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
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.
Indian Startup Funding Plunges 70% in a Week, Scapia Secures $63M Amid Downturn
Indian startups raised $92.2 million across 17 deals between May 18‑22, a 70% drop from the prior week’s $303 million. Fintech firm Scapia alone secured $63 million, underscoring both the depth of the contraction and the concentration of capital in a few high‑profile rounds.
British Business Bank Makes £25 Million Cornerstone Commitment to Antler UK Fund II
The British Business Bank has pledged a £25 million ($32 million) cornerstone investment to Antler’s UK Fund II, marking the public‑sector’s first foray into a day‑zero venture capital firm. The commitment expands Antler’s largest single‑geography fund and signals a shift in UK...
China AI Start‑ups Pull $16.2 B in Q1, Tripling Funding as State‑Backed Capital Chases Scale
Chinese AI start‑ups secured more than 110 billion yuan ($16.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, nearly three times the amount raised a year earlier. The surge, driven by large‑language‑model and embodied‑AI projects, reflects a policy‑guided shift toward capital‑intensive, scale‑oriented ventures.
Mercury Secures $200 Million Series C, Valued at $5.2 Billion
Mercury announced a $200 million Series C financing that lifts its valuation to $5.2 billion. The capital will fund expansion of its banking platform for startups, adding AI‑driven services and broader credit products. The raise reflects strong market appetite for fintech solutions that...
Lightspeed Hires Creator‑investor Zau to Blend Social Media Reach with VC Sourcing
Lightspeed Venture Partners announced the hiring of Zau, a creator‑investor with more than 350,000 social‑media followers, to co‑lead its media strategy and seed‑stage investments. The move reflects a growing trend of venture firms leveraging personal brands to source deals and...
Ordermentum Lands $55m From Five V Capital
Sydney‑based Ordermentum secured $55 million from Five V Capital, lifting its valuation to over $150 million after a competitive global process led by Barrenjoey. The funding will accelerate AI development and fund acquisitions to broaden a platform that now connects roughly 50,000...
AI Economy Soars: Billions in Funding, Trillions in TAM
In ONE week: Anthropic raised $30B at a $900B valuation — overtaking OpenAI. OpenAI filed its S-1. SpaceX filed for a $75B IPO, and a $28T TAM. NextEra agreed to a $67B utility megamerger to power AI. The exponential economy...
Why Your Fund Is Not a Strategy Yet
The HealthVC newsletter warns that many emerging health‑venture funds mistake a market description for a genuine investment strategy. It argues that a fund must articulate why it can capture returns, not just cite sector size or geography. The piece breaks...
Mira Murati Leaves OpenAI, Launches Thinking Machines Lab with $2 B Seed Funding
OpenAI’s chief technology officer Mira Murati announced her departure in September 2024 and unveiled Thinking Machines Lab in February 2025. The new venture closed a $2 billion seed round at a $12 billion post‑money valuation, drawing senior talent from OpenAI, Anthropic and...
Quantum Bridge Secures $8 Million Series A to Deploy Quantum‑Resistant Network Security
Quantum Bridge Technologies announced an $8 million Series A round led by Primo Capital SGR, bringing its total funding to $16 million. The capital will accelerate deployment of its patented Distributed Symmetric Key Establishment protocol across financial, telecom, and government networks to...
Canadian VC Funding Plummets 22% in Q1 2026, Marking Deepening Venture Winter
Canadian venture capital investment totaled $1.12 billion CAD ($830 million USD) across 110 deals in Q1 2026, a 22% decline from a year earlier. The drop was driven by a sharp pullback of U.S. and other foreign investors, leaving domestic funds to...
Founders Lose 22% Equity Due to Multiple SAFE Caps
A founder raised 3 SAFEs at different valuation caps. $4M cap. $6M cap. $10M cap. When they got to Series A, they expected to own about 60% of their company. The actual number? 38%. They'd given away 22% more of their company than they...
FinTech Farther Raises $150 Million Series D to Accelerate AI‑Driven Wealth Management
Farther announced a $150 million Series D round led by General Atlantic, earmarked for scaling its AI‑powered wealth management platform. The funding comes as the firm reports $23 billion in recruited assets and aims to triple its year‑over‑year growth, signaling deeper tech...
Zoom’s Early Anthropic Stake Hits $1.27 B, Netting $1 B Gain
Zoom Communications reported that its early 2023 investment in AI startup Anthropic PBC is now worth $1.27 billion, delivering roughly $1 billion in gains. The valuation surge comes as Anthropic prepares another funding round, underscoring the financial upside of corporate venture bets...
Shastra VC Raises $100M Deep‑Tech and AI Fund for Indian Startups
Bengaluru‑based Shastra VC launched a $100 million deep‑tech and AI fund on May 21, aiming to write checks of $500,000 to $3 million for IP‑centric Indian startups. The raise doubles the firm’s capital under management and reflects growing limited‑partner appetite for Asian AI...
Cleo Ventures Closes €30M Fund II to Back European AI‑Native Startups
Paris‑based Cleo Ventures has closed a €30 million ($32.4 million) second fund to invest €300 k‑€1 m in pre‑seed and seed AI‑native founders. The fund’s “Trailblazers Club” of 40+ operators holds carried interest, a structure aimed at sharpening deal sourcing and value‑add.
Dropout’s $0 Buyout Shows a Viable Path Outside Growth‑At‑All‑Costs VC Model
Sam Reich acquired Dropout and its parent CollegeHumor for $0, then grew the comedy streaming platform without chasing massive user numbers or VC funding. The Atlantic interview highlights how the model relies on niche audience loyalty, ad‑free subscriptions and a...
Lightspeed Hires Creator‑investor to Fuse Social Media Reach with Early‑stage Funding
Lightspeed Venture Partners has brought on a creator‑investor with over 350,000 social‑media followers to co‑lead its seed‑stage investments and media outreach. The hire reflects a growing trend of venture firms using influencer reach to source deals and shape startup narratives.
BAI Capital Secures $600 Million First Close on $800 Million Asia‑Focused Growth Fund
BAI Capital announced that its new $800 million fund has reached a $600 million first close, underscoring robust limited‑partner demand for Asia‑centric growth investments. The fund will back companies that have validated technology, customer traction, and cross‑border expansion potential.
Anthropic Nears $30 B Funding Close Amid Secondary‑Market Frenzy
Anthropic is set to close a funding round that could exceed $30 billion at a valuation north of $900 billion, with Sequoia, Dragoneer, Altimeter and Greenoaks each pledging about $2 billion. The impending close has ignited a secondary‑share frenzy, with investors scrambling for...
DeepSeek Targets $10 Bn Valuation in 70 Bn Yuan AGI Funding Round
DeepSeek, the Hangzhou‑based AI lab, announced a 70 bn yuan ($10 bn) valuation target as it seeks at least $300 m in new capital. The round, the first to bring outside money into the lab, pits its open‑source, research‑first agenda against mounting pressure...
Nvidia Poured $18.6 Billion Into Venture-Capital Investments in Just Three Months. Where Does the Cash Trail Lead?
Nvidia reported $48.6 billion of free cash flow in the latest quarter, but used $18.58 billion to buy non‑marketable equity in private AI firms, swelling its portfolio to $42.3 billion. The venture‑style stakes in companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI are designed...
Kin Health Announces $9M Seed Round
Kin Health, a Los Angeles‑based free app that records medical visits and turns them into plain‑language summaries, announced a $9 million seed round. The financing was led by Maveron and included Town Hall Ventures, Flex Capital, Eniac Ventures, The Family Fund,...
The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Massive Deals For Medical Devices, Futuristic AI Gadgets And Frontier Labs Lead
Physical‑tech deals dominate the week’s top U.S. funding rounds, highlighted by a $1.5 billion corporate round for orthopedic‑device maker MiRus. AI startups also attracted massive capital, with Hark closing a $700 million Series A and Modal Labs securing $355 million at a $4.65 billion valuation....
Bedrock Data Raises $25M Series A, Adds VP of Engineering, VP of Marketing and Head of Revenue Ops
Bedrock Data closed a $25 million Series A round led by Greylock Partners and Snowflake Ventures, then announced three senior appointments: Vikram Arwade as VP of Engineering, Corinna Krueger as VP of Marketing and Amy Greenberg as Head of Revenue Operations....
Funding Friday: Public Markets > Private Investment
This week’s climate‑tech financing mix shows public markets gaining traction alongside traditional venture capital. European startup REPS secured $23.6 million to embed hydraulic plates in roadways, converting braking energy into electricity. Nuclear‑reactor pioneer Deep Fission announced a Nasdaq‑bound public offering at...
Maka Kids Secures $3 Million Seed Round to Launch Wellness‑Focused Kids Streaming App
Maka Kids announced a $3 million seed financing led by early‑stage investors to develop a streaming app for children ages zero to six that eschews recommendation algorithms, ads and auto‑play. Founders Isabel Sheinman and Tanyella Leta say the platform’s patent‑pending developmental...
How AI Is Reshaping Early-Stage Investment Due Diligence
Early-stage venture firms are drowning in a flood of startup data, prompting a shift from traditional pitch‑deck reviews to AI‑driven analysis. Artificial intelligence now parses thousands of submissions, linking revenue trends, retention metrics, hiring activity, and market signals to surface...
Part I: Forus Just Raised $160M at a $1B Valuation to Become the Operational Routing Layer for Specialty Rx &...
The episode examines Forus (formerly Tandem), a New York startup that raised $160 million at a $1 billion valuation to become the operational routing layer for specialty prescription drugs. Host explains that investors are betting on healthcare orchestration— the invisible transaction network...
Hark Lands $700 M Series A at $6 B Valuation to Build a Universal AI Personal‑assistant Platform
AI hardware startup Hark announced a $700 million Series A round led by Parkway Venture Capital, valuing the company at $6 billion post‑money. The round, backed by all four major U.S. chip makers and a slate of venture firms, will fund the launch...
![[Weekly Funding Roundup May 16-22] VC Inflow Crosses $124M This Week as Fintech Leads Revival](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://images.yourstory.com/cs/2/220356402d6d11e9aa979329348d4c3e/WeeklyFundingRoundupNewLogo1-1739546168054.jpg)
[Weekly Funding Roundup May 16-22] VC Inflow Crosses $124M This Week as Fintech Leads Revival
India’s venture capital market rebounded in the week of May 16‑22, with startups raising roughly $124.4 million across 15 disclosed deals. Fintech led the surge, highlighted by Scapia’s $63 million Series C and Solfin’s $29 million round, together accounting for more than 73% of...
Alice & Bob Secures NVentures Backing and Backs Expanded €1 Billion French Plan Quantique
Alice & Bob secured a strategic investment from NVIDIA’s venture arm, NVentures, expanding its Series B round to €100 million ($116 million). The funding coincides with France’s President Macron announcing an additional €1 billion ($1.16 billion) for the Plan Quantique, reinforcing Europe’s sovereign quantum agenda. The...
Muybridge Raises $16M to Scale AI Imaging and Virtual Camera Technology
Muybridge announced a $16 million funding round to accelerate its software‑defined imaging platform, which creates virtual camera angles using dense 4K sensor arrays and real‑time GPU processing. The capital will fund expansion into Europe and the United States, grow its engineering...
AI Therapy Platform The Path Secures $14.3M Seed Funding to Scale Mental Health Services
The Path announced a $14.3 million seed round led by Prime Movers Lab, with strategic backing from Tony Robbins, Olympic champion Apolo Anton Ohno, boxer Deontay Wilder and Designer Fund. The capital will fund team growth, mobile rollout and multi‑center clinical research,...
ICYMI Fintech Funding Round-Up: Getquin, Synthetic, Jia, and More
FinTech Futures’ weekly ICYMI roundup highlights six funding deals across Europe and the United States, ranging from Getquin’s €12 million ($13 million) Series round to Synthetic’s $10 million seed and Checker’s $8 million stablecoin infrastructure raise. The capital is earmarked for AI‑driven product upgrades,...
Hamilton Lane Hits $1 Trillion Asset Footprint as LP‑GP Dynamics Shift
Hamilton Lane announced a $1 trillion total asset footprint for Q4 2026, with assets under management climbing to $142 billion and fee‑related revenue up 20% to $687 million. The firm also doubled its share‑buyback authorization to $100 million, underscoring a strategic push in evergreen products...
WePay Co-Founder Clerico Seals $85m Debut Raise for Disaster Relief-Focused VC Firm Convective Capital
Convective Capital, a venture‑capital firm dedicated to disaster‑relief technologies, closed its debut fund with $85 million in commitments. The firm was founded by Bill Clerico, co‑founder of fintech platform WePay, who is steering the fund toward early‑stage solutions that improve preparedness...
N49P Eyes $70m for Fourth Canada-Focused Tech Seed Fund, Hits $25m First Close
Canadian pre‑seed investor N49P announced a first close of $25 million CAD (≈$18.5 million USD) for its fourth fund, which aims to raise a total $70 million CAD (≈$52 million USD). The capital is being sourced from a group of limited partners that includes...
Sharebot Secures Hundreds of Millions of Yuan to Expand Robot‑as‑a‑Service Into Manufacturing
Shanghai‑based Sharebot closed a Series A and Series A+ round raising hundreds of millions of yuan, lifting its valuation to 7 billion yuan ($1.03 bn). The funding will shift the company from exhibition‑focused rentals to a Robot‑as‑a‑Service model for manufacturing, warehousing and industrial parks.
Convective Capital Closes $85 Million Disaster‑Resilience Fund
Convective Capital announced the close of an $85 million disaster‑resilience fund, led by Bill Clerico. Backed mainly by institutional investors, the fund expands the firm’s “firetech” thesis to broader physical‑risk mitigation, targeting a market of $60 trillion in at‑risk real estate.
Prelude Secures $20 Million Series A to Build AI‑Driven Trust Platform
Paris‑based Prelude closed a €17.2 million ($20 million) Series A round led by 20VC, adding investors such as Singular, Seedcamp, Deel and FDJ Ventures. The funding will fuel the rollout of its new Auth and Intel APIs, aiming to cut verification costs...
Hark Raises $700M to Build Personalized AI Hardware
San Jose‑based Hark announced a $700 million financing round that values the startup at $6 billion post‑money. The round was led by Parkway Venture Capital and featured strategic investors such as NVIDIA, AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and ARK...
EU Moves Forward on $5.8B Scale-Up Fund to Keep Startups From Leaving
The European Commission has approved a €5 billion ($5.8 billion) Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by Swedish private‑equity firm EQT and backed by investors such as Allianz, CriteriaCaixa and Novo Holdings. The fund is designed to provide growth‑stage capital to European tech companies,...
CircuitHub Secures $28M From Plural to Scale Cloud‑Style PCB Production
CircuitHub, the Cambridge‑based automated electronics factory, closed a $28 million Series A led by Plural. The funding will fuel the rollout of its “Grid” factories across the United States and Europe, aiming to bring cloud‑like economics to low‑volume printed‑circuit‑board production. The move...
Antler Opens 27th Office in San Francisco, Highlighting VC Shift Beyond Silicon Valley
Antler inaugurated its 27th worldwide office in San Francisco in 2025, becoming the firm’s third U.S. location after Austin and New York. The move underscores the firm’s strategy to source talent globally and reflects a broader decentralization of venture capital...
VCs Exaggerate Early Involvement to Boost Credibility
VC telling a story: "Back when we invested in the early days..." Narrator: "They did not, in fact, invest in the early days."
Figure AI's CEO Just Raised $700 Million for His Next Big Bet
Figure AI founder Brett Adcock launched Hark, a San Jose AI lab, and secured $700 million in a Series A round that values the startup at $6 billion. The round was led by Parkway Venture Capital with participation from Nvidia, AMD Ventures, Salesforce...
SignalFire Partner Oana Olteanu Secures Green Card, Launches Seed Fund Backing $12B AI Startup
SignalFire partner Oana Olteanu secured a U.S. green card and is using her position to back billion‑dollar AI companies, including the $12 billion‑valued Poolside. She is also launching her own seed‑stage fund, Motive Force, to target overlooked founders in AI, enterprise...
August Robotics Raises $30M in Series B Funding for Autonomous Construction Robotics
August Robotics announced a $30 million Series B round led by Big Pi Ventures, with participation from Blackbird, Skip Capital, Tanarra, Future Family Office and GS Futures. The capital will accelerate AI development, new autonomous drilling robots, and scale production for construction...