🎯Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Updated 2h agoWhat's happening: AI fuels record $119.5B venture fundraising despite fewer rounds
Venture capital fundraising jumped 16.9% to $119.5 billion in 2025, the strongest recovery since the 2022 market reset. The total number of rounds fell 41% to 4,859, concentrating capital in larger AI‑focused financings, with AI startups capturing 58% of Series D cash and median valuations rising across all stages.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OpenAI raises $110B in corporate funding
News•Jan 13, 2026
Superorganism Raises $25M to Back Biodiversity Startups
Superorganism, launched in 2023, closed its inaugural fund with $25.9 million from investors including the Cisco Foundation and Andreessen Horowitz partner Jeff Jordan. The firm will write $250,000‑$500,000 checks for pre‑seed and seed‑stage biodiversity startups and donate 10 % of profits to future conservation. Its portfolio spans extinction‑prevention tech, climate‑biodiversity crossover solutions, and conservation tools, exemplified by Spoor’s AI that tracks bird movements to protect wind farms. The fund targets a 35‑company portfolio, aiming for sector‑wide diversification.
By TechCrunch Fundraising
News•Jan 13, 2026
RxAnte Raises Strategic Growth Funding
RxAnte, a Portland, Maine‑based analytics and software provider for pharmacy care management, secured a strategic growth investment led by Primus Capital with continued backing from UPMC Enterprises. The undisclosed amount will be used to scale its value‑based pharmacy solutions and...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 13, 2026
Bricks.sh Raises €1.6M in Pre-Seed Funding
Bricks.sh, a Milan‑based AI‑native internal‑tool builder, announced a €1.6 million pre‑seed round. The financing was led by Primo Capital with participation from Octopus First Cheque Fund, Eden Ventures, Vesper Holding, Vento, and several angel investors. The capital will be used to...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 13, 2026
Aspen Power Receives $200M Strategic Capital Commitment From Deutsche Bank
Aspen Power, a New York‑based distributed generation platform, secured a $200 million strategic capital commitment from Deutsche Bank. The funding will expand its nationwide development, vendor engagement, and project deployment capabilities. Led by CEO Jorge Vargas and CFO Bill DeLong, the firm...
By FinSMEs
Social•Jan 13, 2026
Founder Friends Seoul: Eric Bahn & Ethan Cho Live Jan 20
There are 7 days until Founder Friends Seoul. @ericbahn will be chatting with Ethan Cho and you know is gonna be a great chat when two super unhinged, honest, and hilarious humans hang. If you're in Seoul and free Jan 20, save...
By Elizabeth Yin
News•Jan 13, 2026
OutSee Closes £2.5M Seed Funding Round
OutSee, a Cambridge‑based AI genomics startup, closed a £2.5 million seed round led by Ahren Innovation Capital, with participation from Kadmos Capital, Panacea, Empirical Ventures and 26 angel investors. The funding will accelerate experimental validation of therapeutic targets, expand an internal...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 13, 2026
Accelsius Raises $65M in Series B Funding
Accelsius, an Austin‑based provider of two‑phase direct‑to‑chip liquid cooling for AI and high‑performance computing, closed a $65 million Series B round. The financing was led by Johnson Controls with a strategic investment from Legrand. The capital will fund rapid expansion of Accelsius’s...
By FinSMEs
Podcast•Jan 13, 2026•55 min
E680 | Oskar Hartmann, Accumulator: From Beast Mode to a New Angel Investing Model
In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm talks with Oskar Hartmann, a serial founder turned super‑angel, about his "beast mode" approach, burnout lessons, and the importance of product‑soul fit. Hartmann explains the new Accumulator model—a share‑pooling mechanism that gives founders and...
By The European VC (EUVC)
Social•Jan 13, 2026
Most B2B AI Features Fail; Winners Do Differently
Hot take: 90% of "AI features" shipping in B2B right now are terrible. The companies winning are doing something completely different. Come to SaaStr AI 2026 May 12-14 and learn what actually works from founders with the receipts. https://t.co/Ff7DKVt1H2
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 12, 2026
Six Key Steps to Close an M&A Deal
What are the basic milestones of a process (M&A or capital raise)? 1. Pre-marketing Complete the marketing materials (information packet and buyer list) and get your house in order. 2. Marketing Reach out to buyers, execute NDAs, and share marketing...
By Michael Lyon
News•Jan 12, 2026
EpiBiologics Closes $107M Series B
EpiBiologics announced the close of a $107 million Series B round, co‑led by GV and Johnson & Johnson Innovation‑JJDC. The financing also attracted Novartis Venture Fund, Aulis Capital, Avego BioScience Capital, Samsara BioCapital and a slate of existing backers. The capital will...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 12, 2026
Two Must‑Attend Events for Founders and Investors
Two upcoming events worth checking out for anyone building or investing: 🤝🇰🇷 Founder Friends Seoul - January 20, 2026 A space to connect and learn from each other. No pitches, no pressure. ⛺️ Camp Hustle 2026 - May 11-13, 2026 An oasis...
By Elizabeth Yin
News•Jan 12, 2026
Cast AI Receives Strategic Investment
Cast AI, a Miami‑based leader in application performance automation, announced a strategic investment to accelerate its growth trajectory. The funding, sourced from a prominent venture capital firm, will be used to expand the platform’s AI‑driven automation capabilities and broaden its...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
Synchrony Medical Inks $1M Funding
Synchrony Medical, a respiratory‑care technology firm, announced a $1 million investment from the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund, matching a prior Edge Medical Ventures contribution. The capital will accelerate U.S. commercial operations for its FDA‑cleared LibAirty airway clearance system, fund ongoing...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
Neuramint Raises $5M Seed
Neuramint, a Denver‑based AI agent platform for autonomous Web3 workflows, closed a $5 million seed round. The funding came from a consortium of Web3‑ and AI‑focused investors, including Maelstrom, Borderless Capital, Selini Capital, Symbolic Capital, Lattice Fund and Node Capital. The...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
MagicCube Seals $10 Million
MagicCube, a software‑based security firm, announced a $10 million financing round. The round features new strategic participation from payment giant Verifone alongside existing backers Bold Capital, Mosaik Partners and ID Tech. Capital will be used to broaden the company’s portfolio beyond tap‑to‑phone...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
VieCure Secures $43 Million Funding
VieCure, a Colorado‑based provider of intelligent oncology software, announced a $43 million financing round. The capital infusion, led by XYZ Ventures with participation from strategic healthcare investors, will fund product development and market expansion. VieCure plans to enhance its AI‑driven treatment...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
Soley Therapeutics Inks $200 Million Series C
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Soley Therapeutics announced a $200 million Series C financing.
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
Nanochon Closes $4.1M Seed Prime II Funding Round
Nanochon, a Washington, D.C.-based orthopedic device startup, announced the close of a $4.1 million Seed Prime II funding round. The round was oversubscribed and brings the company’s total capital raised to $11.3 million. Nanochon is developing an implant aimed at repairing articular cartilage...
By VC News Daily
News•Jan 12, 2026
Accelsius Closes $65 Million Series B Funding
Accelsius, an Austin‑based provider of two‑phase, direct‑to‑chip liquid cooling for AI and high‑performance computing, closed a $65 million Series B round. The financing was led by Johnson Controls, with strategic participation from Legrand. The capital will fund product scaling, manufacturing capacity, and...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 12, 2026
Founders’ Retention Payments Can Outshine VC Liquidation Preferences
Yes, VCs often have a “liquidation preference” But there is also a “founder preference”. It’s called retention payments, which can often be eight figures on top of any return from common. And are often structured in a way to...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 12, 2026
AI Accelerates Competition: Stay Ahead or Become Irrelevant
Old rules: Around Year 5, the Competition Catches You in Whatever Made You Special Around Year 10, you have an Existential Threat. The tech world has changed so much, what you started with is sort of irrelevant. Today, with AI, often happens...
By Jason Lemkin
News•Jan 12, 2026
These Gen Zers Just Raised $11.75M to Put Africa’s Defense Back in the Hands of Africans
Terra Industries, a Nigerian defense startup founded by Gen‑Z entrepreneurs, raised $11.75 million in a Series A led by 8VC to build autonomous, multi‑domain security systems across Africa. The company aims to become the continent’s first pan‑African defense prime, offering drones, surveillance...
By TechCrunch Venture Feed
Social•Jan 12, 2026
YC Partner Pete Koomen Discusses AI Boom with KTH
YC partner Pete Koomen (@koomen) is visiting KTH this month for an off-the-record talk with @HenrikTaro, KTH alum and CEO of Vesence. They’ll talk about startups, Stockholm, and how the AI boom is unfolding in Silicon Valley. Learn more at https://t.co/ymSLsFFmTw https://t.co/XEP0YL8QKO
By YCombinator
Social•Jan 12, 2026
VC Success: Prioritize Founder Agency Over Rigid Rules
Rules are the enemy of great returns -- but this is a very good heuristic for VC 👇 1⃣Founders with high agency 2⃣Encyclopedic about their industry 3⃣Who can materialize labor, capital & customers 4⃣Have "Count of Monte Cristo" motivation. Great pod by my...
By Angela Strange
Podcast•Jan 12, 2026•1h 4m
E679 | This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax
In this episode Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen, and Lomax Ward dissect a range of power shifts across European tech, from OpenAI’s health‑focused ChatGPT and the FDA’s fast‑track AI medical device approvals to Meta’s acquisition of AI‑agent platform Manus and Nvidia’s...
By The European VC (EUVC)
Social•Jan 12, 2026
Untapped Domain Knowledge Fuels Niche Decentralized Entrepreneurship
" Everyone has domain knowledge in their head that is not monetized yet." @amasad of @Replit on the explosion of niche, decentralized entrepreneurs: https://t.co/Fd5FhtZSOG
By Reid Hoffman
Social•Jan 11, 2026
Juniper's $7B Return Proved TCP/IP's Internet Dominance
Juniper returned $7b+ to Kleiner's ~$500m fund ... I think it was 2500X but often ignored. Only player doing TCP/IP for the public internet in 1996 when every telco customer wanted ATM. If Juniper had not started the internet likely...
By Vinod Khosla
Podcast•Jan 11, 2026•1h 13m
20Growth: The $6.6B Growth Engine Behind ElevenLabs | Why ElevenLabs Do Not Have PMs | The 7 Part Launch Playbook...
In this episode, Luke Harries, Head of Growth at ElevenLabs, breaks down the company’s $6.6 billion growth engine, detailing how a horizontal product strategy and sharded growth teams drive massive scale. He shares a 7‑part launch playbook that routinely generates 700K+...
By The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)
Social•Jan 11, 2026
Scrappy Young Immigrants Outpaced Funded Giants, Redefined Industry
In retrospect, Sun as the beginning of a different kind of startup, the SCRAPPY but ambitious startup, from 20’s year olds without credibility or big connections. We beat the establishment startups like Apollo that had martini’s for lunch, had raised...
By Vinod Khosla
Social•Jan 11, 2026
One‑Time Billionaire Tax Is Just First Step
My take on California’s “One-Time” Billionaire Tax. It’s much worse than it looks. 📉 Will it pass? Yes, likely. It only needs 50%+1 voter approval. SEIU + CTA have done this before—Prop 55 won 63% in 2016. ⚖️ Will it...
By Jason Lemkin
Blog•Jan 10, 2026
Open APIs Are Over
After two decades of thriving on open APIs, major software platforms are erecting barriers. Salesforce limited Slack’s API calls, Datadog disabled a rival observability startup, and Epic faces a lawsuit over restricting patient‑record access. The acceleration of AI‑driven development enables...
By Tomasz Tunguz
Social•Jan 11, 2026
Squarespace Design Plugin Generates $340K Revenue, 39% Growth
Plugins + SaaS print money. Live on @acquiredotcom: All-in-one website design plugin for Squarespace freelancers and agencies. Faster builds, no custom code, sticky subscriptions. > $340K TTM revenue > $223K TTM profit > 39% YoY growth Full listing: https://t.co/Y8gnOYsd82 https://t.co/kiUkoUUPCu
By Andrew Gazdecki
Social•Jan 11, 2026
Incumbents Shift From Open APIs to Closed Walls
Salesforce, Datadog & Epic are building walls. After two decades of flourishing through open APIs & data portability, the software industry's largest incumbents are locking down. https://t.co/7n6Tio3aJK
By Tomasz Tunguz
News•Jan 9, 2026
Major Medical Devices Secures Strategic Funding
Major Medical Devices announced a strategic funding partnership with TCA Venture Group to accelerate its abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair device. The company positions the device as highly differentiated and potentially quick to market within a $3 billion AAA market. The...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 11, 2026
Build for Forever, Sell Tomorrow: Leverage Through Systems
Build your startup like you’re going to run it forever but prepare it so you could sell it tomorrow. > Organized books > Standardized operations > Product that works without you That’s how you create real leverage with buyers.
By Andrew Gazdecki
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Zuckerberg Faces $49B Tax Bill Over Voting Power
Everyone’s focused on Brin and Page fleeing California. But there’s a ticking time bomb buried in the billionaire tax: Mark Zuckerberg may be facing a $49 Billion tax bill he literally cannot pay. 🧵 The California billionaire tax has a provision that...
By Jason Lemkin
News•Jan 9, 2026
Orca Bio Banks $250M Series F Funding
Orca Bio, a late‑stage biotech focused on high‑precision cell therapies, closed a $250 million Series F round in December 2025, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The financing includes an amendment to its Silicon Valley Bank credit facility that adds up to $100 million of...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Startups Only Need a Strategist for Few Hours
The one hire I don't need, and none of my portfolio cos need, is a "Strategist" I know at certain stage in many folks' career, that's what they want to do Advise on strategy more than do work themselves No criticism But most startups...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Voting Power Triggers 50% Tax on Alphabet Founders
Larry and Sergey can’t stay in California since the wealth tax as written would confiscate 50% of their Alphabet shares. Each own ~3% of Alphabet's stock, worth about $120 billion each at today's ~$4 trillion market cap. But because their...
By Garry Tan
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Bootstrapped SaaS Secures $480K Sale After Advisory Process
65 days ago this founder didn’t know if their SaaS was sellable. > Bootstrapped > 3 serious offers > Structured advisory process Yesterday they closed for $480,000 on @acquiredotcom. https://t.co/IHlzfr48zL
By Andrew Gazdecki
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Celebrating 12 Years of A16z Support and $12B Fund
Grateful for a16z’s support which started nearly 12 years ago when they led Product Hunt’s Series A. Congrats on the fresh $12B, team. :)
By Ryan Hoover
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Clarifies Divestments, Denies Media Claims of Profit Motive
It’s true that we divested both Groq and xAI. I wouldn’t have mentioned this except for the fact that the MSM continually lies about this, claiming I took a government role to make money when in fact the opposite is...
By David Sacks
Social•Jan 10, 2026
Slow Growth, Faster Spending: Hire Aggressively
I did office hours with a startup yesterday that I ended up advising to (a) decrease their growth rate and (b) spend the money they've raised faster by hiring more people and paying them high salaries. Possibly the first time...
By Paul Graham
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Management Pitches Are Friendly, Not Tense, Focus on Fit
When you're going to sell your business or raise capital, what should you expect from management presentations? Generally, you should expect those meetings to be friendly. Buyers will be asking questions, but they're also trying to sell themselves. The main...
By Michael Lyon
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Series B Bar Rises: Vertical SaaS Outlook 2025‑26
Are you a company looking to raise their Series B? I spoke to the king of the category, Jason Kong from Base10 Partners . Every day he wakes up and works with founders in this zone, which straddles traditional venture...
By CJ Gustafson
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Join Josh Kopelman at First Round Capital – Apply Now
📣 Best opportunity out there to work with my dear friend and the OG Josh Kopelman at First Round Capital . Reach out if you fit the bill to the link below not me.
By Tina Sharkey
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Transformers Hit Ceiling; Hybrid Models Unlock True Multimodal AI
During last month’s NeurIPS 2025 conference, YC’s @agupta sat down with @krandiash, founder and CEO of Cartesia, to explain why today’s AI architectures may be fundamentally limited. They discuss how transformers act more like retrieval systems than learning systems, where new...
By YCombinator
Social•Jan 9, 2026
A16z's Fundraise Could Hand $1M to Every American
With its latest fundraise, a16z could give $1 million to every American and still have $10 billion left over.
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 9, 2026
AI‑Driven GTM Built in 180 Days: Key Wins
1/ Personio's CRO Phil Lecor built an AI-powered GTM in 6 months. From nothing to all-in in 180 days. $8.5B company. 400 salespeople. 15,000 customers. Here's what actually worked (and the mistakes to avoid): 🧵 https://t.co/qhDbuFmAxS
By Jason Lemkin