Ironlight Group Raises $21M for Crypto Tokenized Securities:
Ironlight Group announced a $21 million Series A round to build blockchain infrastructure for tokenized securities. The round was led by former TD Bank CEO Greg Braca and other senior fintech investors. Ironlight aims to enable digital issuance, trading, and settlement of stocks, bonds, and private‑equity assets. The funding underscores growing institutional interest as major banks explore similar tokenization initiatives.
Letter #322: Doug Leone and Assaf Rappaport (2021)
In a candid conversation, Sequoia partner Doug Leone and Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport discuss Sequoia’s new permanent‑capital fund, its “spiky” founder ethos, and the firm’s expanding European presence. They highlight Wiz’s meteoric rise—from $1 million to $500 million ARR in 18 months—to...
What Top-Tier VCs Actually Look For in 2026
Fundraising in 2026 has slowed dramatically, with deals now taking six to nine months versus three to four in 2021. Seed investors expect the same unit‑economics and go‑to‑market rigor that once belonged at Series A, and AI startups command roughly 42%...
Who Will Be the "OpenEvidence of Europe"? Market Map and Critical Questions
OpenEvidence’s $150 million ARR and $12 billion valuation have sparked a debate about a European equivalent. Europe boasts over 2.3 million licensed physicians—roughly twice the U.S. pool—but linguistic and regulatory fragmentation hampers continent‑wide scaling. A crowded field of startups, incumbents like UpToDate, and...
Why Is Steph Curry Investing in Israeli Security Tech?
Steph Curry, through his advisory role at Penny Jar Capital, has joined major venture rounds for Israeli cybersecurity firms Upwind Security and Zafran, contributing over $300 million and $30 million respectively. Both startups are led by veterans of Israel’s elite Unit 8200 intelligence...
When Conviction Collapses Inside the VC Partnership
The piece dissects how conviction behind a Series A thesis can erode during internal investment‑committee debates, even when the memo is initially enthusiastic. It shows that individual partner belief must survive institutional dissent, and that reserve intensity, conditional language, and repeatability...
The OpenAI Valuation Trap: Someone’s Math Is Wrong
OpenAI’s current valuation of roughly $300 billion hinges on a projected $30‑50 billion in annual revenue by 2030, despite today’s $14 billion ARR and heavy compute burn. The post argues that rapid cost declines—about 80 % per year in model inference—are turning frontier AI...
Confirmed, Vast Data Raised $1 Billion at $30 Billion Valuation
Vast Data announced a $1 billion financing round, pushing its valuation to roughly $30 billion. The round was split evenly, with $500 million of new capital and $500 million of secondary‑market liquidity for early investors. The funding underscores the market’s confidence in Vast Data’s...
EDF Pulse Ventures Partners with Mara and NJJ to Support a New Phase of Exaion’s Development
EDF Pulse Ventures completed a transaction giving it a 64% stake in French HPC provider Exaion after regulatory clearance, while NJJ Capital acquired a 10% interest in Mara France, the partner that facilitated the deal. The agreement expands the Exaion...
Raising Capital in Health Tech when the Market Has No Patience for Excuses
Health‑tech founders face a stark two‑speed venture market: early‑stage capital has compressed while late‑stage money surges. Carta data shows seed rounds fell 28% YoY in Q1 2025 and Series A deal count dropped 18% YoY in Q2 2025, extending fundraising timelines to a...
Oxa Raises $103M to Automate Industrial Driving Tasks
UK‑based Oxa raised $103 million in a Series D round led by the National Wealth Fund, with participation from NVIDIA Ventures and other investors. The capital will fast‑track development of its Oxa Driver autonomous‑driving software and the Oxa Hub cloud platform, which...
Scaling AI for Everyone
OpenAI announced a $110 billion financing round that values the company at $730 billion pre‑money, with $30 billion each from SoftBank and Nvidia and $50 billion from Amazon. The capital backs a strategic partnership with Amazon and next‑generation inference compute from Nvidia, expanding global...
Corporate Value of the Global AI and Semiconductor Companies Invested by SK Square Increased up to Sevenfold in Two Years
South Korean conglomerate SK Square disclosed a KRW 30 billion investment in seven U.S. and Japanese AI and semiconductor startups, including data‑orchestration specialist Hammerspace. The fund, part of a KRW 100 billion program, has already generated outsized returns, with d‑Matrix’s market value soaring more...
Akave Raises $6.65M to Challenge Traditional Cloud Storage with Compute-Agnostic Platform Built for AI Applications
Akave has launched Akave Cloud, a decentralized, S3‑compatible storage platform built on Avalanche’s Layer 1 blockchain, targeting AI and analytics workloads. The service offers flat‑rate pricing at $14.99 per terabyte per month with zero egress fees, on‑chain verifiable audit trails, and...
Cursor Weighs Fresh Fundraise as Debate Rages on Coding Firm's Prospects
Cursor, the AI‑powered coding assistant, is reportedly exploring a fresh financing round as the startup navigates mixed signals about its long‑term viability. The company, backed by investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia, aims to capitalize on surging demand for...
One Billion Lost Packages
In September 2024 Hurricane Helene flooded Baxter International’s Marion, NC plant, halting 60% of U.S. IV‑fluid output and triggering nationwide shortages. The same month, 85 million U.S. packages arrived damaged—a 30% jump that cost roughly $4 billion. To address the chronic fragmentation...
Harvey and The LegalTech Fund to Invest in Startups Across the Ecosystem
Harvey, the AI‑driven legal platform, has partnered with The LegalTech Fund (TLTF) to co‑invest in emerging legal‑technology startups. The collaboration will leverage TLTF’s deal pipeline and Harvey’s product expertise to streamline startup vetting and potentially create a marketplace akin to...
CrawlJobs Closes Round at $3M Valuation to Expand AI Job Search
AI‑driven employment aggregator CrawlJobs announced the close of its first external funding round, valuing the company at $3 million. The round was led by senior executives from Fortune Global 500 firms and will fund expansion of its crawling infrastructure and the commercial...
Unlocking the Vault: Apollo Global and the Rise of the UK Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF):
The FCA‑approved Apollo Long‑Term Asset Fund (LTAF) opens UK defined‑contribution pensions to private credit, infrastructure and venture capital. By imposing 90‑ to 180‑day redemption windows, the fund avoids the liquidity mismatches that plagued earlier products. Apollo will channel pension capital...
16 Unicorn Pitch Decks: Before the Billions
The author has assembled a visual collection of 16 early‑stage pitch decks from companies now worth over $1.5 trillion, including Airbnb, Uber, Facebook and WeWork. The decks, ranging from eight to twelve slides, reveal that the most successful seed presentations are...
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-A16z Partner Michelle Volz Launches Pax Ventures with $50 Million First Fund to Bet on 'Industrial-Scale Markets'
Former Andreessen Horowitz partner Michelle Volz has launched Pax Ventures, a new venture fund with a $50 million first close. The fund targets “industrial‑scale” markets, backing startups that reinvent America’s manufacturing, defense, and critical materials sectors. Volz has already seeded deals...
Mary Technology Raises A$7M to Bring ‘Fact Management’ Platform to U.S. Market
Australian legal‑tech startup Mary Technology announced a A$7 million seed round, marking its largest fundraising to date. The capital will fund the launch of its fact‑management platform in the United States, including a new San Francisco office. The self‑serve solution is designed...
Last Week in Venture 3/8/2026
OpenAI announced a staggering $110 billion financing round, valuing the company at a pre‑money $730 billion, with Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank as anchor investors. The size of the deal eclipses the GDP of many nations, redefining what a private‑company valuation can look...
Litigation Startup Advocacy Announces $3.5M Investment, With Backing From Fenwick & West, Relativity Labs
Litigation startup Advocacy announced a $3.5 million seed investment backed by law firm Fenwick & West, legal‑tech pioneer Relativity Labs, and a consortium of Big Law, boutique firms, and law‑school investors. The capital will accelerate development of its cloud‑based platform that...
How Robinhood’s Venture Fund Listing Could Impact Fundrise Venture
Robinhood is launching Robinhood Venture Fund I (RVI) on the NYSE with an anticipated $25 share price, offering retail investors a closed‑end fund that mirrors private‑market exposure. The fund will charge a 2% annual management fee, reduced to 1% for...
ENPULSION Secures €22.5 Million to Expand US Market Presence
ENPULSION, an Austrian electric propulsion specialist, raised €22.5 million in growth funding led by Nordwind Growth to accelerate its US market expansion. The capital will fund scaling of production capacity and a strategic shift toward integrated, turnkey mobility solutions for satellite...
Pharma Funding Roundup: Cognito Therapeutics Closes Oversubscribed $105 Million Series C Financing, Nexcure Launches $19 Million Series A Financing
Cognito Therapeutics closed an oversubscribed $105 million Series C round to fund its at‑home Alzheimer’s stimulation device, Spectris, targeting a 2027 market launch after a pivotal readout. NexCure raised $19 million in a Series A to build an outpatient platform that standardizes and expands...
Cultivated Seafood Is Getting Real
San Diego‑based BlueNalu has raised $11 million in insider‑led financing to accelerate production of cultivated bluefin tuna toro, targeting a commercial launch in 2026. The funding will support scale‑up of bioreactor facilities and advance regulatory approval, with FDA clearance expected soon....
The Health System Opportunity Stack: A Builder’s Guide to the Most Underserved Enterprise in America
Health systems are drowning in operational blind spots, especially in financial operations, while existing software focuses on clinical documentation. The essay maps a high‑value opportunity stack—from payer‑contract intelligence and AP automation to workforce forecasting, OR utilization, and prior‑authorization automation—highlighting quantifiable...
Latitude59 Opens Pitch Applications as Investors Raise the Bar on Operational Readiness
Latitude59 has opened applications for its 2026 pitch competition, with a deadline of April 15, 2026. The event will take place May 20‑22 in Tallinn, featuring jurors, mentors, and regional angel networks. Last year attracted 407 applications from 48 countries,...
Ayar Labs Closes $500M Series E, Accelerates Volume Production of Co-Packaged Optics
Ayar Labs announced a $500 million Series E round led by Neuberger Berman, bringing total funding to $870 million and valuing the company at $3.75 billion. The capital will be used to scale high‑volume production and testing of its co‑packaged optics (CPO) solution, expand...
Your Cap Table Didn't Kill Your Round
The article argues that a messy cap table is rarely the true cause of a failed funding round; investors often use vague equity complaints as a polite rejection. Real cap‑table issues are solvable with time, money, and transparency, but they...
DeepIP Closes on $25M Series B Funding Round
DeepIP announced the close of a $25 million Series B financing round. The capital will accelerate development of its generative AI assistant designed for patent work. Existing investors participated alongside new venture partners. The funding underscores growing investor confidence in...
MyWay Digital Health Secures £3m to Scale NHS Diabetes Tool
Edinburgh‑based MyWay Digital Health has raised £3 million from Foresight Group to scale its clinically validated MyWay Diabetes platform, already deployed across several NHS regions. The funding will accelerate growth, broaden the product suite and fund AI‑enabled predictive analytics and personalized...
Is OpenAI an Asian Story?
SoftBank played a pivotal role in OpenAI's $110 billion funding round, positioning the Japanese conglomerate as a key backer of the AI leader. The investment goes beyond traditional venture capital, targeting the compute, chip, cloud, and energy infrastructure needed for large‑scale...
Databricks Overtakes Snowflake
Databricks has overtaken Snowflake in quarterly revenue, now leading by $120 million after a $220 million gap two years ago. The shift is driven by AI’s demand for unstructured data, which Databricks processes directly from object storage without migration. Databricks SQL grew...
Stay22 Lands US$122M Investment From Summit Partners to Accelerate International AI Expansion
Stay22, a Montreal‑based creator‑economy platform, secured a $122 million growth capital infusion from private‑equity firm Summit Partners. The company reported processing more than $1 billion in transactions last year, underscoring its rapid adoption among event‑driven merchants. The new funding will be directed...
15 Angel Investments and All Failures
A seasoned angel disclosed that all 15 of his investments have gone to zero, underscoring the brutal failure rate of early‑stage startups. While diversification is a common mantra, statistics show that a sizable share of startups never reach meaningful revenue,...
Venture Fraud | NBER
The NBER study compiled the first large‑scale dataset of 614 U.S. venture‑capital‑backed startups that faced fraud charges since 2000. It shows VC‑backed firms are 54% more likely to be charged with fraud than comparable non‑VC firms in a public‑company subsample....
Telenor Amp Makes Investment in US-Based AI Player Telgea
Telenor Amp is committing $3 million to US‑based AI startup Telgea, part of a $5 million funding round that also includes Node, Antler VC and Runway. Telgea’s platform uses eSIM technology and AI automation to consolidate employee mobile subscriptions across borders, offering...
YOU(th) Closes US$4.5m Health Screening Round
YOU(th) has secured US$4.5 million to scale its AI‑driven smartphone health‑screening platform, which evaluates over 50 digital biomarkers in under two minutes. The round was led by Callisto Health with participation from caesar., adesso Ventures, Antler, Moonstone, 1024 Ventures and notable...
Exclusive: Confido Legal Raises $9 Million to Expand Embedded Payments and Disbursements for Law Firms
Confido Legal, an embedded payments platform for law firms, raised $9 million across two financing rounds, with the larger tranche led by Aquiline Capital Partners. The funding will accelerate product development, API integration, and geographic expansion. Confido’s solution embeds billing, escrow,...
Legal Marketing Company FirmPilot Raises $22M in Series A Funding
Legal marketing platform FirmPilot announced a $22 million Series A round, with Thomson Reuters Ventures among the backers. The capital will fund new integrations with leading case‑management systems and the creation of a proprietary generative AI model. FirmPilot aims to broaden its...
Direct-to-Business Legal AI Startup Inhouse Announces $5M in Seed Funding
Inhouse, a direct‑to‑business legal AI startup, announced a $5 million seed financing round. The capital will be deployed to strengthen its agentic AI platform that blends machine learning with on‑demand human lawyers. By focusing on small and midsize enterprises, Inhouse aims...
60 Million Reasons to Pay Attention: The Investment Thesis Behind Chamber Cardio’s Series A
Chamber Cardio announced a $60 million Series A round in February 2026, led by Frist Cressey Ventures and backed by General Catalyst, Optum Ventures, Healthworx and other investors. The startup offers a two‑sided platform that connects payers with cardiology practices, embedding workflow‑native AI...
Brainomix Raises £18.8m for AI Stroke and Lung Tools
Brainomix announced a £18.8 million Series C extension, adding £4.8 million to accelerate its AI‑driven imaging platforms. The capital will fund rapid US deployment of Brainomix 360 Stroke, which automates acute stroke assessment, and E‑Lung, a CT‑based tool for fibrosing lung disease. The company, already...
Bajaj Finserv’s $1 Billion Push Into Alternatives:
Bajaj Finserv is launching a $1 billion alternative‑investment platform under Bajaj Alternate Investment Management, targeting four verticals—private equity/venture capital, liquid alternatives, listed equity, and real estate. The firm plans to raise roughly ₹1,500‑₹2,000 crore per strategy within the next 18‑24 months, with...
Sirion Completes Majority Investment From Haveli, Aiming to Accelerate AI Push in CLM Market
Sirion, an AI‑native contract lifecycle management platform, completed a majority investment from Austin‑based private‑equity firm Haveli Investments, giving Haveli a controlling stake and buying out earlier backers such as Sequoia and Tiger Global. The recapitalization, described as a strategic board‑level simplification...
Sirion Completes Majority Investment From Haveli, Aiming to Accelerate AI Push in CLM Market
Sirion, an AI‑native contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform, has completed a majority investment from Austin‑based private‑equity firm Haveli Investments. The capital infusion gives Haveli a controlling stake and will be used to speed up AI‑driven product innovation and broaden Sirion’s...
