Ecovia Bio Closes Series B Funding
Ecovia Bio, a Livonia, Michigan biotech firm that produces biopolymer ingredients, closed a Series B financing round led by Pointe Angels. The amount raised was not disclosed, but the capital will be used to expand manufacturing capacity at its Livonia facility. The expansion targets the AzuraBase and AzuraGel product families, which are seeing accelerating global demand. The round highlights growing investor confidence in sustainable biopolymer solutions for cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical markets.
Derapi Raises $7M in Seed Funding
Derapi, a San Francisco‑based software firm developing connective infrastructure for the distributed energy ecosystem, announced a $7 million seed financing round. The round was led by Earthshot Ventures and featured participation from Tuesday Capital, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, WYVC, Breakthrough Venture Capital,...
Peak XV Says Internal Disagreement Led to Partner Exits as It Doubles Down on AI
Peak XV Partners, a leading India‑Southeast Asia venture firm, announced the departure of three senior partners—Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma—after an internal disagreement. The trio plans to launch a new VC fund, while Peak XV promoted Abhishek Mohan...
RapidFort Raises $42M to Push Continuous Remediation for Software Supply Chain Security
RapidFort Inc. announced a $42 million Series A round to accelerate its continuous remediation platform for software supply chain security. The funding, led by Blue Cloud Ventures and Forgepoint Capital, will expand go‑to‑market efforts, enhance automated container hardening, and deepen adoption in...
Kasada Raises US$20M in Funding
Kasada, a New York cybersecurity startup, raised $20 million in a funding round led by EQT and backed by existing investors including Ten Eleven Ventures and Main Sequence Ventures. The capital will fund product scaling, cloud infrastructure expansion, and entry into...
Raising $6.1M in Seed Funding, Airrived Says Agentic AI’s Breakthrough Moment Has Arrived
AI startup Airrived announced a $6.1 million seed round led by Cannage Capital, with participation from Plug and Play Ventures and other investors. The company introduced Agentic OS, an operating layer that makes agentic AI a native capability for enterprise workflows, allowing...
HK Fintech Wonder Secures $12m Venture Debt From HSBC to Expand Apac Operations
Hong Kong‑based fintech Wonder has closed a $12 million venture‑debt facility with HSBC Innovation Banking. The financing is earmarked for scaling its payment platform across the Asia‑Pacific region. Wonder plans to use the capital to broaden its product suite, accelerate hiring,...
$26M Funding Round Backs Veremark’s International Expansion and Service Rollout
Veremark, a London‑based workplace‑trust platform, secured $26 million in Series B funding led by Gresham House Ventures, with existing backers and a debt facility from Salica Partners. The round follows Veremark’s acquisition of Agenda Screening Services, expanding its checks to over 180...
Artificial Labs Raises $45M in Series B Funding
Artificial Labs, a London‑based digital broking and underwriting platform for specialty and commercial insurance, secured $45 million in Series B financing. The round was led by CommerzVentures with participation from Move Capital Fund I and existing backers. The capital will fund a...
Healthcare and Financial Wellbeing Startup for over 60s Lateral Raises £2.5M
UK‑based startup Lateral has closed a £2.5 million seed round led by Augmentum, with participation from Triple Point and TinyVC. The funding will launch its inaugural Lateral Health Plan, a combined private‑health cover, care‑navigation service and preventive‑benefit package aimed at the...
Refute Raises £5M Seed Round to Address Disinformation Threats
London‑based Refute, an AI‑driven counter‑disinformation startup, closed a £5 million seed round led by Amadeus Capital Partners, with participation from Playfair, Episode 1, Osney Capital and the National Security Strategic Investment Fund. The funding will accelerate development of its platform that detects...
Why the Xeinadin Auction Collapse Is a Reality Check for the Mid-Tier
The episode examines the collapse of Xeinadin's £1 bn auction, highlighting it as a warning sign for mid‑tier UK accountancy firms that have pursued aggressive buy‑and‑build strategies. Host Nikita Alexander explains that despite Xeinadin’s impressive scale—130 offices and 2,500 staff—potential buyers...
CIQ Creates Startup Program to Offer High-Performance AI Infrastructure for Early-Stage Innovators
CIQ announced the CIQ Startup Program, giving early‑stage, VC‑backed startups six months of free access to its high‑performance AI infrastructure and up to an 80% discount for the following two years. The offering includes Rocky Linux AI with pre‑integrated frameworks,...
Two Stanford Students Launch $2M Startup Accelerator for Students Nationwide
Two Stanford students, Roman Scott and Itbaan Nafi, have secured $2 million from investors such as Mayfair and Collide Capital to launch Breakthrough Ventures, a nationwide accelerator for college‑aged founders. The program offers up to $100,000 in grant funding, compute credits,...
Investors Bet Big on AI as Core Hardware Infrastructure
Investors poured billions into AI startups this week, treating artificial intelligence as core operating infrastructure. Ricursive Intelligence secured $300 million Series A at a $4 billion valuation to accelerate AI‑driven semiconductor design, while Waabi raised $1 billion to scale autonomous trucking and robotaxi fleets....
Outtake Closes $40M Series B Led by ICONIQ to Build the Unified Platform for Digital Trust in the AI Era
Outtake announced a $40 million Series B round led by ICONIQ, with participation from CRV, S32 and a slate of high‑profile tech executives. The funding will accelerate its unified digital‑trust platform that protects enterprises from AI‑driven impersonation and identity abuse. Outtake reported...
Arcesium Acquires Limina
Arcesium, a New York‑based fintech serving investment firms, announced the acquisition of Limina, a Stockholm‑based provider of portfolio and order management systems. Financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase adds Limina’s P/OMS technology to Arcesium’s platform, bolstering its European footprint....
22 Ventures Group Outlines Strategic Direction for Innovation, Capital Allocation, and Platform-Led Growth
22 Ventures Group unveiled a refined strategic roadmap that places execution discipline at the core of its innovation, capital allocation, and growth initiatives. The firm will channel funds toward digital‑trading platforms that demonstrate operational readiness, transparent governance, and scalable infrastructure....
2025 - The Year of Quantum
Quantum computing is moving from theoretical research to commercial opportunity, with startups already delivering products in cybersecurity, networking, middleware, and sensing. Andy Leaver of Notion Capital argues that waiting for fault‑tolerant, cryptography‑breaking machines is unnecessary; viable markets exist today. He...
Venture Capital & the World It Lives In
General Partner Jos White of Notion Capital released his first annual market update, translating a recurring presentation into a full article. He highlights that the S&P 500 recorded 35 new highs in 2025 and rose 17% year‑to‑date, while the ACWI All‑World...
ESG Report
ESG has moved from a niche concern to a mainstream priority for investors worldwide. Over 5,300 investment organisations, managing roughly $128 trillion in assets, have signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. This surge reflects ESG’s evolution from a risk‑mitigation checkbox...
Shield Raises $100 Million From Thrive Holdings to Accelerate the Growth of Its IT Services Platform
Shield Technology Partners announced a $100 million investment from Thrive Holdings to accelerate its AI‑first IT services platform. The funding will boost product innovation, expand the company’s national partner network, and fund strategic M&A. Shield’s AI‑driven tools, Sentinel and Spectre, have...
Q&A: Why Deep Tech Investors Are Turning To The Secondary Market For Liquidity
Celesta Capital’s founding partner Sriram Viswanathan explains that abundant capital and a shrinking pool of high‑quality deep‑tech deals are fueling a surge in secondary‑market transactions. Investors are using secondaries to gain liquidity as private exits stretch, especially in AI‑driven hardware...
CesiumAstro to Scale Operations with $470 Million in Equity and Debt Financing
CesiumAstro announced a $470 million financing package on Feb. 2, comprising $270 million in equity and $200 million in debt. The round was led by Trousdale Ventures and included investors such as Toyota’s Woven Capital, Airbus Ventures, and the U.S. Export‑Import Bank. The capital...
What Happens to the AI Exit Market if the FTC Cracks Down on ‘Acquihires’?
The FTC is signaling a shift toward treating both traditional acquihires and reverse‑acquihires as subject to the same antitrust standards that govern full mergers. Reverse‑acquihires—where a firm takes a minority stake or no money but hires key talent—have historically avoided...
Biorce Raises $52M to Support Global Rollout of Its AI Clinical Trial Platform
Barcelona‑based health AI firm Biorce closed a $52 million Series A round, led by DST Global Partners and supported by existing backers Norrsken VC, YZR Capital and Mustard Seed Maze. The financing brings total capital raised above $60 million and will fund the...
When Should Founders Scale Secondaries Across Rounds?
Startup founders are increasingly tapping secondary markets to secure personal liquidity without exiting their companies. Platforms such as Forge Global and Nasdaq Private Market streamline direct secondary sales and tender offers, while venture capitalists are more supportive of controlled liquidity...
VC Roundup: Crypto Funding Rebounds as Institutions Test Onchain Finance
Venture capital and institutional investors poured $1.4 billion into digital‑asset companies in early 2026, highlighted by Visa‑linked stablecoin issuer Rain’s $250 million raise at a $1.9 billion valuation and BitGo’s $200 million‑plus NYSE IPO. On‑chain finance startups such as Bitway, Everything, Veera and Prometheum...
A Series of Webinars About How Venture Capital Works by a U.S. VC
In this three‑week webinar series launching on February 16, Denis Kalyshkin—a principal at a U.S. venture capital firm and former aerospace engineer—explains how VC funds operate, covering market analysis, deal terms, due diligence, and financial modeling for startups. He breaks...
Invest Qatar Showcases Ecosystem Growth at Web Summit Qatar 2026 via Startup Qatar Pavilion
Invest Qatar will host the Startup Qatar Pavilion at Web Summit Qatar 2026, highlighting the nation’s fast‑growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. The pavilion will unite key agencies such as QFZ, QFC, MCIT, QDB and Media City Qatar to streamline setup, licensing, funding...
Deepgram Raises $130 Million Series C at $1.3 Billion Valuation
Deepgram announced a $130 million Series C round that lifts its valuation to $1.3 billion, led by AVP and joined by strategic backers such as Twilio, ServiceNow Ventures, SAP and Citi Ventures. The capital will accelerate the expansion of its real‑time voice AI...
A16z Partner Kofi Ampadu to Leave Firm After TxO Program Pause
Kofi Ampadu, a partner who spearheaded Andreessen Horowitz’s Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund, announced his departure in June 2026. The TxO program, launched in 2020 to back underserved founders through a donor‑advised fund, was placed on indefinite pause in November 2025 and...
Poetiq Nabs $45.8M in Seed Funding for Its LLM-Enhancing ‘Meta-System’
Poetiq Inc., founded by former Google DeepMind researchers, raised $45.8 million in a seed round led by FYRFLY Venture Partners and Surface Ventures. The startup’s meta‑system platform enhances large language models like Gemini and GPT‑5.2, improving output quality while lowering inference...
Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac Sever Ties with Gander Social
Arlene Dickinson and Amber Mac announced they are no longer advisors to Gander Social just one day before the company’s crowdfunding campaign was set to close. Both posted on LinkedIn, while Gander’s CEO Ben Waldman said neither had finalized an...
Emobi Secures $3.4 Million in Seed Funding
Emobi, the leading EV charging roaming platform in North America, announced a $3.4 million seed round. The round was led by Florida Funders and included a slate of existing backers such as Y Combinator and Goodwater Capital. The capital will accelerate...
Mito AI Raises $4.5M to Empower Video Professionals with AI Tools
Mito AI, a collaborative platform that brings AI orchestration tools to video professionals, announced a $4.5 million Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Kibo, Kfund, Sequoia, a16z scouts, LifeX and several high‑profile angels. The service lets filmmakers,...
Amazon in Talks To Invest Up To $50 Billion in OpenAI
Amazon is reportedly negotiating a multi‑billion‑dollar investment of up to $50 billion in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The funding round could total $100 billion, potentially valuing OpenAI at $830 billion. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is leading talks with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman,...
January 2026: Top Five Fintech Funding Stories of the Month
FinTech Futures takes a look back at five of the top fintech funding stories from January.
Reed Jobs' Cancer Biotech Investment Firm Yosemite Eyes $350M Fund
Yosemite, the cancer‑research investment firm led by Reed Jobs, is seeking to raise a fund of up to $350 million. The capital target positions the firm among the largest early‑stage biotech funds currently forming. Jobs leverages his Silicon Valley connections and...
InsurTech Firm Sixfold Secures $30m to Advance AI Underwriting
Sixfold, a New York‑based InsurTech, closed a $30 million Series B round led by Brewer Lane with strategic participation from Guidewire. The funding will fuel development of its “AI Underwriter,” an autonomous system designed to handle end‑to‑end property and casualty underwriting. Sixfold’s...
Large Deals Rose by 3.9x QoQ in Q4 2025 Pushing European FinTech Funding to Reach Its Peak
European FinTech funding surged to $5.5 bn in Q4 2025, an 87% increase QoQ and the highest‑funded quarter on record. The number of deals stayed flat at 176, but large transactions exploded, with deals over $100 m rising 3.9 times QoQ to $4 bn. Zilch...
Adapt Raises $10M Seed to Become the AI Computer for Business
San Francisco AI startup Adapt announced a $10 million seed round co‑led by Activant Capital and Headline, positioning itself as the “AI computer” for enterprises. The capital backs a horizontal AI platform that embeds frontier models into any workflow via API...
Quiz Seeks New Financing After Disappointing Christmas Sales
Quiz, the UK‑based apparel retailer, is pursuing new financing after a disappointing Christmas period. The company, founded in Glasgow in 1993, now runs 40 stores and employs roughly 1,000 staff following a February pre‑pack closure of 23 loss‑making locations. Founders...
UK Private Capital Markets Surge Amid Economic Recovery : Research
PitchBook reports that the UK private‑capital market rebounded strongly in Q4 2025, driven by robust venture capital, private equity, and public‑market activity. Venture funding reached roughly $6.8 bn, highlighted by Revolut’s $3 bn round, the continent’s biggest deal of the year. Private‑equity...
Larry’s Catch Draws Three Offers on CBC’s Dragons’ Den
Larry’s Catch, a Canadian direct‑to‑consumer seafood delivery startup, appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and secured three investor offers during its national television debut. The founders used the platform to showcase a subscription model that sources wild‑caught fish from sustainable family fisheries...
Prenosis Raises $20M Series A Round
Prenosis, a biology‑based technology company, closed a $20 million Series A financing round. The round was led by PACE Healthcare Capital with co‑investors including UC Investments, Labcorp Venture Fund and state entities. Simultaneously, Prenosis secured a BARDA contract to commercialize Sepsis ImmunoScore®,...
Arkero Pulls In $6M Pre-Seed Round
Arkero announced a $6 million pre‑seed round led by Game Changers Ventures, with participation from high‑profile investors such as Alexis Ohanian and David Tisch. The Seattle‑based startup is building an AI platform that sits atop existing sports‑team tools to automate operations, from match‑day...
Indigo Grabs $50M Series B Round
Indigo, an AI‑driven medical professional liability platform, closed a $50 million Series B financing round. The round was led by existing backer Rubicon Founders and introduced new investor Town Hall Ventures, with participation from Optum Ventures and other strategic partners. Indigo’s Vertical AI technology reshapes underwriting, distribution,...
Breakthru Medicine Raises $60M in Series A Funding
Breakthru Medicine, a Phoenix‑based oncology startup, announced a $60 million Series A round led by a board of seasoned investors including Dave Morehead, Fred Eshelman and Mark Gergen. The capital will fund expansion of its precision‑therapy platform targeting solid tumors deemed “undruggable.” Breakthru’s pipeline...
Biotech’s Next Chapter: Asset-Centric Deals and Shifting Alpha at JPM 2026
Biotech is emerging from a multi‑year slump into a new cycle driven by late‑stage, asset‑centric deals, as highlighted at JPM 2026. While headline megadeals were scarce, rumors around Revolution Medicines and Abivax and announced transactions such as Eli Lilly‑Ventyx and GSK‑RAPT underscored...
