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
Ratio Lands $15.8M Financing Round
Ratio, an AI‑driven fintech platform serving B2B technology scale‑ups, closed a $15.8 million venture financing round and added $100 million of lending capacity. The funding follows the company’s achievement of GAAP profitability in August 2025, underscoring its capital‑efficient growth model. Ratio’s solution links proposals, flexible payment terms, and collections into a single workflow, allowing sellers to receive cash upfront without heavy discounting. The infusion positions the firm to expand its cash‑flow automation services across more high‑growth enterprises.
Hypersonics and Space Venture Investment Rounds to Note
Hypersonic aircraft maker Hermeus raised $350 million in a Series C round to accelerate production, add prototypes and shift its headquarters to El Segundo, California, while retaining existing backers and adding new investors. Spacecraft developer Portal Space Systems secured $50 million in Series A funding...
Oricell Therapeutics Secures $110 Million to Take on One of Oncology's Most Vexing Problems
Oricell Therapeutics closed a pre‑IPO financing round exceeding $110 million, led by Vivo Capital and a slate of international investors. The capital will fund global clinical expansion and further development of its proprietary CAR‑T platform targeting solid tumors. Oricell’s lead candidate,...
Fintech Funding Rises While Deal Count Plummets
Venture funding to fintech companies is up year over year so far, but concentrated into significantly fewer companies, Crunchbase data shows. Global venture funding to financial technology startups totaled $12B across 751 deals in 2026 as of April 6, per @Crunchbase...
Barron Trump’s $1 Million Yerba Mate Launch Targets Premium Ready‑to‑Drink Market
Barron Trump, a 20‑year‑old NYU sophomore, has filed a private‑placement SEC filing raising $1 million to launch Sollos Yerba Mate, a pineapple‑coconut flavored ready‑to‑drink beverage slated for a May 2026 debut. The venture, incorporated in Delaware and registered in Florida, positions...
Sierra Unveils Ghostwriter, AI Platform That Builds SaaS Agents for Enterprises
Sierra announced Ghostwriter, an AI‑agent‑as‑a‑service that builds other SaaS agents for enterprise customers. The tool, showcased at the HumanX conference, already delivered a Nordstrom‑specific agent in four weeks, underscoring Sierra’s $100 million ARR and $10 billion valuation after a $350 million funding round.
Trinity Capital Secures $395 Million New Commitments, Deploys $306 Million in Q1 Biotech Investments
Trinity Capital reported $395 million of new commitments and $306 million of funded investments in the first quarter, with the bulk directed to secured loans for emerging biotech firms. The inflow and deployment signal robust capital appetite for early‑stage drug development amid...
OpenAI Secures $122 B Funding Round, Valued at $852 B – Largest VC Deal Ever
OpenAI closed a $122 billion capital raise, pushing its post‑money valuation to $852 billion – the largest single venture‑capital round in history. The deal drew money from tech giants, sovereign investors and a surprisingly large cohort of retail backers, and sets the...
Blackstone’s Galakatos on Scaling Deals with $6.3B Fund: ‘Broader, Further’
Blackstone’s Galakatos team announced a new $6.3 billion private‑equity fund aimed at scaling the number and size of its transactions. The fund will pursue a broader geographic footprint and deeper sector coverage, focusing on later‑stage growth and buy‑and‑build opportunities. Galakatos plans...
Oricell Closes a ‘Pre-IPO’ Megaround to Aim CAR-T at Solid Tumors
Oricell Therapeutics, a Shanghai‑based biotech, closed a pre‑IPO financing round of more than $110 million to accelerate its CAR‑T programs targeting solid tumors, starting with liver cancer. Its lead candidate, Ori‑C101, targets the GPC3 protein and has shown a 60% response...
Vivatides Gets $54M; Wegovy Drops Cold Chain in EU; Gilead Takes Kymera Option
Vivatides Therapeutics announced a $54 million Series A round to accelerate its pre‑clinical siRNA and antisense oligonucleotide programs, with Sequoia Capital leading the investment. In Europe, Novo Nordisk confirmed that its obesity drug Wegovy will drop the costly cold‑chain requirement, simplifying distribution. Meanwhile,...
VC Funding to Halve, Concentrate in Top Funds
My prediction: institutional LP $ going to VCs will decline by half in the next 5 yrs. They will reallocate to safer asset classes. The largest VC funds will get 99% of what’s left, and these large funds will do...
Global FinTech Funding Tops $2bn as RegTech Deals Run Rampant
Global FinTech funding surged to $2.17 billion across 23 deals in the past two weeks, driven largely by RegTech and AI‑security investments. RegTech accounted for over a third of transactions, while the largest single deal was German insurer Talanx’s €1 billion ($1.09 billion)...
US$25M for Aerospace & Defence Composite Manufacturer Hybron
Hybron Technologies closed an oversubscribed $25 million seed round led by Marque Ventures, with participation from a slate of venture firms and angel investors. The company says its carbon‑fiber process can produce composites up to 100 times faster and at a fraction...
Biotech VCs Ramp up Checks on New Bets After Years of Focusing on Existing Portfolios
Biotech venture capitalists are shifting back to high‑risk, high‑reward investing, with 65% of Q1 2026 capital directed at new startups. Total venture funding in the sector rose to roughly $2.1 billion, up from $1.5 billion a quarter earlier, and average deal size climbed...
Funds Require Systems, Not Messy One‑Off Deals
A fund is not a deal. It’s a business. Deals can be messy and still survive. Funds can’t. If you want to raise more than once, you need systems and repeatable execution. Follow for fund builder systems. fundmanagement #raisingcapital #fundoperations #privateequity #sethbradley
Where $1bn Is Entry-Level
ADD Partners’ Rupesh Chatwani is urging UK integrated‑circuit startups to aim for billion‑dollar IPOs rather than modest $100 million exits. He argues that semiconductor ventures now require roughly $30 million of seed funding, and only a handful need to achieve $1 bn valuations...
Oricell Therapeutics Secures $110 Million Pre‑IPO Funding, Spotlighting Investment Banking Activity
Oricell Therapeutics closed a pre‑IPO financing round exceeding $110 million, co‑led by Vivo Capital, Beijing Medical and Health Care Industry Investment Fund and Qiming Venture Partners. The capital will fund global expansion and pivotal trials for its lead CAR‑T candidate, while...
Food Tech Faces Funding Reset as Investors Demand Profits over Promises
Food‑tech funding is shrinking; Q4 2025 VC investment fell 8.6% to $2.5 billion across 128 deals, down 16.3% from a year earlier and far below the 2021 peak. Exits also stalled, with only 85 transactions worth $287.7 million versus $12.8 billion in 2024....
Sora Fuel Secures $14.6 Million to Scale Carbon‑Negative Jet Fuel
Sora Fuel announced a $14.6 million financing round co‑led by Spero Ventures and Inspired Capital. The Boston startup will use the capital to build a pilot facility that captures CO₂ from air and water, aiming to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)...
Alan – Now Worth $7.8 Billion – Comes to Canada as It Accelerates Global Expansion
Digital health insurer Alan, now valued at $7.8 billion after a €100 million funding round, is accelerating its Canadian expansion. The company has secured nationwide licensing and is serving over 1,600 members from its Toronto office, with plans to open a Montreal...
UK Tech Funding Roundup: This Week’s Deals From MillTech to Fieldwork Robotics
UK tech investment slipped to £52.8 million (≈$68 million) this week, a 63% drop from the prior week, across three disclosed rounds. London‑based fintech MillTech led the pack with a £44.8 million (≈$57 million) raise to fuel its North American expansion. AI‑driven SaaS platform...
ICYMI Fintech Funding Round-Up: Trent AI, Kulipa, Octostar and More
FinTech Futures’ weekly ICYMI roundup highlights six recent funding events across AI security, crypto payments, and digital identity. UK‑based Trent AI emerged from stealth with a $13 million seed to develop autonomous security agents, while European AI‑security firm Octostar closed a...
Elorian Raises $55M to Scale Visual Reasoning AI
Elorian announced a $55 million seed round that lifts its valuation to $300 million, with participation from Striker Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Altimeter and strategic backing from NVIDIA and AI luminary Jeff Dean. The capital will fund expansion of research teams, engineering hires,...
Oricell Therapeutics Raises $110 Million to Advance Global Cell Therapy Development
Oricell Therapeutics announced a $110 million pre‑IPO financing round aimed at accelerating its global cell‑therapy program. The capital will fund expanded clinical trials, manufacturing upgrades, and a broader market rollout, especially for its lead liver‑cancer therapy that is nearing pivotal studies....
Chinese Entrepreneurs Should Go Global Before They Go Viral
Chinese AI startup Manus, known for an AI assistant that builds websites and conducts research, was acquired by Meta for over $2 billion after moving its headquarters to Singapore and shutting down Chinese operations. The deal, once hailed as a breakthrough...
BIDSO Raises Rs 63 Cr in Series A Round Led by Blume Ventures
BIDDO, a design‑first manufacturing platform for toys and consumer goods, closed a Rs 63 crore ($6.8 million) Series A round led by Blume Ventures, with participation from Peer Capital, Sadev Capital and Alteria Capital. The capital will fund an IP‑led product pipeline, global expansion...
Breega Leads PowerLabs Pre-Seed Fundraise
PowerLabs, a Nigeria‑based energy and climate tech startup, closed a pre‑seed round led by French venture firm Breega, with participation from Catalyst Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures and Kaleo Ventures. The undisclosed capital will accelerate development of its AI‑driven platform Pai,...
Fintech Startups Globally Raise More Money In Far Fewer Deals In Q1 2026
Global venture capital poured $12 billion into fintech startups in Q1 2026, but the number of deals fell 31.5% to 751, indicating larger checks per transaction. Late‑stage and growth rounds surged to $6.9 billion, an 8% year‑over‑year rise, even as total funding slipped...
How to Navigate the Investment Opportunity in Climate Tech Sector
Global climate‑tech funding hit a record $100 billion in 2021 and topped $50 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, underscoring a rapid scaling of capital. Investment is shifting from early‑stage pilots to mid‑size growth deals as business models mature, especially...
Radify’s Plasma Reactors Target China’s Rare‑Earth Stronghold with $3M Funding
Radify Metals has closed a funding round of just under $3 million to scale its plasma‑reactor technology that can turn metal oxides into pure rare‑earth metals. The startup says its compact reactors could produce several kilograms of dysprosium and neodymium per...
Enhanced Labs Secures $1 Million Pre‑Seed to Launch On‑Chain Structured Options
Enhanced Labs Inc. closed a $1 million strategic pre‑seed round led by Maximum Frequency Ventures, with participation from GSR, Selini, Flowdesk and angels. The funding will back a multi‑chain platform that packages sophisticated options and derivatives strategies into retail‑friendly products, expanding...
DOWNLOAD: Q1 Fundraising Continues at a Snail’s Pace
Venture capital firms worldwide raised $21 billion in the first quarter of 2024, matching the amount collected in Q1 2025. The flat figure underscores a continuation of the sluggish fundraising environment that has persisted since 2022. Investors remain cautious amid higher...
Ascend Elements Files for Chapter 11 After Raising $1.1 Billion
Battery recycling startup Ascend Elements announced a voluntary Chapter 11 filing Thursday, ending a decade‑long effort that attracted more than $1.1 bn in equity and government grants. The move highlights the capital intensity of circular‑economy ventures and raises questions about the...
ARK Invest Leads $50 Million Series B in Irish Drone Delivery Pioneer Manna
ARK Invest spearheaded a $50 million Series B round for Irish drone‑delivery startup Manna, pushing total capital to $110 million. The financing will fund U.S. expansion, add 400 high‑skill jobs, and intensify competition in the fast‑growing last‑mile logistics market.
Cleveland Clinic Catalyzer Program Awards $250K to Quantum Startups
Cleveland Clinic’s Quantum Innovation Catalyzer Program will award up to $250,000, matched with in‑kind resources, to three startups applying quantum computing to health challenges. The selected firms—EntangleBio, Polaris Quantum Biotech, and Singularity Quantum—gain access to IBM’s Quantum System One, the...
PeakMetrics Raises Series A to Bring AI-Powered Narrative Intelligence to Organizations Worldwide
PeakMetrics announced a $6 million Series A round led by Moneta Ventures, bringing its total capital to $16.3 million. The company reported a three‑fold year‑over‑year revenue increase as demand spikes for tools that can identify AI‑generated and manipulated online narratives. Its AI‑driven platform...
Valkyrie Analytics Secures $3 Million Seed Investment, Rebrands as Nirova LLC
Valkyrie Analytics secured a $3 million seed round and rebranded as Nirova LLC, a Boise‑based firm focused on real‑time monitoring of anaerobic digesters. The funding enables the rollout of a near‑infrared spectral platform that optimizes biogas production from livestock, food‑waste and...
What Investors Find when They Google Your Startup (and How to Control It)
Investors now begin due‑diligence by Googling founders and using AI tools like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Copilot. A weak or invisible digital footprint can cause a startup to be passed over before a pitch deck even arrives. The article advises founders...
Software Winners & Losers in the Age of AI (W/Alex Rubalcava & Paul Bricault) | #626
In this episode, MedFavor hosts venture partners Alex Rubalcava and Paul Bricault of Amplify LA to discuss how AI is reshaping the software landscape, distinguishing between vulnerable, commoditized SaaS products and mission‑critical, data‑rich enterprise solutions that remain defensible. They explain...
Essential Angel Investing Manual for Building Startups
I got to go through an early copy of this book and it is a solid resource. @somani_utsav has taken patterns he has seen from angel investing and working closely with India's top founders and made a detailed manual out...
Venture Funding Soars While One‑Third of SF Offices Remain Empty
The biggest venture boom in history, and a third of San Francisco offices are empty.
Rainmatter’s Long-Term Bet on India’s Future
Rainmatter, launched in 2016 by Zerodha founders, has become a major catalyst for India's capital‑markets ecosystem, deploying roughly ₹1,500 crore (about $180 million) into more than 160 startups across fintech, climate, health, media and deep‑tech. The firm earmarks 10% of Zerodha’s earnings...
How to Spot High‑Potential AI Startups for 2026
That’s a wrap on HumanX. 👏 Our CEO, @jagermcconnell, shared how to spot high-potential AI startups early, while our Research Lead, @geneteare, broke down the 2026 AI VC playbook and where capital is flowing next. Catch Jager’s full conversation. 🔗: https://t.co/yHSLy5M6ez
Nvidia's RISC Push Signals Real Momentum for SiFive
$NVDA leaning further into RISC is what I would call real signal. Also, @GavinSBaker leading the round reflects well. SiFive is cooking. Definitely one to keep an eye on. 🚀
Point72 Joins $400M Bet on RISC-V Architecture:
Point72's venture arm, Point72 Turion, has joined NVIDIA and Apollo Global Management in a $400 million Series G financing of SiFive, the leading RISC‑V processor developer. The round underscores a growing hedge‑fund focus on "agentic AI" infrastructure—hardware designed for autonomous, decision‑making AI...
Griffin 2.0 Becomes India’s Sun Valley, $20B+ Revenue
Griffin 2.0 (my 2nd!): The Sun Valley of India/Asia. $20B+ in rev across 50+ unicorn/soonicorn founders w/ @therealkapildev,@luckyali & @amitabhk87. Venting in the Rage Room near Bull/Bear/Griffin statues was 10/10. 12 yrs in, Vaibhav, Pooja & Utkarsh still have 'Day...
SiFive Raises $400 Million; Nvidia Bets on RISC-V for Data Centers
SiFive announced a $400 million Series G financing round that values the RISC‑V IP company at $3.65 billion. Nvidia participated as an investor, reinforcing a joint plan to deliver high‑performance RISC‑V CPUs with NVLink Fusion connectivity for data‑center AI workloads. The capital will...
Demo Day Revenue Targets Jump From $150K to $1M
Later stage investors always grumble about increasing valuations. But there is some basis in reality for it: companies do grow faster now.
Scala Biodesign Raises $16 Million Series A to Speed Protein Bio‑hacking
Scala Biodesign announced a $16 million Series A round led by Grove Ventures to expand its ScalaOS platform, which uses AI and physics‑based modeling to streamline protein engineering. The funding aims to cut years of trial‑and‑error for drugmakers developing longevity‑focused biologics.