🎯Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Updated 1h agoWhat's happening: Tangled secures $4.5M to build Europe’s open‑source GitHub alternative
Finland‑based Tangled closed a $4.5 million round led by byFounders, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Antler and angels including former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. The startup is developing a next‑generation code‑collaboration platform on Bluesky’s AT Protocol to offer an open, API‑less alternative for European developers. The capital will accelerate product development and market rollout.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Horizon Minerals raises $185M in institutional placement
News•Feb 17, 2026
Breakthrough Victoria Scores 5x Uplift on Investment in US Quantum Startup Listing on the NYSE
Breakthrough Victoria’s A$29 million stake in US‑based Infleqtion has generated a five‑fold value increase after the company listed on the NYSE via a SPAC merger. Infleqtion raised US$550 million, debuting at US$14.25 per share and closing at US$15.59, a 14% first‑day gain. The Victorian fund retained its shareholding, reinforcing its commitment to the region’s quantum ecosystem. CEO Rod Bristow highlighted the IPO as a milestone for both the fund and Australia’s quantum ambitions.
By Startup Daily (ANZ)
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Anticipate Investor Attacks with a Rude Q&A
When I started WP Engine, I thought I was pretty good at pitching. I had sold millions of dollars of software at Smart Bear, and I’d helped other companies with their pitches and fundraising. But of course it’s different when someone...
By Jason Cohen
News•Feb 17, 2026
Temporal
Temporal announced a Series D financing round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, bringing new capital to the open‑source durable execution platform. The round includes Lightspeed partners Anoushka Vaswani, Ravi Mhatre, Bucky Moore and Justin Shen. Temporal’s technology underpins mission‑critical services at...
By Lightspeed » Ideas
News•Feb 17, 2026
QuadSci Receives $8M Series A Funding Round
QuadSci announced an $8 million Series A round led by Crosslink Capital, with participation from Alumni Ventures, Correlation Ventures, and several angel investors. The startup’s AI platform uniquely ties product usage telemetry to revenue outcomes, enabling firms to predict churn, uncover growth,...
By VC News Daily
News•Feb 17, 2026
ChipAgents Completes $50M Series A1 Round
ChipAgents announced the close of an oversubscribed $50 million Series A1 round, raising its total capital to $74 million. The round was led by Matter Venture Partners, a TSMC‑backed HardTech VC, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek and Ericsson. ChipAgents’ Agentic...
By VC News Daily
Social•Feb 17, 2026
AI Power, Compute, Algorithms Multiply to Shift Leverage
I have a simplified conjecture about AI progress. Your mileage may vary but here it is. f(i) = p × c × a where i=intelligence, p=power, c=compute, a=algorithms, multiplied together. This means neglecting any variable creates a ceiling and any breakthrough compounds...
By Chamath Palihapitiya
News•Feb 17, 2026
Dragonfly Raises $650M for Crypto Venture Fund IV
Dragonfly Capital announced the close of its fourth crypto venture fund with $650 million in commitments, topping the original $500 million target. The fund will back early‑stage blockchain projects across infrastructure, DeFi, stablecoins and tokenized real‑world assets. Recent allocations include...
By Ventureburn
News•Feb 17, 2026
Meridian Closes $17M Seed Round to Bring Agentic AI to Financial Modeling
Meridian, an AI‑driven financial modeling startup, emerged from stealth with a $17 million seed round at a $100 million post‑money valuation. The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz and The General Partnership, joined by QED Investors, FPV Ventures, and Litquidity Ventures. Meridian...
By The AI Insider
News•Feb 17, 2026
Dragonfly Raises $650M for New Fund to Back DeFi, Prediction Markets and Stablecoins
Dragonfly Capital announced the close of its fourth venture fund, raising $650 million to back projects in decentralized finance, stablecoins and prediction markets. The fund marks the firm’s largest commitment yet, reflecting confidence that the crypto sector remains in an early...
By The Defiant
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Joining Benchmark: Passion for Series A Venture Investing
I’m really excited to share that I’m joining Benchmark. The past two years as a full time investor have been the most rewarding of my career. I really love venture capital, which is not something I ever imagined I’d say when...
By Jack Altman
Blog•Feb 17, 2026
Sphinx Raises $7M Seed Round for AI Compliance Agents
Sphinx announced a $7 million seed round, led by Cherry Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, Deel Ventures and Singularity Capital. The San Francisco‑based startup builds browser‑native AI agents that embed directly into existing case‑management systems, third‑party portals and internal dashboards...
By Corporate Compliance Insights
Blog•Feb 17, 2026
Orthofuse Raises £2.2m for 3D-Printed Implants
Orthofuse announced a £2.2 million seed round to accelerate its 3D‑printed orthopaedic implant platform. The company targets trauma and spinal‑degenerative surgeries, where poor bone quality and time‑sensitive procedures demand more adaptable solutions. Using additive manufacturing and novel implant architectures, Orthofuse aims...
By Health Tech World
News•Feb 17, 2026
Announcing Our Investment in Temporal: Agents Make Mistakes. Your Workflows Can’t.
Lightspeed announced a strategic investment in Temporal’s $300 million Series D, positioning the durable‑execution platform as essential infrastructure for AI‑driven agents. Temporal’s technology lets agents recover from failures, maintain state, and run for extended periods without manual intervention. The company reports 380%...
By Lightspeed » Ideas
News•Feb 17, 2026
AI-Powered Worksite Safety Startup Fyld Raises £32m Series B
London‑based AI startup Fyld has closed a £32 million Series B round, led by Energy Impact Partners with participation from Partech’s Growth Impact Fund. The funding will fuel the expansion of its real‑time safety and compliance platform for frontline workers into the...
By Sifted
News•Feb 17, 2026
Cloud Startup Render Raises Funding at $1.5 Billion Valuation as AI-Built Apps Boom
Render announced a $100 million financing round that lifts its valuation to $1.5 billion, reflecting the surge in AI‑generated applications. The San‑Francisco startup reports revenue growth exceeding 100 percent and a developer community of more than 4.5 million users. It runs on AWS and...
By CNBC – Markets
News•Feb 17, 2026
How the Uninvestable Is Becoming Investable
Venture capital is moving into traditionally “hard” sectors—government, defence, energy, manufacturing—after years of avoidance. Rapid growth in public‑sector tech spending, which more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, and the rise of AI‑first solutions are reshaping procurement cycles and lowering...
By The Next Web (TNW)
News•Feb 17, 2026
Daffodil Health Raises $16.3M for AI Claims Automation
Daffodil Health announced a $16.3 million Series A round, bringing its total capital to $20.9 million. The San Francisco startup uses AI and large‑language models to automate health‑plan administration, focusing on out‑of‑network pricing and payment‑integrity workflows. Funds will accelerate product development and expand...
By MobiHealthNews (HIMSS Media)
Podcast•Feb 17, 2026•42 min
Building a Quantum Ecosystem From Scratch with Martin Laforest
In this episode, Sebastian talks with Martin Laforest, a physicist‑turned‑VC at Quantacet, about the practical challenges of building a quantum ecosystem from the ground up. Laforest explains how Quebec turned a 1970s academic gamble into a $400 M quantum hub, emphasizing...
By The New Quantum Era
News•Feb 17, 2026
Side Letter: M&G’s Liquidity Play
M&G has introduced a side‑letter that leverages the secondary market to provide liquidity for its private‑equity commitments, allowing investors optional redemption windows while preserving long‑term value. The move comes as Q4 private‑equity exit volume fell below expectations, highlighting a slowdown...
By Private Equity International
Podcast•Feb 17, 2026•17 min
37 | Why Retention Is Now Driving Software Company Valuations
In this episode, managing director Mike Lyon and senior associate Sarabeth Sandweiss discuss how retention metrics have become a pivotal factor in software company valuations, detailing the heightened scrutiny buyers now apply. They explain the investor framework for assessing retention,...
By The Path to Exit
News•Feb 17, 2026
MeitY, IVCA Mobilise ₹500 Cr VC Commitments For AI Startups
At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, MeitY and the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) announced a collective ₹500 crore VC commitment from 16 member funds to accelerate Indian AI startups. Sixteen investors, including Accel, Antler and Prosus, pledged...
By Inc42
Podcast•Feb 17, 2026•30 min
WSJ X A16z: The Next 25 Years of Defense Innovation
In this WSJ Invest Live episode, Andy Serwer interviews a16z general partner Katherine Boyle about the firm’s American Dynamism practice, which she launched to focus on defense and national‑security tech. They explore how openly championing "America" sparked debate in Silicon...
By a16z Podcast
News•Feb 17, 2026
From Client to Cap Table: Shakudo Converts Customers Into Investors with $7-Million USD Raise
Toronto‑based AI infrastructure startup Shakudo closed a $7 million USD Series A2 round, led by Wittington Ventures, adding investors from its client base such as Loblaw and CentralReach. The round brings total funding to roughly $18 million and places Wittington managing partner...
By BetaKit (Canada)
News•Feb 17, 2026
Kenya’s Arc Ride Secures $5 Million IFC Commitment for Regional Expansion
Kenyan e‑mobility startup Arc Ride has secured a $5 million equity commitment from the International Finance Corporation to fuel its Series A round and regional rollout. The funding will accelerate the deployment of battery‑swapping stations across East Africa, complementing earlier debt deals...
By TechCabal
News•Feb 17, 2026
Emirates NBD Leads $31 Million Round in Real Estate Investment Platform Stake
Stake, a fractional real‑estate investment platform, closed a $31 million financing round led by Emirates NBD, bringing its total capital to $58 million. The raise backs Stake’s rapid expansion beyond Saudi Arabia into the United States and supports its regulated offering in the Kingdom....
By Finextra
News•Feb 17, 2026
Danish Fintech Pluto Secures New Funding From Seed Capital and Unicorn Founders to Scale Commission-Free Investing Across Europe
Copenhagen‑based fintech Pluto announced a €5 million funding round led by Seed Capital and a syndicate of ten Danish unicorn founders, including executives from Pleo, Synthesia and Zendesk, with footballer Thomas Delaney also participating. The capital will fuel the launch of “Pluto...
By ArcticStartup
News•Feb 17, 2026
AI Consulting Startup Navikenz Raises $7.5 Mn Led by Sekar PRC and Sudip Nandy
Navikenz, a Noida‑based AI consulting firm, closed a $7.5 million funding round led by Sekar PRC and Sudip Nandy, adding to a prior $8 million raise. The capital will fund team expansion and further development of its AI platforms, including RetailBOT and...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 17, 2026
Google Maps Co-Founder Lars Rasmussen and Lefteris Katsiadakis Are Turning Athens Into a Startup Magnet
Google Maps co‑founder Lars Rasmussen and Panathēnea CEO Lefteris Katsiadakis are turning Athens into a Southeast European startup hub. The nonprofit festival attracted investors such as Sequoia, Index Ventures, NVIDIA and OpenAI, and featured over 3,000 attendees from 44 countries...
By The Recursive
News•Feb 17, 2026
Paket Mutfak Raises $3.8M to Grow Multi-Brand Cloud Kitchen Model
Turkish cloud‑kitchen software startup Paket Mutfak announced a $3.8 million financing round, bringing its total capital to $12.3 million. The round was led by existing backers Nokta Yatırım Holding, Ünlü & Co, and Fırat İşbecer, with new investors including Ali Sabancı and...
By Tech.eu
News•Feb 17, 2026
CraftifAI Raises $3 Mn To Build AI Tools For Embedded Software Development
CraftifAI announced a $3 million seed round, led by Ankur Capital, to accelerate its AI-driven platform for embedded software development. The startup’s Orbit platform uses multi‑agent generative AI to automate code generation, hardware optimization, and AI/ML deployment for edge, IoT and...
By Inc42
News•Feb 17, 2026
Equirus InnovateX Fund Announces Final Close of B2B Tech Fund at Rs 166 Cr
Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF) announced the final close of its maiden B2B tech fund at Rs 166 crore, a SEBI‑registered Category I AIF targeting seed to pre‑Series A investments. The fund focuses on deep‑tech, SaaS and fintech startups that have a product but are...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 17, 2026
Udtara Ventures Announces Rs 250 Cr Growth Fund
Udtara Ventures has launched a Rs 250 crore Udtara Growth Fund aimed at taking sizable ownership stakes in defence, deep‑tech and frontier engineering firms. The fund will back 8‑10 growth‑stage companies with proven product‑market fit and existing order books, using a blend...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 17, 2026
China AI Startup Moonshot Targets $10 Billion Valuation
Moonshot, the Chinese AI startup behind the Kimi chatbot, is launching a new financing round that targets a $10 billion valuation. The company previously secured $500 million at a $4.3 billion valuation, and its existing backers—Alibaba, Tencent and 5Y Capital—have already committed more...
By Bloomberg – Technology (sitewide)
News•Feb 17, 2026
Edtech Startup Beep Raises $850K in Pre-Series A Round
Edtech startup Beep announced an $850,000 pre‑Series A round, bringing its total funding to $1.5 million. The round was led by Knowhere Ventures, Pacific Global Solutions, and LeadAngels FLV, with participation from angel investors. Beep plans to scale its user base...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 17, 2026
Vietnam's Airports, Money Controls Said to Deter Tech Investors
Vietnam’s startup funding has slowed as investors cite cross‑border frictions, notably congested airports and strict capital controls. The newly opened Long Thanh International Airport is intended to ease Ho Chi Minh City’s traffic but has yet to deliver full relief....
By Nikkei Asia – Economy
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Prioritize Importance and Neglect, Expect Controversy
The only two things @alexblania asks when choosing what to work on: What will be most important? What is neglected? @MollySOShea will correct you on one thing. He doesn't like controversial things. It just so happens that important + neglected often = controversial. Proud...
By Seth Bannon
News•Feb 17, 2026
The “Valley of Death” Isn’t a Funding Problem — It’s a Risk Design Problem
Deep‑tech startups often stumble not because the science is weak but because the risk profile between a working prototype and a scalable business is mis‑designed. Traditional venture capital timelines of five to seven years clash with the ten‑plus‑year gestation required...
By e27
Podcast•Feb 17, 2026•16 min
OpenClaw Could Be 1st 1-Person $1B Company, OpenAI Buys
The episode examines OpenClaw's potential to become the first one‑person, billion‑dollar company, analyzing its AI‑driven product suite, lean operational model, and market traction. It weighs the plausibility of such rapid scaling against typical growth constraints and highlights the founder’s unique...
By AI Chat
News•Feb 17, 2026
HomeRun Raises Rs 60 Cr in Series A Led by Sorin Investments
HomeRun, a Bengaluru‑based on‑demand platform for construction and interior materials, announced a Rs 60 crore ($6.6 million) Series A funding round. The round was led by Sorin Investments, which contributed Rs 40 crore, with participation from Titan Capital Winners Fund, Sparrow Capital, Consumer Collective by Atrium...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 17, 2026
UNSW Puts $35 Million Into Uni Startup Spinouts
UNSW Sydney is allocating $35 million to boost research commercialisation, including a $25 million pre‑seed fund and a $10 million investment in VC High Street Ventures, with the goal of launching 50 spinout companies by 2030. The pre‑seed fund will provide up to...
By Startup Daily (ANZ)
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Multiple Bidders Boost Leverage, Valuation, and Deal Success
A competitive sales process includes multiple buyers bidding against each other, each investing considerable time and resources to win the bid. This competition increases: * Your negotiating leverage * Your valuation * Your probability of a closed deal #founders #pathtoexit
By Michael Lyon
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Boston Trains AI Founders; SF Steals Them—Others Beware
Boston has the schools. SF has the companies. 21 of the Forbes AI 50 founders went to school in Boston—then left for San Francisco. If SF doesn’t learn from this cautionary tale, Austin and Miami will. https://t.co/pmYxLaYXWy
By Garry Tan
News•Feb 16, 2026
Bootstrapped and Profitable AI InsurTech Company Mea Platform Raises €42.2 Million
UK‑based AI InsurTech mea Platform announced a €42.2 million minority growth equity investment from SEP to accelerate product development and customer engagement. The company, founded in 2021, has remained bootstrapped and profitable for four consecutive years. Its domain‑specific AI platform, already...
By EU-Startups
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Bay Relocation Signals Founder Seriousness, Not Random Investor Bias
The hardest core founders have always moved to the Bay -- living in this area is an indication of seriousness. Investors are not drawing from a random sample.
By Arianna Simpson
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Robinhood Ventures Backs Boom Supersonic, Democrat
Super cool to have @boomsupersonic as one of the first companies in the @RobinhoodApp Ventures fund—democratizing investor access to private companies.
By Blake Scholl
News•Feb 16, 2026
Mortgage Originator Maestro AI Announces $1.2M Pre-Seed
Maestro AI, an AI‑powered platform for mortgage origination, secured $1.2 million in pre‑seed funding led by New Stack Ventures, with participation from Family VC, ZFO, Roark’s Drift, and local angels. Founded by industry veteran David Rogove—who previously built and sold Wemlo...
By Crowdfund Insider
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Ex-Altera CEO Leads Vsora to Challenge Nvidia, AMD
Former Altera CEO Sandra Rivera has joined French AI chip startup @vsora_dsp as chair of the board. I had a chat with her about raising Vsora's profile, raising funding, and competing with Nvidia, AMD and the entire landscape of startups...
By Sally Ward-Foxton
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Nvidia, Khosla Invest $200M to Power Instant Multilingual AI Agents
Nvidia and Khosla just put $200M into @polyaivoice, and looking at the stats, it makes sense. They already handle 500M+ calls for giants like Marriott & PG&E. Now, you can build a 45-language agent in 5 mins just from a URL. Massive...
By Data Chaz
Social•Feb 17, 2026
Chinese AI Firms Double, Hitting $35B—West Should Follow
china’s two ai model company minimax and zai have grown 2x in public markets in the last month they’re now $30-35b companies surely that should prompt western labs to go public already
By Nathan Benaich
Social•Feb 17, 2026
SatelliteVu Secures $40M Funding, $8M Preorders
Thermal imaging satellite builder @satellitevu raises GBP 30M ($40.9M) in funding led by @NATOinnovation @BritishBBank @SpaceFrontier #PrestoTechHorizons, bringing total equity raise to $80M. Co has booked pre orders of $8M for HotSat-2, to be launched this yr w/ HotSat 3....
By Peter B. de Selding