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
OpenAI Secures $122 B Funding Round, Valuation Hits $852 B
OpenAI closed a $122 billion financing round, pushing its post‑money valuation to $852 billion—the largest private round ever. The capital, led by Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, fuels a $25 billion annualized revenue run‑rate and a multi‑year compute build‑out ahead of a planned 2027 IPO.
Otto Secures $500K After Winning SaaStock USA Pitch, Aims to Build First AI Chief of Staff for Sales
Otto, a voice‑first CRM startup, captured the top prize at SaaStock USA’s 2026 Global Pitch Competition, securing $500,000 in funding. The capital will be used to create the world’s first AI Chief of Staff designed to automate sales planning and...
Loop Secures $95M Series C to Accelerate AI‑Driven Supply‑Chain Platform
Loop announced a $95 million Series C round led by Valor Equity Partners and the Valor Atreides AI Fund, with participation from 8VC, Founders Fund, Index Ventures, J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners, and Tao Capital Partners. The capital will fund team...
Avataar Venture Partners Leads $28.5 Million Series B in Bengaluru AI Startup Ethereal Machines
Avataar Venture Partners anchored a $28.5 million Series B round for Bengaluru‑based AI hardware firm Ethereal Machines, pushing the startup’s post‑money valuation to roughly $158 million. The funding, also joined by Peak XV Partners and Novellus Systems, gives Avataar about a 14%...
Fintech VC Funding Remains Steady with Record Valuations and Bets on AI and On-Chain Initiatives, Report Reveals
PitchBook reports Q1 2026 fintech venture capital reached $11.5 billion across 563 deals, a 46.3% year‑over‑year rise despite a 24% sequential dip. Median deal size grew to $6.2 million and pre‑money valuations jumped 119% to $71.5 million, setting new benchmarks at every stage. AI‑native...
Exclusive: Ethereal Machines Raising $28.5 Mn at 4X Valuation Premium
Ethereal Machines, a Bengaluru‑based deep‑tech manufacturing startup, announced a $28.5 million Series B raise of Rs 264.5 crore. The round was led by Avataar Venture Partners with participation from Peak XV Partners, Novellus Systems and several angels, valuing the company at roughly $158 million – a...
Coral Banks $12.5M Seed Round
Coral, a health‑care automation startup, secured a $12.5 million seed round led by Lightspeed and Z47. The company’s platform plugs into existing electronic health record systems, fax lines and payer portals to automate end‑to‑end administrative workflows for specialty providers such as...
The Climate Tech IPO Window Could Finally Be Cracking Open
Public markets are finally warming to climate‑tech firms, highlighted by nuclear startup X‑energy's $1 billion IPO that jumped 25% on debut and geothermal player Fervo filing for a listing at a $3 billion valuation. Investors see nuclear fission and enhanced geothermal as...
AI‑Native Replit Empowers Anyone to Build Software
Replit is the leading no-code app builder for consumers and enterprise, letting anyone with an idea build real, deployed software using natural language. The company just raised a $400 million Series D at a $9 billion valuation. In this episode of...
Founders' Top Trait: Rapid Learning Beats All
From having invested in about 1,000 startups, there are so many important traits to have in a founding team, everything from ability to hire well to being scrappy and doing a lot with very little. But if I had to...
Kedaara Picks up 5% in Axis Finance for Rs750 Crore, Sets Benchmark for IPO-Headed NBFC
Axis Finance, the NBFC arm of Axis Bank, secured ₹750 crore (≈$90 million) from Kedaara Capital for a 5.08% stake, valuing the lender at roughly ₹14,764 crore (≈$1.8 billion). The deal follows a ₹1,500 crore (≈$181 million) rights issue, taking total fresh capital to ₹2,250 crore (≈$271 million)...
Yale Duo Secures $5.1M Pre‑Seed to Launch AI‑Powered iMessage Social Network
Yale seniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow closed a $5.1 million pre‑seed round for Series, an AI‑enabled social network that lives entirely inside iMessage. Backed by Venmo co‑founder Iqram Magdon‑Ismail, Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and GPTZero founder Edward Tian, the funding...
TextQL Inks $17M Funding
TextQL, a low‑code platform that turns raw data into actionable insight, announced a $17 million Series A round. The funding was led by Blackstone Innovations Investments and included participation from HOF Capital, Neo, DCM Ventures, Dropbox and angels from OpenAI, Snowflake and...
India’s Snabbit Seeks Fresh Funding at a $400M Valuation, Sources Say
Snabbit, the Bengaluru‑based instant house‑help platform, is close to closing a new funding round that could bring in $50‑$55 million and lift its valuation to roughly $400 million. The round is being led by Susquehanna Venture Capital and includes participation from Mirae...
Rare Judgment: Knowing When Not to Deploy Capital
What is rare: Judgment. Knowing: — When not to deploy capital — When risk is mispriced — When alignment is missing
Early Backers Pay Off as Checks Grow
checks are bigger at @maniacvc now. grateful to the founders who let me in early with smaller ones. flywheel works.
Pronto Nears $20 M Funding Round, Valuation Jumps to $200 M
Pronto, the Bengaluru‑based on‑demand house‑help startup, is finalizing a $20 million financing round led by tech investor Lachy Groom that would value the company at roughly $200 million. The capital infusion follows a March Series B that lifted the firm to a $100 million...
Fairchild's $500 Beginnings Mark First Venture-Backed Startup
In 1957, arguably the very first venture backed startup was founded when “The Traitorous Eight” left Shockley to start what became Fairchild Semiconductor. They each put in $500 and they each signed this dollar bill. It’s at the @ComputerHistory museum....
Talk to Customers First; Hiring or Fundraising Misleads
When you hire before you have PMF, you slow down. When you raise money before you have PMF, you speed up the wrong thing. When you talk to customers before you do either, you find out if there's anything worth...
Manhattan Genomics Shuts Down Amid Cofounder Clash, Ending Designer‑baby Push
Manhattan Genomics, the New York‑based startup that aimed to edit human embryos to prevent disease, announced its abrupt shutdown after a co‑founder conflict. The closure underscores the financing and governance challenges facing deep‑tech biotech ventures, especially those targeting controversial germline...
Founders Must Distinguish Pilot, Bookings, Revenue Accurately
Here's YC's official advice about being truthful and precise about what is pilot, bookings, revenue and recurring revenue. Founders, particularly first time founders, need to sear this into their brains. Don't mistake one tier for another. Be precise, and always...
The Stanford Professor Behind an FDA-Cleared Cardiac AI Wants $1 Billion for His Next Company
Stanford associate professor James Zou is reportedly raising about $100 million at a $1 billion target valuation for his new startup Human Intelligence, which will apply AI across the entire biomedical discovery pipeline. Zou’s portfolio includes the FDA‑cleared cardiac‑AI EchoNet, a Nature‑published...
Porsche Sells Bugatti Rimac Stake to HOF Capital‑Led Consortium
Porsche AG has signed an agreement to divest its 45% equity in Bugatti Rimac and its 20.6% stake in Rimac Group to a consortium headed by New York‑based HOF Capital, with BlueFive Capital as the lead investor. The deal, announced...
Billionaire‑Backed Proto‑Town Opens in Texas as Startup Haven
Proto‑Town, a $100 million, 1,200‑acre development in Lockhart, Texas, opened this week backed by investors Josh Kushner, Bill Ackman and Fred Ehrsam. The enclave offers founders ranch‑style housing, shared facilities and a “man‑campus” vibe to accelerate hardware‑focused startups.
Cohere Acquires Aleph Alpha to Form Transatlantic Sovereign AI Alliance
Cohere announced the acquisition of Germany’s Aleph Alpha, creating a transatlantic sovereign AI partnership. The deal, supported by a $600 million commitment from Germany’s Schwarz Group, positions the combined entity to target regulated sectors and pushes Cohere’s valuation toward $20 billion.
Remy AI Founder Oscar Brisset Raises $650K to Disrupt Warehouse Robotics at 25
Oscar Brisset, a 25‑year‑old French‑Australian entrepreneur, quit his consulting job at BCG to launch Remy AI, a warehouse robotics startup. The company has raised more than $650,000, including a $500,000 Y Combinator investment, to bring adaptive AI models to e‑commerce...
Google Commits up to $40 B in Anthropic, Pairing Cash with 5 GW of TPU Compute
Alphabet’s Google is ready to invest as much as $40 billion in Anthropic, starting with a $10 billion cash infusion at a roughly $350 billion valuation and a conditional $30 billion tied to performance milestones. The deal also secures 5 gigawatts of Google‑provided TPU compute...
China PE Pivots to Hard Tech, Old Sectors Collapse
Yicai: "China’s private equity market is showing a sharp split. “Hard tech” industries such as robotics and advanced materials are attracting most of the capital, while previously popular areas such as second-hand e-commerce and apparel have seen funding drop by...
Tech Investor Lachy Groom in Talks to Back Pronto; Valuation Set to Double at $200 Million
US tech investor Lachy Groom is negotiating a $15‑20 million investment in Indian instant house‑help platform Pronto, which would lift its valuation to about $200 million, twice its March round. Pronto previously raised $25 million at a $100 million valuation from Epiq Capital, General...
Orkes Secures $60 Million Series B to Boost AI Workflow Orchestration for Production
Orkes announced a $60 million Series B round led by AVP, with new investor Prosperity7 Ventures and existing backers joining. The capital will expand its AI‑centric orchestration platform, which has tripled its customer base since a $20 million Series A in 2024....
Omni Secures $120 Million Series C at $1.5 B Valuation, Led by ICONIQ
San Francisco‑based AI analytics firm Omni closed a $120 million Series C round at a $1.5 billion valuation, with ICONIQ Capital as lead investor. The funding will power platform development, enterprise expansion and a $30 million employee tender, underscoring strong venture appetite for AI...
Google To Invest Up To $40B In An Unbiased Anthropic
Anthropic announced a $10 billion cash investment from Google, with an optional $30 billion tranche tied to performance milestones, bringing the total possible commitment to $40 billion. The deal arrives alongside Amazon’s $25 billion pledge, underscoring a fierce cloud‑AI battle for the startup’s Claude...
AI Startups Cohere, Aleph Alpha to Merge with $600M in New Funding
AI startups Cohere Inc. and Aleph Alpha GmbH announced a merger backed by a $600 million structured financing commitment from Germany’s largest retailer, Schwarz Group. The deal, part of a Series E round, combines Cohere’s large‑scale language models—such as Command A Reasoning with a...
19‑Year‑Old Berkeley Dropout Raises $7.3 M to Launch Africa’s First Super‑App From Lagos
Aubrey Niederhoffer, a 19‑year‑old former UC Berkeley sophomore, secured a $7.3 million seed round to fund Swoop, a Lagos‑based startup aiming to become Africa’s first super‑app. Backed by a mix of Silicon Valley and Africa‑focused investors, Swoop launched its food‑delivery service...
Jeff Bezos' Project Prometheus Targets $10B Funding as Cursor Pursues $2B Round
Jeff Bezos is finalizing a $10 billion financing round for Project Prometheus, which could lift its valuation to $38 billion. At the same time, AI coding platform Cursor is in talks to raise $2 billion, targeting a valuation north of $50 billion. Both deals highlight...
Kalshi's $19B Valuation Seems Frothy Amid Regulatory Uncertainty
Kalshi doing a private offering at a $19B valuation. Feels about right but a little frothy for a company whose regulatory regime could pivot quickly
Securing VC Funding Now Demands
The biggest challenge for a startup founder raising VC $ nowadays…
LP Digest #85
LP Digest #85 spotlights Fondu, the video‑production firm founded by Itai, as the sponsor offering GP‑focused services such as annual‑meeting films, product‑launch videos, and ad campaigns. The issue also promotes a free Claude AI skill that streamlines underwriting for both...
Invest in Proven Canine Cardiac Reversal Biotech
I co-founded @RejuvenateBio & have enjoyed the science from day one. Cardiac disease reversal in dogs. 3 years of safety data. Zero safety signals. They’ve opened a unique opportunity for the biotech community to invest & secure equity at this early...
Valuations Rising Isn’t New Normal; VCs Need Steady Strategy
The other day, @lucasbagnocvaz posted how VCs need to change their portfolio construction because valuations are going up and this is the new normal. While I respect Lucas and he's a fantastic investor, I respectfully disagree and here's what's really happening More...
AI Startups Are Inflating a Key Revenue Metric to Win VC Attention, Says This Founder
Legal AI startup Spellbook CEO Scott Stevenson warns that many AI startups are inflating ARR by mislabeling CARR as ARR. ARR should reflect only recurring subscription revenue, but firms are counting uncertain future contracts, pilots, or opt‑out clauses to boost...
Alphabet’s Investment Engine Beats Buffett‑Style Value Play, Delivering $900 M SpaceX Gain
Alphabet’s strategic portfolio, highlighted by a $900 million early stake in SpaceX and a 48% surge in Google Cloud sales, is delivering returns that outpace classic value‑investing benchmarks. The tech giant’s approach is prompting wealth managers to rethink long‑term allocation models...
Sillage Secures €1.7 Million Pre‑Seed to Power AI‑Driven Buying‑Signal Platform for Sales Teams
Paris‑based AI startup Sillage announced the launch of its go‑to‑market platform alongside a €1.7 million ($2 million) pre‑seed round backed by Kima Ventures, Angel Invest and Drysdale Ventures. The tool surfaces real‑time buying signals to help enterprise sales reps prioritize accounts and...
MoonPay Leads $76 M Investment in Korean Fintech Finger to Launch Won Stablecoin for Enterprises
MoonPay, Sungho Electronics and Pantos Holdings are jointly investing roughly $76 million in Korean fintech Finger to build a Korean‑won stablecoin infrastructure for enterprise payments. The deal makes Seoryong Electronics the largest shareholder and links MoonPay’s stablecoin platform with Finger’s ERP...
Salmon Secures $100 Million Equity‑Debt Deal to Scale Digital Credit in Philippines
Manila‑based fintech Salmon raised $60 million in equity and $40 million in debt to broaden its digital credit platform for underbanked Filipinos. The dual‑track financing, led by investors such as Spice Expeditions and a Nordic bond issuance, underscores growing cross‑border capital flows...
Ex‑Google Engineers Raise $4.5M Seed for AI Marketing Startup Pomo
Joe Cheuk and Praneet Dutta, former Google cloud and machine‑learning leads, announced a $4.5 million seed round for their new AI‑powered marketing startup Pomo. The funding backs a six‑person team that aims to shift campaign optimization from periodic analysis to continuous,...
AngelList's USVC Fund Opens Pre‑IPO Access to Retail Investors Under Naval Ravikant
AngelList has launched the USVC Venture Capital Access Fund, a retail‑focused vehicle that gives ordinary investors exposure to pre‑IPO growth companies. Naval Ravikant, AngelList co‑founder, serves as chairman of the investment committee, and the fund has already deployed 44.34% of...
Tortugas Neuroscience Nabs $106M
Tortugas Neuroscience announced a $106 million seed and Series A financing round, one of the larger early‑stage biotech raises this year. The capital, led by Cure Ventures and co‑led by The Column Group and AN Venture Partners, will fund the completion of...
NeoCognition Emerges With $40M Seed Round
NeoCognition, a stealth AI‑agent research lab, announced its emergence with a $40 million seed round. The round was oversubscribed and co‑led by Cambium Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures, with participation from Vista Equity Partners and a roster of high‑profile angels, including...
Google Commits to Invest Up to $40 Billion in Anthropic
Google announced a commitment of up to $40 billion to AI start‑up Anthropic, beginning with a $10 billion cash infusion at a $350 billion valuation. The remaining $30 billion will be released as Anthropic hits predefined milestones. The deal follows Amazon’s recent pledge of...