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
Canyon Code Launches With $5M in Pre-Seed Funding
Canyon Code, a stealth‑mode startup focused on granular controls for multi‑agent applications, announced a $5 million pre‑seed round. The financing was led by Cota Capital with participation from Newbuild Venture Capital and Blackhorn Ventures. The capital will fund development of a workflow‑intelligence layer and expand the company’s R&D team. The announcement marks Canyon Code’s public debut in the competitive AI‑infrastructure space.
Airis Labs Raises $60M to Transform Visual Intelligence
Airis Labs announced a $60 million financing round, including a $31 million Series B led by PSG Equity, to accelerate its visual‑intelligence platform for defence and security markets. The startup’s AI engine ingests fragmented video from drones, body‑cams, CCTV and social media, converting...
AI Coding Startup Cognition Raises $1B at $25B Pre-Money Valuation
Cognition, the creator of the autonomous AI software engineer Devin, announced a funding round exceeding $1 billion, valuing the startup at $25 billion pre‑money. The round was led by Lux Capital and General Catalyst, with participation from Founders Fund, 8VC, Ribbit Capital,...
Transition Ventures Raises $150m AI-Focused Fund
London‑based Transition Ventures has closed a $150 million fund aimed at power infrastructure, artificial intelligence, robotics, and critical materials. The new vehicle marks a strategic pivot from the firm’s original clean‑tech focus toward the growing electricity needs of AI‑driven data centres....
HgCapital Trust Commits $500 M to Legal‑Tech Firm Rightsline, Boosting AI Roadmap
HgCapital Trust plc (HgT) announced a $500 million strategic growth investment in legal‑tech platform Rightsline, including an £11 million (~$14 million) contribution from HgT itself. The funding, backed by Hg’s Mercury Fund and existing owners Klass Capital and Salem Partners, will accelerate Rightsline’s...
Human Archive Secures $8.2M to Harness India’s Gig Workers for Robot Training Data
Silicon Valley‑backed startup Human Archive announced an $8.2 million financing round led by Wing Venture Capital, NVP Capital and Y Combinator. The company will use the capital to expand its network of gig‑economy workers wearing camera‑enabled headsets, creating multimodal data pipelines...
Longwall Ventures’ Fund 4 Receives New £50m Commitment
The British Business Bank has pledged a new £50 million (approximately $63 million) commitment to Longwall Ventures’ fourth Enterprise Capital Fund, aimed at early‑stage deep‑tech companies. The fund will invest £0.5‑2 million in up to 16 UK startups across advanced manufacturing, clean energy,...
OpenRouter Secures $113 Million Series B, Valuation Hits $1.3 B
OpenRouter announced a $113 million Series B financing led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth fund, lifting its post‑money valuation to roughly $1.3 billion. The round follows a $40 million Series A a year earlier and reflects booming demand for multi‑model AI gateways.
Airbnb-Backed WeRoad Raises $58M to Take Its Group Travel Platform to the US
WeRoad, the Milan‑based group‑travel startup, closed a $58 million Series C round led by Airbnb, pushing its total funding to roughly $100 million. The capital will fund its first U.S. rollout, beginning in Austin, as the company expands its IRL‑focused platform for Millennials...
Germany Can Produce Biotech Winners. Europe Must Back Them Better.
Germany’s robust science, capital and talent ecosystem produced a headline‑making deal when U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences agreed to acquire Munich‑based Tubulis GmbH. The transaction values the clinical‑stage antibody‑drug conjugate developer at $3.15 billion in cash with up to $1.85 billion in milestone...
How VCs Are Redefining Success Metrics in Early-Stage Investing
Venture capitalists are overhauling early‑stage success metrics, shifting from pure growth narratives to evidence of sustainable, capital‑efficient scaling. The rise of AI enables founders to simulate scale with tiny teams, prompting investors to demand clear paths to profitability and self‑sufficiency....
Project Prometheus Secures $10B, Valued at $38B, Marking AI Shift to Physical Sensors
In April, Jeff Bezos's Project Prometheus closed a $10 billion funding round at a $38 billion valuation, backed by JPMorgan, BlackRock and other institutional investors. The round underscores a growing venture‑capital focus on "physical AI"—the use of sensor data to model real‑world...
ESports Platform Lucra Sports Secures $20 Million Series B Led by ARK Invest
Lucra Sports announced a $20 million Series B round headed by ARK Invest’s venture fund, with participation from other VCs. Founder Dylan Robbins says an AI‑centric pitch and a chance encounter at a New York darts bar convinced the fund to...
Baseten in Talks to Raise $1B at an $11B Valuation, More than Doubling Its Valuation From Just Three Months Ago
Baseten, a San Francisco AI inference platform, is in talks to raise $1 billion, valuing the company at about $11 billion. The proposed valuation more than doubles the $5 billion mark set only three months ago. The company’s annualized revenue surged to roughly...
I Taught Myself to Code at Age 10. After Working At Google and Twitter, I Turned to Venture Capital. Here’s...
Alex Roetter, a self‑taught coder who rose through Google and Twitter, is now a general partner at Moxxie Ventures. He leverages his engineering background to back high‑growth software, AI, and deep‑tech startups. Roetter says he evaluates founders’ track records and...
Frontier AI Secures $12M to Revolutionize Biopharma
i'm excited to unveil a $12m round for @perceptictech, operationalizing frontier ai systems to transform biopharma from @airstreet @accel elder gull and angels from ai labs @ashedwardst of fern labs (now @poolsideai) intro'd me to tilman (ceo) who was spinning up...
Exclusive: Leverage Edu Set to Raise over $20 Mn Series D at $300 Mn Valuation
Leverage Edu, the Indian study‑abroad platform, is set to raise roughly ₹200 crore (about $20 million) in a Series D round that blends equity and venture debt. The equity tranche is led by Dubai‑based Aditum Fund, while IDFC FIRST Bank is expected to provide...
Stord Raises $250 Million Series F at $3 Billion Valuation for Physical Intelligence Commerce Platform
Stord announced a $250 million Series F round that values the company at $3 billion, underscoring strong investor confidence in its commerce‑infrastructure platform. The financing will accelerate the expansion of its fulfillment network and software suite, while also funding the newly launched Stord...
YC Partner Debunks 7 Common Fundraising Myths
Most founders think fundraising is glamorous, complex and requires special connections. But almost everything they’ve heard is wrong. YC Partner Brad Flora breaks down the 7 biggest myths he sees founders fall for. Here’s what fundraising actually looks like today:
Billions Bet on AI to Revolutionize Scientific Research
NEW: I took a dive into the billions flowing into new startups aiming to reinvent scientific research with AI. A lot unpacked here. It's far more interesting than the vague talk of solving disease and curing cancer: https://t.co/QYQYeA8WrT
Andreessen Horowitz Anchors Boston Tech Week 2026 with 572 Events, Showcasing VC‑Driven Innovation
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is spearheading Boston Tech Week 2026, delivering 572 decentralized events that span biotech, AI, robotics and university research. The six‑day festival, free for most attendees, highlights the firm’s role in shaping Boston’s venture‑backed innovation pipeline.
Catena Labs Raises $30M and Secures OCC Approval to Pursue National Trust Bank Charter for AI Agents
Catena Labs, founded by Circle co‑founder Sean Neville, closed a $30 million Series A led by Acrew Capital and a16z crypto and received Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approval to seek a national trust bank charter. The funding and regulatory...
Amazon Fulfillment Competitor Stord Raises $250M at $3B Valuation
Atlanta‑based Stord raised $250 million, valuing the company at $3 billion—double its valuation from a year ago. The round was led by Strike Capital with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Franklin Templeton, Baillie Gifford, G Squared and Bond. Founded in 2015, Stord...
The Black Label, the Studio Behind the KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack, Just Raised $80M with Investment From Tencent Music
South Korean label The Black Label announced a $80 million Series B round, with Tencent Music Entertainment Group and gaming firm Krafton as co‑lead investors. The funding follows the label’s breakout success on the Netflix‑backed *K‑Pop Demon Hunters* soundtrack, which produced a...
AllO Secures $14M to Advance AI Restaurant Operating System
allO, a Munich‑based restaurant tech startup, closed a $14 million Series A round led by Zigg Capital to scale its AI‑driven operating system. The platform now integrates point‑of‑sale, payments, reservations and inventory for more than 1,000 active locations, marking a six‑fold increase...
UK Startups Could Benefit From £3bn EU Fund
The United Kingdom is poised to re‑enter the EU’s Horizon Europe startup fund, a €4 billion (~$4.3 billion) programme that could be finalized later this year. Joining requires the UK to reverse a treaty decision that opted it out of the scheme....
AI‑Powered Law Firm Moritz Secures $9 Million Seed Round with 12‑Slide Pitch
Moritz, the AI‑driven law firm founded by former OpenAI counsel Pamir Ehsas, closed a $9 million seed round—three times its original goal—just before graduating from Y Combinator. The raise was driven by a concise 12‑slide deck and attracted a mix of...
European Startup Boom Accelerates as AI, Capital, and Talent Converge
European venture‑backed startups are entering a growth spurt, with AI‑driven firms such as Legora and Lovable posting record revenues and funding, while Paris‑based AMI Labs closed a $1 billion round. The surge reflects deeper AI adoption, larger VC funds and a...
Venture Catalysts++ to Showcase 12 Startups Seeking $46 Mn at Demo Day 7
Venture Catalysts++, a Mumbai‑based VC, will host its virtual Demo Day 7 on May 29, showcasing 12 startups seeking roughly $46 million (≈Rs 380 crore) from global investors. About $20 million has already been committed, underscoring early interest. The cohort spans deep‑tech, AI, aerospace, climate tech,...
From a Family Baking Dynasty to Legal Tech and Much More
A Munich‑based venture and family office, descended from an early‑20th‑century baking dynasty, has invested in a legal‑technology group that promises to dramatically improve law‑firm efficiency. The backing is part of a broader portfolio of innovative deals driven by the third...
Fundamentum Co-Founder Ashish Kumar Launches F2A with Rs 3,000 Cr Corpus
Ashish Kumar, co‑founder of Fundamentum Partnership, has launched F2A (Fundamentum Frontier Advisors), a frontier‑tech investment platform that received SEBI approval for its new fund, Fundamentum III – AI and DeepTech, targeting a Rs 2,000 crore (~$241 million) corpus. F2A will also manage up to...
Lucis Raises $20M Series A to Expand AI-Driven Preventive Healthcare Platform
Lucis announced a $20 million Series A round led by Singular, bringing its total capital to $28 million after an $8 million seed four months earlier. The Paris‑based startup offers an AI‑driven preventive health platform that evaluates more than 110 blood biomarkers and delivers...
Ocean Closes $28M to Fight AI-Powered Phishing With Agentic Email Security
Ocean, an agentic email security startup founded by former Israeli defence cyber expert Shay Shwartz, announced a $28 million Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Picture Capital, Cerca Partners and angels such as Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport....
Venture Firm Forms with Entertainment AI Focus
Hallstone Ventures, a Hollywood Hills‑based VC, closed its inaugural fund with more than $10 million in capital. The firm will back artificial‑intelligence solutions that streamline the backend of media and entertainment, such as ad targeting, distribution analytics, and attention‑monetization tools. Founder...
AI Bets Shift to Sensors as Jeff Bezos‑Backed Project Prometheus Raises $10 B
Jeff Bezos’s Project Prometheus closed a $10 billion funding round at a $38 billion valuation, while SoftBank filed to IPO robotics firm Roze at a $100 billion target and Eclipse Ventures launched a $1.3 billion physical‑AI fund. The influx signals a decisive shift of...
UK VCTs See Record ISA Inflows as Tax Relief Slashed, Raising $635M Funding Gap
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a reduction of income‑tax relief for Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) from 30% to 20% starting April. The change has triggered a surge in ISA‑eligible VCT purchases, while analysts warn it could create a £500 million (≈$635 million) funding...
Secondary Markets Now Eclipse IPOs for Startup Liquidity
Several of the companies on this list are IPO-ready but they're choosing NOT to go public yet. The IPO used to be the grand finale for startups. It was the moment everyone finally got paid. But we’re seeing a shift in the...
SolarSquare Raises up to $60 Million at $500 Million Valuation, Backed by B Capital and Lightspeed
SolarSquare, the Mumbai‑based rooftop solar platform, is negotiating a Series C round of $55‑$60 million that would value the company at $450‑$500 million. The round is being co‑led by B Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with existing backer Elevation Capital also expected to participate.
MUFG Innovation Partners Injects $10 Million Into Indonesia’s Pluang in Series C
MUFG Innovation Partners led a $10 million Series C round for Pluang, the Jakarta‑based multi‑asset platform with over 13 million users. The funding, announced in May 2026, will serve as a treasury reserve for regional M&A and expansion, underscoring a shift toward profitability‑driven...
Cyannova Capital Announces Global Launch at Its First Strategic Reception in Hong Kong
Cyannova Capital, a New York‑based investment firm, launched its inaugural fund at a private reception in Hong Kong, positioning the vehicle as an event‑driven capital platform focused on AI, renewable energy, robotics and space infrastructure. The firm announced a strategic cooperation framework...
Kyoto iCAP Launches $140 Million Deep‑tech VC Fund, Courts Foreign LPs
Kyoto University Innovation Capital (Kyoto iCAP) is preparing to close a $140 million third fund in January 2026, inviting foreign limited partners for the first time. The fund will back deep‑tech spinouts with a research link to any Japanese university and...
Baltic PE and VC Funds Hold €1.4B in Dry Powder as Fundraising Surges
Baltic private equity and venture capital funds have amassed roughly $1.53 billion in dry‑powder by the end of 2025, a 126% increase from the prior year after raising about $818 million in 2025. Investment activity stayed steady, with $523 million deployed across 243...
European Startup Boom Triggers Fresh VC Surge as AI Fuels Growth
European AI‑powered startups are drawing unprecedented venture capital, highlighted by Lovable’s $6.6 billion valuation and a 33 % revenue jump. Median European VC fund size has tripled to $105 million, signaling a structural shift that could reshape global funding flows.
Armada Closes Series B and Opens US Factory to Scale Sovereign AI Infrastructure at the Edge
Armada, a maker of modular AI data centers for remote and sensitive sites, closed an oversubscribed Series B round co‑led by Overmatch, BlackRock and 8090 Industries, bringing total capital close to $500 million. The round added strategic investors Johnson Controls, NightDragon, Mitsui...
Abcoffee Raises Rs 61 Cr in Pre-Series B Round Led by Kliff Ventures
abcoffee, a grab‑and‑go coffee chain founded in 2022, secured Rs 61 crore ($6.4 million) in a pre‑Series B round led by Kliff Ventures, with participation from Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures, Merisis Venture Fund and Stride Ventures. The funding will fuel expansion into new markets,...
European Tech Weekly Recap: Over €1.1B Invested Across 65+ Deals
Last week European tech startups secured over €1.1 billion (≈ $1.19 billion) across more than 65 funding rounds, accompanied by five exits and several M&A moves. The space sector attracted the most capital at €420.5 million (≈ $453 million), followed by software (€283.6 million/≈ $306 million) and fintech (€134.4 million/≈ $145 million)....
Udaan in Talks to Raise $50-60 Million From Existing Backers Lightspeed, M&G: Sources
B2B ecommerce platform Udaan is negotiating a $50‑60 million top‑up from existing investors Lightspeed and M&G at a flat $1.8 billion valuation, potentially its last private raise before an IPO. The company has slashed its EBITDA burn by 40% in FY25 and...
Former Citadel Quants Raise $78M for Moment AI Platform Targeting Wealth Managers
Moment, a fintech founded by former Citadel Securities quants, closed a $78 million Series B led by Index Ventures. The funding will expand its AI operating system that lets large wealth‑management firms deploy regulated AI agents for trading and client services.
Australian Tech Founders Push Back on Capital Gains Tax Reform Threatening Startup Funding
Australian tech entrepreneurs and venture capital investors are mobilising against the federal government's plan to replace the 50% capital gains tax discount with a cost‑based indexation system and a 30% minimum tax on real gains. They argue the change will...
Convective Secures $85 Million to Turn Disaster Resilience Into Investable Assets
Convective, an insurtech platform focused on pre‑disaster mitigation, closed an $85 million financing round to commercialise disaster‑resilience capital assets. The capital will fund flood barriers, wildfire detection, grid protection and analytics, signalling a shift toward prevention‑focused investing in the insurance ecosystem.