring platform founded in 2023, is in talks with Balderton Capital to lead a new funding round that would value the company at $1 billion, elevating it to unicorn status. The New‑York‑based startup, which retains a strong operational...
By Sifted
Blog•Feb 27, 2026
Venture Fraud | NBER
The NBER study compiled the first large‑scale dataset of 614 U.S. venture‑capital‑backed startups that faced fraud charges since 2000. It shows VC‑backed firms are 54% more likely to be charged with fraud than comparable non‑VC firms in a public‑company subsample....
By Securities Docket
News•Feb 27, 2026
Old Well Labs Raises Funding
Old Well Labs, a Charlotte‑based AI fintech, announced it has closed a new funding round. The round was led by Nellore Capital and included TFJ Capital, Capital Allocators, Teamworthy Ventures and Hammoud Ventures, though the amount remains undisclosed. The capital...
By FinSMEs
Podcast•Feb 27, 2026•37 min
E703 | Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, Kindred Capital VC: LP Conviction, $15B Funds & The Venture Barbell
In this episode Max Bray and Juliet Bailin of Kindred Capital discuss the current state of venture capital, focusing on LP conviction, the challenges of fundraising in a tough macro environment, and the emerging split between large, secure funds and...
By The European VC (EUVC)
News•Feb 27, 2026
Handpickd Expands Into Flour and Spices Category, Plans New Cities Entry
Handpickd, the farm‑to‑home fresh food platform, is extending its product line into freshly milled flours and pounded spices, aiming for the segment to generate 20% of its revenue by the end of the next fiscal year. The company currently operates...
By ETRetail (India)
News•Feb 27, 2026
Investment in UK Legal Tech Soars to Record High, Report Finds
The UK legal‑tech sector secured a record £188.8 million in 2025, a 35% increase over the prior year, according to LawtechUK’s Investment Snapshot. Twenty home‑grown firms raised £42 million in the second half of the year, with an average raise of £2.1 million,...
By Legal Cheek (UK)
News•Feb 27, 2026
Voice AI Startup Origa Raises $450K Led by Antler Singapore
Origa, a voice‑AI startup focused on consultative pre‑sales conversations, closed a $450,000 funding round led by Antler Singapore, bringing its total capital to $1 million. The company will use the capital to grow its engineering team, enhance product capabilities, and scale...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 27, 2026
Spintly Raises $8 Mn From Accel, ENRISSION India and Others
Proptech startup Spintly announced an $8 million Series A round, led by Accel with participation from ENRISSION India, Chakra Growth Fund, Alumni Ventures and Spyre VC. The financing follows a Rs 3.5 crore seed extension last year and an earlier $5.36 million round, underscoring investor confidence...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 27, 2026
Defence-Tech Startup Constelli Raises $20 Mn Led by General Catalyst
Defence‑tech startup Constelli announced a $20 million Series A round led by General Catalyst, with participation from 360 One Asset Management and existing backer Pravega Ventures. The capital will fund R&D for next‑generation electronic warfare and communication payloads across drones, ground systems, naval...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 27, 2026
Third Way Health Receives $15M Series A
Third Way Health announced an oversubscribed $15 million Series A round led by Health Velocity Capital, with Kristin Torres Mowat as the lead investor. The new capital lifts the company’s total funding to $22.5 million, earmarked for product development and scaling operations. The...
By VC News Daily
News•Feb 26, 2026
Emerging Opportunities in Venture Capital Ecosystem Analyzed in New Report
PitchBook’s new VC Emerging Opportunities report analyzes over 25,000 early‑stage firms across 12 technology verticals, combining machine‑learning exit predictions with macro indicators. Deal value rose 17.5% year‑over‑year while median pre‑money valuations jumped 28.8%, though first‑time financings fell 19%. SaaS leads...
By Crowdfund Insider
News•Feb 26, 2026
Podcast: ADP’s Usman Khan on How Big Companies Use Investment to Enhance Product Lines
In a recent podcast, Usman "Oz" Khan, senior vice president of ADP Ventures, explained how the unit operates as both an incubation lab and a venture‑investment arm to surface emerging workplace technologies. ADP Ventures runs recurring ideation cycles that align...
By HRTechFeed
News•Feb 26, 2026
NODA AI Raises $25M Series A for Defense AI
Defense AI startup NODA AI announced a $25 million Series A round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners and joined by Booz Allen Ventures, Draper Associates, Bloomberg Beta and Alumni Ventures. The Austin‑based company builds AI software that orchestrates mixed fleets of autonomous...
By Just AI News
Podcast•Feb 26, 2026•28 min
From $187M Ecommerce to $5M ARR SaaS: Spresso's Post-Bankruptcy Pivot to Enterprise Software | Jared Yaman
In this episode, Jared Gaiman, co‑founder of Boxed and current CEO of Spresso, recounts the rise of Boxed from a $187 M e‑commerce business to its Chapter 11 filing and subsequent pivot to a $5 M ARR SaaS model focused on enterprise software...
By SaaS Interviews with CEOs
News•Feb 26, 2026
A VC and some Big-Name Programmers Are Trying to Solve Open Source’s Funding Problem, Permanently
Prominent open‑source developers and venture investor Konstantin Vinogradov have launched the Open Source Endowment, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) aimed at creating a permanent funding source for critical open‑source projects. The initiative has secured over $750,000 in commitments from more than 50...
By TechCrunch Venture Feed
News•Feb 26, 2026
SHINE Raises $240 Million in Funding to Advance Commercial Fusion Technology
SHINE Technologies announced a $240 million equity raise led by NantWorks, bringing its total funding above $1 billion. The round adds Dr. Patrick Soon‑Shiong to the board, linking the fusion firm with a serial biotech entrepreneur. SHINE will use the capital to...
By POWER Magazine
Blog•Feb 26, 2026
YOU(th) Closes US$4.5m Health Screening Round
YOU(th) has secured US$4.5 million to scale its AI‑driven smartphone health‑screening platform, which evaluates over 50 digital biomarkers in under two minutes. The round was led by Callisto Health with participation from caesar., adesso Ventures, Antler, Moonstone, 1024 Ventures and notable...
By Health Tech World
News•Feb 26, 2026
Trace Raises $3M to Solve the AI Agent Adoption Problem in Enterprise
Trace, a Boston-based workflow orchestration startup, announced a $3 million seed round led by Y Combinator and several venture firms. The company builds a knowledge graph from enterprise tools such as email, Slack and Airtable to give AI agents the contextual...
By TechCrunch Enterprise
News•Feb 26, 2026
Latino-Founded Applevel Reports $40M Valuation, Integrating WhatsApp Into GoHighLevel CRM and OpenAI
Latino‑founded startup Applevel announced a $40 million valuation after scaling its platform that syncs WhatsApp conversations into the GoHighLevel CRM and adds OpenAI‑driven response automation. The solution now serves over 4,500 active users in more than 36 countries and has recruited...
By MarTech Series
News•Feb 26, 2026
Single-Speciality Hospitals and Clinics Surge, Driven by Patient Demand and Investor Interest
India’s healthcare landscape is rapidly pivoting from multi‑speciality hospitals to single‑speciality providers such as eye‑care, fertility and dialysis clinics. The shift is fueled by rising health‑insurance coverage, an ageing population and strong private‑capital appetite. While the overall market is projected...
By YourStory
News•Feb 26, 2026
How This GV Investor Looks For The Next Stripe And Other ‘Compounding’ Startups In Fintech And AI
Elena Sakach, partner at GV, leverages her fintech background to back growth‑stage, “compounding” startups such as Stripe, Ramp and emerging AI‑driven firms. She emphasizes that successful fintechs build trust‑based relationships, expansion economics, and core infrastructure roles, while AI is reshaping...
By Crunchbase News AI
News•Feb 26, 2026
NationGraph Raises $18M to Expand AI Public Sector Platform
NationGraph announced an $18 million Series A round, led by Menlo Ventures, to scale its AI‑native platform that helps companies navigate the fragmented U.S. government procurement market. The solution aggregates data from roughly 110,000 state, local and education agencies across four million...
By Ventureburn
Podcast•Feb 26, 2026•47 min
When Giants Don’t Go Public: Inside the $5 Trillion Private Tech Market
In this episode, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway interview David George, head of growth at Andreessen Horowitz, about the massive $5 trillion private tech market and why the most high‑growth companies are staying private longer. George explains that deeper, more liquid...
By a16z Podcast
News•Feb 26, 2026
Prayaan Capital Raises Rs 110 Cr in Series A Round Led by Peak XV
Prayaan Capital announced a Rs 110 crore Series A round led by Peak XV Partners. The funding will fuel the build‑out of a technology‑enabled lending platform, expand its team and deepen presence in key Indian MSME markets. Founder Rangarajan Krishnan, who recently took a controlling...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 26, 2026
Space Tech Investor Exceeds $100m for Close of Its Latest Fund
Seraphim Space, a UK‑based venture capital firm dedicated to space technology, closed its latest early‑stage fund at over $100 million, backing 17 companies that blend advanced space tech with artificial intelligence. The portfolio targets sectors such as defence, climate mitigation, life‑science...
By UKTN (UK Tech News)
News•Feb 26, 2026
Nail Care Brand Nailinit Raises Pre-Seed Round
Nailinit, an Indian nail‑care brand, secured a pre‑seed round of Rs 2.5‑3 crore. The round was co‑led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, with participation from several angel investors including Razorpay co‑founder Shashank Kumar. The capital will fund expansion across...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 26, 2026
Tassie Cybersecurity Scaleup Upguard Pockets $105 Million Series C
UpGuard, the Hobart‑based cybersecurity firm, closed a $75 million Series C round led by Springcoast Capital, with participation from August Capital, Square Peg and Pelion Venture Partners. The capital will accelerate development of its AI‑powered cyber‑risk posture management (CRPM) platform, expand go‑to‑market operations,...
By Startup Daily (ANZ)
News•Feb 26, 2026
What VCs Actually Mean when They Say Your Startup Is “Too Early”
Venture capitalists increasingly label pitches as “too early,” a phrase that often masks deeper concerns about product validation, market readiness, or fit rather than pure timing. At a Melbourne Growth Summit, Rampersand’s Paul Naphtali explained that the comment can be a...
By SmartCompany » StartupSmart (AU)
News•Feb 26, 2026
Gushwork Bets on AI Search for Customer Leads — and Early Results Are Emerging
Gushwork, an India‑founded startup, closed a $9 million seed round that values it at $33 million post‑money. The company’s AI‑driven platform creates search‑optimized content, builds backlinks, and tracks leads to help businesses appear in AI‑powered search results such as ChatGPT and Gemini....
By TechCrunch AI
News•Feb 25, 2026
World Labs Inks $1 Billion in New Funding
World Labs, a San Francisco‑based spatial intelligence firm, announced a $1 billion financing round on February 25, 2026. The round attracted a roster of strategic backers including AMD, Autodesk, Emerson Collective, Fidelity Management & Research, NVIDIA and Sea. The capital will accelerate development of...
By VC News Daily
News•Feb 25, 2026
Baba Emerges From Stealth with $6.5M to Launch Medicare Advocacy Platform
Baba, a patient‑advocacy startup for seniors, announced its emergence from stealth with a $6.5 million seed round led by General Catalyst. The platform blends dedicated nurses and social‑workers with an AI companion to resolve insurance denials, scheduling gaps, and other operational...
By HIT Consultant
News•Feb 25, 2026
ElastixAI Scored $18M in Seed Funding.
ElastixAI announced an $18 million seed round, backing its mission to cut the high costs of generative‑AI inference. The Seattle‑based startup was founded by former Apple and Meta machine‑learning researchers. Its flagship software converts off‑the‑shelf FPGA servers into high‑efficiency AI supercomputers....
By VC News Daily
News•Feb 25, 2026
Autodesk Invests $200M in AI Startup
Autodesk announced a $200 million investment in World Labs, marking the largest startup deal in its history. The funding pushes World Labs' total capital to $1 billion and backs its Marble platform, which creates 3D environments from images, video, or text. Autodesk...
By Construction Dive
News•Feb 25, 2026
Heron Power Snares $140 Million Series B
Heron Power announced a $140 million Series B round to launch gigawatt‑scale production of solid‑state transformers for data centers and the electric grid. The round, led by Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, follows a $38 million Series A raised in...
By VC News Daily
News•Feb 25, 2026
ZaiNar Emerges From Stealth With $100M Funding
ZaiNar has emerged from nine years of stealth with a Physical AI platform that transforms any wireless network into a continuous, low‑power sensing system, eliminating the need for satellites, cameras, or dedicated beacons. The technology provides precise, real‑time location data...
By VC News Daily
News•Feb 25, 2026
Why Venture Capital Is Moving Into African Solar Microgrids
Venture capital in Africa is pivoting from fintech to solar microgrid projects as investors chase more predictable, asset‑backed returns. After a fintech boom between 2016‑2021, market saturation, rising customer‑acquisition costs and tighter regulation have eroded margins. Solar microgrids, backed by...
By Techpoint Africa
News•Feb 25, 2026
NationGraph Raises $18M in Series A Funding
NationGraph, an AI-native intelligence platform helping businesses win government contracts, announced an $18 million Series A round. The financing was led by Menlo Ventures and included Perplexity’s Fund, XYZ Venture Capital, Reach Capital, and several angels. The capital brings the company’s total...
By FinSMEs
News•Feb 25, 2026
Patientdesk AI Raises $1M Pre-Seed Backed by Y Combinator to Modernize Dental Front Desks
Patientdesk AI, a Y Combinator W26 startup, secured a $1 million pre‑seed round led by Y Combinator and E2VC to build an AI‑powered front‑desk system for dental practices. The platform automates the entire patient intake flow—answering calls, qualifying prospects, scheduling appointments,...
By The AI Insider
News•Feb 25, 2026
Billionaire Alan Howard’s Crypto Incubator WebN Closes Down
WebN Group, the blockchain incubator backed by billionaire Alan Howard, is shutting down after seeding a portfolio that includes KAIO, Twinstake, TruFin and Geometry. The venture studio also received backing from Nomura’s Laser Digital and has moved several staff members...
By CoinDesk
Blog•Feb 25, 2026
60 Million Reasons to Pay Attention: The Investment Thesis Behind Chamber Cardio’s Series A
Chamber Cardio announced a $60 million Series A round in February 2026, led by Frist Cressey Ventures and backed by General Catalyst, Optum Ventures, Healthworx and other investors. The startup offers a two‑sided platform that connects payers with cardiology practices, embedding workflow‑native AI...
By Thoughts on Healthcare Markets & Tech
News•Feb 25, 2026
Have Hard-Won Scaling Lessons to Share? Take the Stage at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026
TechCrunch is calling seasoned founders, investors, and operators to speak at its Founder Summit 2026 in Boston on June 9. The event will host over 1,000 founders and investors, featuring 30‑minute, discussion‑only roundtables where speakers share real scaling experiences without slides....
By TechCrunch Venture Feed
News•Feb 25, 2026
Guidde Raises $50M in Series B Funding
Guidde, an Israeli AI‑driven digital adoption platform, announced a $50 million Series B round. The financing was led by PSG Equity and included strategic investors monday.com, Norwest, Entrée Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, and Inkberry Ventures. The capital will accelerate the company’s global rollout...
By FinSMEs
News•Feb 25, 2026
TBD Raises $3M in Funding
TBD, a New York‑based prediction‑market protocol provider, announced a $3 million funding round. The round was led by CMT Digital and ParaFi, with participation from Jump Crypto. The capital will be deployed to scale operations and accelerate development of its verified...
By FinSMEs
News•Feb 25, 2026
Rowspace Raises $50M in Seed and Series A Funding
Rowspace, a San Francisco‑New York AI platform for institutional financial data, announced a combined $50 million raise across seed and Series A rounds. The Series A was co‑led by Sequoia and Emergence Capital, while the seed round was also led by Sequoia with...
By FinSMEs
Blog•Feb 25, 2026
Brainomix Raises £18.8m for AI Stroke and Lung Tools
Brainomix announced a £18.8 million Series C extension, adding £4.8 million to accelerate its AI‑driven imaging platforms. The capital will fund rapid US deployment of Brainomix 360 Stroke, which automates acute stroke assessment, and E‑Lung, a CT‑based tool for fibrosing lung disease. The company, already...
By Health Tech World
News•Feb 25, 2026
The 8 Most Active NYC Venture Capital Firms in 2025
The analysis identifies the eight most active venture capital firms headquartered in New York City during 2025, based on the number of investments they made in NYC‑based startups across all stages. It counts only deals where the target company is...
By AlleyWatch