Vega Raises $120M Series B to Rethink How Enterprises Detect Cyber Threats
Vega Security announced a $120 million Series B round, lifting its valuation to $700 million. The Boston‑based startup aims to overturn the traditional SIEM model by analyzing security data where it already resides—in cloud services, data lakes, and existing storage—using an AI‑native platform. Backed by Accel, Cyberstarts, Redpoint and CRV, Vega will accelerate product development, expand its go‑to‑market team and pursue global customers. The move positions Vega as a direct challenger to legacy players like Splunk, which was recently acquired by Cisco.
Lightspeed Selects 4 Deeptech Startups for Its India Ascends 2026 Cohort
Lightspeed India has announced its India Ascends 2026 cohort, selecting four deep‑tech startups founded by entrepreneurs under 25. The cohort targets frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, space, robotics, biotechnology, and defense, and is backed by partners Anthropic, Groq, Google...
Hauler Hero Collects $16M for Its AI Waste Management Software
Hauler Hero announced a $16 million Series A round led by Frontier Growth, bringing its total venture funding above $27 million. The Boston‑based startup offers an all‑in‑one AI‑powered platform that manages CRM, billing, routing and now three AI agents for vision, chat and...
AI Firm Multiverse Said to Hit €1.5 Billion Value With New Funds
Spanish AI software firm Multiverse Computing is negotiating a €500 million financing round. The capital raise would lift its post‑money valuation above €1.5 billion. Sources said the round is slated to close in the first half of 2026 and will introduce new...
Inside the Deal: Eudia’s $105M Series A to Transform Legal Work Through AI-Powered Augmented Intelligence
Eudia, a Palo Alto‑based legal‑tech startup, closed a Series A round of up to $105 million in February 2025, led by General Catalyst and backed by a slate of prominent investors. The funding follows an 18‑month stealth period and comes as the company...
Former GitHub CEO Raises Record $60M Dev Tool Seed Round at $300M Valuation
Former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke’s startup Entire secured a $60 million seed round, valuing the company at $300 million, the largest seed financing ever for a developer‑tool venture. Entire offers an open‑source platform that records AI‑generated code, prompts, and decision transcripts, beginning...
Deep Fission Raises $80 Million To Scale Underground Nuclear Reactor Technology
Deep Fission announced an $80 million financing round, selling over five million restricted shares at $15 each. The capital will fund its underground borehole‑installed small modular pressurised water reactors, a design the company says can cut construction costs by up to...
Oxide Raises $200M Series C
Oxide announced a $200 million Series C round, doubling the size of its recent Series B. The capital was raised exclusively from existing investors, reflecting strong backer confidence despite the company already achieving product‑market fit with its hardware offering. Oxide argues the infusion...
Newo Lands $25M to Bring Production-Ready AI Receptionists to Small Businesses
Newo Inc. announced a $25 million Series A round to accelerate its AI receptionist platform for small and medium‑sized businesses. The solution provides human‑like voice, SMS and chat agents that handle calls, appointment booking, lead qualification, and handoffs using a Zero‑Hallucination Architecture....
Matia Raises $21M to Help Enterprises Consolidate Their Data Management Operations
Matia announced a $21 million Series A round, led by Red Dot Capital, bringing its total funding above $31 million. The startup offers a unified DataOps platform on AWS that merges ETL, reverse‑ETL, observability and catalog functions into a single interface. It can...
Proptech Startup Smart Bricks Raises $5 Million Pre-Seed Led by A16z
Smart Bricks, a London‑San Francisco proptech, announced a $5 million pre‑seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The AI‑powered platform ingests millions of data points to deliver autonomous valuation, cash‑flow forecasting, and risk modeling for real‑estate deals. It also automates the transaction workflow,...
AI Video Startup Runway Raises $315M at $5.3B Valuation, Eyes More Capable World Models
Runway, the AI video generation startup, closed a $315 million Series E round, lifting its valuation to $5.3 billion. The capital will fund the pre‑training of next‑generation world models and broaden product reach into sectors such as gaming, robotics, and climate science. Runway’s...
North Africa Rises on Deals as MENA AI Funding Hits $858 Million
AI venture capital in the Middle East and North Africa surged to $858 million in 2025, representing 22% of total regional VC and 29% of all deals. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia dominated funding, absorbing 87% of AI capital,...
Antler Launches Always-On Nordic Residency and $100M+ Fund to Accelerate Startup Investment
Antler has unveiled an always‑on residency for Nordic founders, backed by the $100 million‑plus Antler Nordic Fund II—three times larger than its first fund. The continuous program replaces biannual cohorts and can approve investments within two to six weeks. Selected startups receive...
Clean-Tech Startup PadCare Labs Raises $3 Mn Led by Rainmatter
PadCare Labs, a clean‑tech firm specializing in sanitary‑waste recycling, secured $3 million in a pre‑Series A round led by Rainmatter, with participation from 3one4 Capital, Brigade REAP, PKRBCV Shroff Trust, existing backers and debt from EXIM and ICICI banks. The capital will...
Entellus Industries Bags ₹50 Crore in Funding to Scale Rare Earth Metals and Alloy Manufacturing
Entellus Industries announced a ₹50 crore ($5.5 million) funding round led by ZeroW, adding to a prior $12 million raise from Social Capital. The capital will fund capital‑expenditure to launch sintered‑alloy production, targeting high‑stress automotive components such as engines and transmissions. The company...
ZAST.AI Raises $6M Pre-A to Scale "Zero False Positive" AI-Powered Code Security
ZAST.AI announced a $6 million Pre‑Series A round led by Hillhouse Capital, bringing total funding near $10 million. The Seattle‑based startup claims its AI‑driven platform delivers “zero false‑positive” code security by automatically generating and validating proof‑of‑concept exploits. In 2025 the company uncovered...
The Art Behind Scientific Pitch Decks: 6 Design Principles to Sell Your Science
The article outlines six design principles for crafting scientific pitch decks that translate complex research into investor‑ready narratives. It stresses that slide titles should form a coherent story, business models need visual simplification, and content density follows a 70:30 data‑to‑visual...
Ovation Secures $3M in Funding Led by Customers
Ovation, a guest‑experience platform for multi‑unit restaurants, closed a $3 million funding round funded entirely by its own customers, bringing its total capital to $12 million. Nearly a dozen restaurant owners and operators, including leaders from Dave's Hot Chicken and Cheba Hut...
AngelNV Programme Supporting First-Time Investor Education
StartUpNV has launched the 2026 AngelNV programme, a 13‑week curriculum that educates first‑time angel investors while linking them to high‑potential Nevada startups. The initiative builds on the Nevada Certified Investor law, which lowered investment thresholds and helped the prior cohort...
Energy Scaleup Group Secures £55m Series B Round
London‑based tem has closed a $75 million (£55 million) Series B round, led by Lightspeed Ventures and backed by Hitachi Ventures, Atomico and others. The startup, founded in 2021, offers what it calls the first AI‑native energy transaction infrastructure, combining an AI‑powered engine,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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,...
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...