Today's Venture Capital Pulse
CuspAI lands $400M round, valuation jumps to $2.6B
Cambridge‑based AI materials startup CuspAI announced a $400 million financing round that lifts its valuation to $2.6 billion. The round was led by Jeff Bezos’s family office Bezos Expeditions alongside Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed and Temasek. The capital will accelerate rollout of enterprise‑grade AI tools and expand R&D in London.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Respond raises $62.5M Series B
E692 | Debbie Wosskow OBE, Chair of the UK’s Invest in Women Task Force: Mixed Teams, Better Returns, Real Incentives
In this episode, Andreas interviews Debbie Wosskow OBE, a serial founder and chair of the UK’s Invest in Women Task Force, about the shift from gender‑equity intentions to actual capital flows in venture. She explains how aligning incentives and power structures within institutional investors can unlock funding for women‑led companies, and argues that gender equity is a measurable performance driver rather than a charitable add‑on. Drawing on 25 years of experience, Wosskow highlights the need for mixed‑team investment models, real‑world metrics, and policy levers to move money and improve outcomes for female founders.
Hypersonic Systems Startup Emerges From Stealth with Series A and Test Launch
Munich‑based Hypersonica has emerged from stealth, announcing a €23.3 million Series A round led by Plural and backed by Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, General Catalyst and 201 Ventures. The startup also reported its first successful hypersonic missile test on 3 February from...
Vesiro Raises €1.6M to Optimise Elasticsearch and Lower Server Energy Use
Vesiro, a Gothenburg spin‑out from Chalmers University, secured €1.6 million in seed funding backed by Chalmers Ventures, Industrifonden and other investors. The startup offers a performance‑focused plug‑in for Elasticsearch that accelerates search queries and reduces the number of servers required. Internal...
Deel Has $21 Million up for Grabs in Its Global Seed-Stage Startup Comp, The Pitch
Deel, the global HR and payroll platform, has launched The Pitch, an international competition offering a $15 million prize pool for seed‑stage startups. Up to 100 regional winners will each receive $50,000, while ten global champions can earn $1 million to accelerate...
Early Learning Startup Panda’s Box Raises Rs 1.2 Cr From Shark Tank India
Panda’s Box, a screen‑free early‑learning startup founded in 2022, secured Rs 1.2 crore after appearing on Shark Tank India. The round was led by investors Aman Gupta and Namita Thapar. The capital will fund product development, broaden distribution, and boost the brand’s...
When IPOs Freeze, Liquidity Finds Another Way
The 2025 Endeavor Catalyst report shows a dramatic rise in private liquidity, with ten secondary sales and acquisitions compared with just one in 2024. Global secondary market volume is on track to hit US$122 billion in 2025, nearly six times the...
Nirav Mody Backs SportsSkill Ladder, Launches Beta Platform
SportsSkill Ladder, a sports‑tech startup, has secured a lead investment from serial investor Nirav Mody, though the amount remains undisclosed. The funding will accelerate product development, user‑experience enhancements, and platform scalability ahead of a broader rollout. The company launched a...
Deals in Brief: Sleek EV and Polybee Raise Funding, Sea Limited Backs Noematrix, Eight Other China Investments, and More
Sleek EV secured $8.5 million Series A to expand Thailand production, AI software and battery‑swap networks, positioning the firm as a regional two‑wheel electric leader by 2026. Singapore‑based Polybee raised $4.3 million to scale its AI‑driven agricultural drones across 4,000 acres, while Australian...
Afreximbank Announces 8 Accelerator Finalists
Afreximbank has announced the eight finalists of its inaugural Accelerator program, chosen from more than 1,600 applications. The three‑month initiative, starting in March, will provide each startup with up to $250,000 in equity financing, mentorship, and access to the bank’s...
Dr. Phone Fix Reports Preliminary 2025 Revenue of $12.1 Million, EBITDA Improvement
Dr. Phone Fix Canada Corp. posted preliminary 2025 results showing revenue of about $12.1 million, a 19% increase over 2024, and adjusted EBITDA rising to roughly $0.6 million. Gross margins remained in the high‑40% range while the store base expanded from 35 to...
Naboo Raises $70M From Lightspeed for AI-Powered Events Procurement
Paris‑based event‑tech startup Naboo announced a $70 million Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Notion Capital, ISAI and Ternel. The financing follows a €20 million Series A and supports the company’s expansion beyond its core events platform into a...
CZ's Untold Story: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Binance's Founder
The All‑In panel traces Changpeng Zhao’s (CZ) journey from his immigrant childhood in Canada to founding Binance, detailing his early tech career, the launch of his first Shanghai startup, and his discovery of Bitcoin that led him to go all‑in...
Petcare Startup Supertails Raises $30 Mn Led by Venturi Partners
Petcare startup Supertails secured $30 million in a funding round led by Venturi Partners, with participation from Nippon India Alternative Investments, Titan Capital Winners Fund and existing backers. The round values the company at roughly $130 million post‑money and brings total capital...
Bose-Funded Noise Revenue Declines 24% to Rs 1,048 Cr in FY25
Noise, the Bose‑backed Indian wearables brand, reported FY25 revenue of Rs 1,048 crore, a 24% drop from the prior year. Operating expenses fell 25% to Rs 1,067 crore, aligning with the revenue contraction. A deferred tax benefit of Rs 47 crore pushed the...
Start-Up Funding, the Perils of Compounding, and Neuropsych Insights — a BioCentury Podcast
BioCentury reports that 2025 ended a four‑year decline in biotech series A financing, with 144 companies raising $8 billion. The “BioCentury This Week” podcast highlights which venture‑capital‑backed firms attracted capital and what the trends indicate for emerging technologies. Washington editor Steve Usdin...
The Next Wave of Biotech Growth — a Perspective
Biotech investors have long chased scientific hype that rarely translated into commercial wins, often leaving value to large pharma. The article argues the next growth wave will stem from biotechs launching independent therapeutics that achieve meaningful sales, mirroring the early‑2010s...
Operata Raises $11 Million Series A as AI Reshapes Contact Centres
Melbourne‑born SaaS firm Operata secured an $11 million Series A round, lifting its valuation to $100 million. The funding, led by Tidal Ventures with participation from Glitch Capital and existing backers, will accelerate integration with major contact‑centre platforms and global expansion. Operata positions...
MrBeast’s Company Buys Gen Z-Focused Fintech App Step
YouTube star MrBeast’s holding company, Beast Industries, announced the acquisition of Step, a teen‑focused banking app with more than 7 million Gen Z users. Step, which has raised roughly $500 million and counts celebrity investors such as Charli D’Amelio and Will Smith, offers...
Neara Powers up to Unicorn Status with $90 Million Capital Raise
Neara, a Sydney‑based digital‑twin startup, secured $90 million in a Series D round, pushing its valuation above $1 billion. The round, led by TCV and joined by existing backers, brings total external capital to roughly $180 million. Neara’s AI‑driven platform now models 15 million assets...
2026 AI Agent Deals: Contracts Over Collaboration?
So we added one new AI Agent to our arsenal this week, and it's a great one, even though it's pretty new. Much more to come. And another? In the end, we decided not to deploy it. What happened? It's...
Founders Quitting in AI Era Shows Lack of Resilience
Watching three 3 founder CEOs at $200m+ ARR quit their start-ups the past 2 weeks or so. On the one hand, I get it. Growth way down, no M&A options, it was supposed to get easier at that stage. Now...
Databricks Closes $7B+ Financing Round at $134B Valuation
Databricks announced a financing round exceeding $7 billion, lifting its valuation to $134 billion. The round includes more than $5 billion in equity and $2 billion in debt, led by JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft and other major banks. The capital will accelerate development of the...
Upcoming Events for Founders & Investors
Three upcoming events worth checking out for anyone building or investing: 🤖 Lead Your Team With AI - February 24, virtual A practical session on how founders can effectively use AI to lead their teams. Featuring Doug Peete, CPO at https://t.co/Wcl0Ro2nMv 🤝...
Modveon Banks $10 Million Funding
Modveon, a Palo Alto‑based startup building a verified operating system for governments and citizens, announced a $10 million financing round. The round was backed by Coinbase Ventures, Firebolt Ventures, Humla Ventures, Strategic Cyber Ventures, and several angel investors. The capital will...
Reflecting on the Significance of Today’s Moment
Great post that explores this moment in time...
Waymo Raises $16B Investment Round
Waymo announced a $16 billion financing round that lifts its post‑money valuation to $126 billion. The round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and other heavyweight firms. Alphabet...
Harvey Reportedly Raising at $11B Valuation Just Months After It Hit $8B
Harvey, the legal‑AI startup, is reportedly negotiating a $200 million raise that would push its valuation to $11 billion, led by Sequoia and Singapore’s GIC. This follows a rapid funding series: a $300 million Series D at $3 billion, a $300 million Series E at $5 billion, and...
Only 26 African Startups Raised $174 Million in January. Here’s What It Signals
African startups raised just $174 million in January 2026, $102 million less than the same month last year and far below the 12‑month average of $263 million. Only 26 companies secured more than $100,000, the lowest January count since 2020. Two deals –...
UAE’s Omnispay Closes $2m Round to Expand AI-Native SME Payments and Credit Platform
UAE fintech Omnispay closed a $2 million pre‑Series A round led by Infinity Value Capital to accelerate its AI‑native SME finance platform. The company, which cut settlement times to 24 hours, has doubled its customer base, quadrupled processing volume and lifted revenue 5.5‑fold...
Anthropic Closes in on $20B Round
Anthropic is nearing the close of a $20 billion financing round that values the AI startup at $350 billion, more than double its original target. The bulk of the capital is expected from strategic partners Nvidia and Microsoft, alongside a slate of...
SPAC Ecosystem Is Undergoing Significant Transformation : Analysis
The SPAC market, which exploded in 2021 with over 600 offerings raising $162 billion, has entered a maturation phase as of 2025‑2026. New SEC regulations introduced in 2024 have forced sponsors to adopt tighter disclosure, performance‑linked incentives and longer deal timelines,...
Avoid Exclusivity: Protect Your Deal Leverage
Buyers and investors will commonly request exclusivity as part of a transaction process. As a founder, you should be hesitant to grant that request. Exclusivity is a period of time in which a seller is locked into negotiation with just...
VC Token Hype Ends; GPs Exit, LPs Furious
"All the general partners are leaving. LPs are pissed. The VC-token flashy side of the industry is done The game has changed And now everyone wants to be like us." @nic_carter https://t.co/gNuh8qfmoE
Physical AI Robotics Draws Millions in Funding as Digital Markets Face Correction
In 2025 venture capital redirected billions from speculative crypto to physical AI robotics, allocating $211 billion to hardware solutions. Global venture funding reached $425 billion, highlighted by Mimic Robotics’ $16 million seed round to develop dexterous robot end‑effectors for manufacturing. ETH Zurich researchers...
Kyle Samani Reportedly Exits Entire Multicoin Capital Stake
The rumor on the street is that Kyle Samani redeemed his entire position in Multicoin Capital, say @nic_carter and @austincampbell https://t.co/gNuh8qeOz6
Avoid Copycats: Dare to Think Differently for Startup Survival
When the typical outcome for a post seed, post series A, and post series B startup is death. Perhaps the best strategy is to be careful how much you copy the startups around you. Are you brave enough...
Investors Believe AI Will Replace Labor Costs Instead of Just Software
Investors are increasingly betting that generative AI will replace labor costs rather than compete for traditional IT budgets. Lightspeed partner Sebastian Duesterhoeft argues AI captures the far larger pool of workforce spend, a view reinforced by Anthropic’s $350 billion valuation after...
Being a VC Is Mostly About Mastering Sales
Aspiring VCs - do you know VC is a ton of sales? Externally: - Pitching to LPs - Winning over founders & other VCs - Recruiting talent Internally: - Pitching new deals to your team - Proposing new firm initiatives - Suggesting new firm processes
FinTech Funding Soars: Over $1 B Raised in February
February FinTech funding off to flying start with over $1bn raised https://t.co/2EDie8Yh7q $1.02bn raised across 29 rounds. Past two-weeks Fintech funding topped $2.3bn.
Galux Raises $29M Series B; CSL Teams up with Memo
South Korean biotech Galux secured $29 million in a Series B round to accelerate its AI‑driven research platform that designs novel protein therapeutics. The funding, led by regional venture partners, will expand Galux’s computational pipeline and scale up pre‑clinical collaborations. In parallel,...
Bug‑Fix Speed Reveals a Founder’s True Mastery
If you use any software, you will hit bugs. Only a tiny 5% of your users will ever report bugs. The speed at which those bugs are fixed is the true measure of a founder in mastery of their craft.
Veteran Investor Appointed as BBB’s Managing Director of Direct Equity
The British Business Bank has named Charlotte Lawrence as managing director of direct equity, tasking her with overseeing the bank’s direct and co‑investment activities. Her appointment follows 2025 reforms that require the bank to increase both the number and size...
Call for Speakers: TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026
TechCrunch is inviting seasoned founders, VCs, and operators to lead roundtable sessions at its Founder Summit on June 23, 2026 in Boston. The event will gather over 1,100 founders and investors to discuss real‑world scaling challenges. Roundtables are 30‑minute, slide‑free...
The Battle Begins: 2026 Startup Battlefield 200 Nominations Are Open
TechCrunch has opened nominations for the Startup Battlefield 200, the flagship competition at Disrupt 2026 in Boston. Early‑stage founders with an MVP can compete for a $100,000 equity‑free prize, free exhibit space, and extensive media exposure. The event draws world‑class VC judges...
Gather AI, Maker of ‘Curious’ Warehouse Drones, Lands $40M Led by Keith Block’s Firm
Gather AI announced a $40 million Series B round led by Keith Block’s Smith Point Capital, bringing its total funding to $74 million. The Boston startup equips warehouse cameras and autonomous drones with a Bayesian‑based AI that ‘gets curious’ to scan barcodes, expiration...
375: How AI Is Changing Healthtech Investing, According to Define Ventures’ Lynne Chou O’Keefe
In this episode, Lynne Chou O’Keefe, founder and managing partner of Define Ventures, discusses how AI is reshaping health‑tech investing amid a fragmented healthcare system and the shift toward value‑based care. She outlines three phases of AI adoption—from streamlining administrative...
Outtake Raises $40 Million to Bolster Digital Trust Against AI-Driven Threats
Outtake, a cybersecurity startup, announced a $40 million Series B round to accelerate its unified digital‑trust platform amid a surge in AI‑driven phishing and impersonation attacks. The round, led by ICONIQ and featuring investors such as Satya Nadella and Nikesh Arora, brings total capital...
M&A Earnouts for VC-Backed Companies
In this 30‑minute episode, the hosts break down how earnouts can bridge the valuation gap for VC‑backed companies during M&A transactions, emphasizing the need for solid legal structures rather than verbal promises. They walk listeners through the key clauses that...
Kyle Samani’s Hyperliquid Critique Sparks Speculation After Multicoin Exit
Kyle Samani departed Multicoin Capital and immediately launched a harsh critique of the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, calling it “everything wrong with crypto.” On‑chain analytics revealed Multicoin‑associated wallets buying more than $40 million of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token around the same time. Samani’s...
Saudi FinTech Safqah Capital Raises $15.2m Seed Round
Safqah Capital announced a $15.2 million seed round, one of the biggest pure‑equity seed raises in Saudi Arabia. The round was led by anb Seed Fund, Shorooq and Rua Growth Fund, with participation from 500 Global and other regional investors. Safqah...