Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Updated 47m ago
Ramp projects $1.4 billion ARR as it gears up for IPO
Fintech startup Ramp says it will reach a $1.4 billion annual recurring revenue run rate this quarter, up from the $1 billion reported in September. The company cites a 70% year‑over‑year increase in its customer base and expects about $125 million in free cash flow for the year.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Beeline Medicines raises $300M Series A
Ten63 Therapeutics Secures New Funding
Ten63 Therapeutics, an AI‑driven drug‑discovery firm spun out of Duke and TTIC, announced a strategic investment from Chugai Venture Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing total capital to over $45 million. The company leverages its BEYOND generative‑chemistry platform to design novel molecules, focusing on an internal oncology pipeline while seeking partnerships across other indications. Headquartered in Durham’s Research Triangle, Ten63 aims to accelerate development and expand its collaborative network.
Efficient Computer Receives $60M Series A
Efficient Computer announced a $60 million Series A round led by Triatomic Capital, bringing its total capital raised to $76 million. The financing will accelerate its product roadmap and expand engineering and developer teams. The startup is developing the world’s most energy‑efficient general‑purpose...
Jump Closes $80M Series B Financing Round
Jump, an AI platform for financial advisors, closed an $80 million Series B round led by Insight Partners. The financing, which also attracted new backers such as F‑Prime, Allianz Life Ventures, TIAA Ventures and Peterson Partners, brings the company's total capital to...
Beyond VCs: Early Startups Can Secure $250K+ Checks
VCs aren’t the only INVESTORS that can write you a $250K+ check. If you’re EARLY, start targeting these people: - Family offices - Angel investors (owners, doctors, lawyers, etc.) - Corporate balance sheet investors
PortKey Raises $15M Series A to Scale AI Control Platform
AI infrastructure startup PortKey announced a $15 million Series A round led by Elevation Capital with participation from Lightspeed. The funding will accelerate its unified control‑plane platform that monitors, governs, and cost‑optimizes enterprise AI model usage. PortKey’s AI gateway centralizes traffic, enforces...
Natilus Raises $28 Million to Commercialize Family of BWB Composite Aircraft, Evolves Horizon Evo
Natilus secured a $28 million Series A round led by Draper Associates, bringing strategic aerospace and logistics investors on board. The funding will finance the first full‑scale prototype of its regional cargo aircraft Kona, slated to fly within 24 months, and further development...
Thrive Secures $10B, Benchmark Lands Altman Deal
Big Wins for Two of Venture's Most Envied Firms: $10 Billion for Thrive & an Altman for Benchmark https://lnkd.in/eeuCamvv
UK Tech Funding Roundup: This Week’s Deals From Fyld to Nul
UK tech investment surged 21% week‑on‑week, reaching £99.86 million across seven rounds from 16‑20 February. AI‑focused startups attracted the bulk of capital, with Fyld raising £32 million and SurrealDB £17 million, while defence‑tech SatVu secured £30 million from NATO‑backed investors. Fintech, ecommerce and health‑tech also...
Swiss CLIMATEX Secures €3.5M in Round Led by Collateral Good
Swiss textile‑tech firm CLIMATEX closed a €3.5 million financing round led by the Collateral Good Textile & Fashion Innovation Fund, with existing investors participating. The company develops patented, recyclable fabrics that enable design‑for‑disassembly and closed‑loop recycling across apparel and interior textiles....
Pepper Secures $50 Million Series C
Pepper, an end‑to‑end technology platform serving independent food distributors, announced a $50 million Series C financing round. The round was led by Lead Edge Capital and included existing backers such as ICONIQ, Index Ventures, Greylock, Harmony Partners, and Interplay. The capital will...
Norway’s Trener Robotics Closes $32 Million Series A to Turn Industrial Robots Into Adaptive Teammates
Trener Robotics announced a $32 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to over $38 million. The capital, co‑led by Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners with strategic investors Cadence and Nikon, will accelerate development of Acteris, a robot‑agnostic AI skills platform...
FinTech Futures: Top Five News Stories of the Week – 20 February 2026
FinTech Futures highlighted five notable developments this week. Vestwell secured a $385 million Series E round, doubling its valuation to roughly $2 billion and earmarking funds for platform expansion and payroll integrations. The UK regulator fined Bank of Ireland UK £3.78 million for a 14‑month...
Lithuania’s Tingit Lands €1.5 Million to Turn Repairs Into Digital Infrastructure
Vilnius‑born startup Tingit has closed a €1.5 million funding round led by Coinvest Capital to accelerate its AI‑driven repair marketplace across Europe. The platform uses image‑based AI to diagnose damage, match items with vetted specialists, and provide instant price and timeline...
Badge Raises $17M to Shape the Future of Digital Wallets
Badge, a digital‑wallet platform founded in 2023, raised $17.1 million in a Series A round—$13.8 million led by TTV Capital and a $3.3 million seed from QED Investors and Infinity Ventures. The company builds interactive elements for Apple Pay and Google Pay, letting brands embed loyalty,...
Eagle Wireless Raises $30M Series B for 5G Expansion
Eagle Wireless announced a $30 million Series B round, bringing its total capital to $44 million. The financing, led by Asymmetric Capital Partners and The O.H.I.O. Fund, will fund accelerated 5G research, development, and a shift to full‑device production in the United States....
Danish Foodtech REDUCED Brings Series A to €12 Million to Support Industrial Rollout of Clean-Label Savoury Ingredients
Copenhagen‑based REDUCED announced a €4 million Series A extension, bringing its total Series A funding to €12 million. The round, co‑led by Delphinus Venture Capital and backed by Novo Holdings, ECBF and EIFO, will finance scale‑up of its solid‑state fermentation platform that transforms food‑industry...
Bloomberg Reports: Quantum Startup Pasqal Seeks €200 Million to Fuel Growth
French quantum computing startup Pasqal announced it is in talks to raise €200 million, valuing the company at over $1 billion pre‑money. The round, led by undisclosed investors, would fund the expansion of its neutral‑atom quantum processors and full‑stack hardware‑software platform. Co‑founder...
Pontiro Secures £357,500 to Expand Healthcare AI Infrastructure
Pontiro, a health‑tech firm that streamlines medical‑image data for AI, secured £357,500 in a round led by SFC Capital with participation from Plug and Play Ventures and the British Business Bank. The company’s platform has already processed more than two...
General Catalyst to Invest $5 Bn in India in Next Five Years
US venture capital firm General Catalyst announced a $5 billion investment plan for India over the next five years, unveiled at the India AI Impact Summit. The capital will be allocated across artificial intelligence, healthcare, fintech, defence and industrial technology, and...
Why the ‘Founder Fantasy’ Is Killing Your Fundraise, and What VCs Really Want in 2026
The article warns that the romanticized "founder fantasy" is hurting fundraising in 2026, as investors now value discipline, capital efficiency, and repeatable demand over hype. A 2024 survey shows 81.5% of VCs prioritize capital efficiency, demanding realistic growth paths and...
CityMall Reports Rs 534 Cr Revenue in FY25; Flour, Sugar, Oil, and Ghee Form 40%
CityMall posted Rs 534 crore in operating revenue for FY25, a 25% year‑on‑year increase driven largely by grocery sales. Product sales accounted for 96% of revenue, with staples such as atta, sugar, oil and ghee contributing 39% of total product...
Salesforce Acquires Momentum
Salesforce announced the acquisition of Momentum, a San Francisco‑based conversational‑insights platform, with the purchase price undisclosed. The transaction is slated to close in the first quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027, pending standard conditions. Momentum’s technology captures and structures data from Zoom,...
Lithuania Leads Baltic Startup Resurgence with Record €238M Funding and Surge in Exits
Lithuania has emerged as the Baltic leader in startup activity, with startups raising a record €238 million in 2024 and achieving the highest number of exits in the country’s history. Early‑stage financing was especially strong, delivering €77 million across pre‑seed and seed...
Code Metal Scoops Up $125M Series B Round
Code Metal announced a $125 million Series B financing round led by Salesforce Ventures, with participation from Accel, B Capital, RTX and other investors. The funding will accelerate the company’s verifiable code translation platform that optimizes AI‑driven and legacy code for specialized hardware...
Moonshot AI Sparks Investor Frenzy as Z.ai and MiniMax Reset Valuation Benchmarks
Moonshot AI is close to extending its $500 million funding round to $700 million, potentially pushing its valuation above $100 billion. The extension adds existing backers Alibaba, Tencent, 5Y Capital and Gaorong Capital, plus new investor Cathay Capital, which is making its first...
SavvyWise Raises $600,000 Seed Round Just Seven Months After Founding
Western Australia’s innovation landscape is receiving a multi‑pronged boost. Meshpoints has launched a challenge‑led funding model that replaces traditional open grants with targeted problem‑solving competitions. The state government has doubled its innovation grant pool to $2 million, offering up to $300,000...
Ali Partovi’s Neo Looks to Upend the Accelerator Model with Low-Dilution Terms
Ali Partovi's Neo launches Neo Residency, an accelerator that provides $750k via an uncapped SAFE, letting dilution vary with future valuation instead of a fixed equity stake. For the summer cohort of 12‑15 startups, the equity could be as low...
EU Deep‑Tech Startups Secure €467M, Boosting Women Leaders
61 EU start-ups secured €467M from the European Innovation Council. Out of 121 finalists, 61 won grants and equity, and 85% received blended finance. The EIC Fund often attracts 3x more private capital, and 28% of selected companies have women in top...
Europe’s 2025 VC Funding Rebounds to 22% of US
2025 saw a modest recovery of venture capital investment in Europe after three years of decline, with a total of €66.2 billion deployed. Even so, this was only 22% of the amount invested in the US, despite the two economies...
DBA Secures $68 Million for Second Crypto Venture Fund
New York‑based venture firm DBA announced the close of its second crypto fund at $68 million, expanding on the $50 million raised for Fund I in 2023. The 10‑year closed‑end vehicle will invest across blockchain infrastructure, decentralized exchanges, stablecoins, ICO platforms and prediction...
Envisioning the Next Generation of Frontier AI Labs
Thinking a bunch about frontier AI labs and what a new kind of lab might look like.
Transparency with Investors Fuels Trust and Ongoing Support
Keep your existing investors updated with your progress. Transparency builds trust and can lead to further support and referrals. Regular updates show your commitment and keep investors engaged in your journey. 🤝
Nvidia Deepens Early-Stage Push Into India’s AI Startup Ecosystem
Nvidia is intensifying its early‑stage outreach in India by partnering with venture firm Activate, which will back 25‑30 AI startups from a $75 million fund and grant them preferential access to Nvidia’s technical expertise. The chipmaker also deepened ties with AI...
2026: First SAFE to Convert at 20% Premium
Calling it now: 2026 will bring the first SAFE that converts at a 20% PREMIUM to the next round. We’ve officially reached that part of the cycle.
APAC Fintechs Turn to Expansion and Banks Amid Funding Slowdown
🌏How can Asia-Pacific fintechs survive this year’s funding slowdown? APAC #fintech firms are heading into 2026 facing a cautious funding environment, with overseas expansion and bank partnerships emerging as key survival strategies. @AsianBanking. https://t.co/N1S2RZYpaH
Hypersonic Hustle & Orbital Muscle.
The episode highlights three major developments in the defense and commercial space sector: Stratolaunch securing a $90.8 million Department of War contract for the MACH‑TB 2.0 air‑launched test vehicle program, Agile Space Industries closing a $17 million Series A round to expand its small‑sat...
VC Valuations Driven by Fund Size, Not Market Reality
Most VC's price startups based primarily on their fund size, which drive their comfortable check size and target ownership. They then try to convince founders that a certain round size and valuation is "market" for their type of company and...
Fintech Team @Fintechaaron Gains On‑Chain Momentum
This is a team to watch. I have to say, after some initial skepticism, the drive and vision of @fintechaaron and the @rhythmic_io team won me over. Financial services are coming onchain. Excited for @thefintechfund to invest alongside @dragonfly_xyz and @deptvc. 🚀 https://t.co/YWI00yxELS
Ownwell Raises $50M Series B Round
Ownwell announced a $50 million Series B financing, bringing its total capital to $74 million. The round includes $30 million in equity led by Alpha Edison and Mercato Partners, with participation from Intuit Ventures and other investors, plus $20 million in debt from Western Alliance...
Founders Mistake Product Flaws for Growth Issues
lesson from 20+ years working in startups: most founders don’t have a growth problem. they have a product problem disguised as a growth problem
LanzaJet Lands $135M Financing Round
LanzaJet announced a $135 million equity financing round, valuing the company at $650 million pre‑money. The round is co‑led by International Airlines Group (IAG) and Shell, with existing investors such as Groupe ADP, LanzaTech and Mitsui also participating. Proceeds will fund the expansion...
Cogent Security Banks $42M Series A
Cogent Security, a San Francisco‑based cybersecurity startup, closed a $42 million Series A round on February 19, 2026. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from existing backer Greylock Partners, Definition, and personal investments from executives at OpenAI, Abnormal Security,...
AI Agents Personalize Customers, Flag Churn and Upsell
.@pollen_cx is building AI agents that make every customer feel like they’re your first. They surface churn risk and upsell signals, then prepare what to do next — no more scaling headcount just to keep relationships alive. Congrats on the launch...
Selector Scores $32 Million Funding
Selector, an AI‑driven observability and network intelligence firm, raised $32 million in a funding round led by AVP and other investors, doubling its valuation to $375 million. The capital will fund AI innovation, product development, global go‑to‑market expansion, and customer success. The...
What’s Behind a Big Jump in January Property Tech Funding
Property‑tech companies secured roughly $1.7 billion in January 2026, a 176 % jump from the same month a year earlier. The average deal size more than doubled to about $34 million, reflecting a shift toward larger, later‑stage rounds. Generative AI is identified as...
Grotto AI Secures $10M to Improve Leasing With AI
Grotto AI announced a $10 million seed round led by ICONIQ to tackle multifamily housing vacancy, a problem estimated to cost $500 billion in lost value. The startup’s AI platform provides real‑time coaching to leasing agents, analyzing conversations to improve rapport and...
Altesa Secures $75M for Lung Drug, Led by Ex‑Trump Official
Altesa, run by former Trump official, raises $75M for well-traveled lung drug https://t.co/bUx5dcvNJy by @gwendolynawu #biotech #startups
Jump Secures $80M to Expand AI for Financial Advisors
Jump secured $80 million in Series B funding, led by Insight Partners, to build an AI operating system for financial advisors. The round brings total capital to $105 million and reflects rapid adoption, with the platform now serving over 27,000 advisors and adding...
Castelion
Castelion, founded in 2025, aims to restore America’s capacity to field advanced weapons quickly and at scale. The company leverages rapid iteration, vertical integration, and scalable manufacturing to deliver affordable, high‑performance defense systems. In 2024 it closed a Series A round...
Technical Founder‑Led Pre‑AI Software Firms Are Grossly Undervalued
Scaled pre-AI software companies led by technical founders that are still very engaged in the business are probably some of the most undervalued companies in the world right now