Funding News

A British quantum startup has raised $100 million in funding. The round was led by the CEO of Roblox and the Singaporean state fund. This funding will likely accelerate the company's development in the quantum computing space.

Natron Energy is developing an anode-free, sodium-based battery technology. The company aims to provide a safer and more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries, particularly for applications like data centers and grid storage. This funding round will support their efforts to scale production and commercialize their innovative battery solution.

Hone, a startup founded by former OpenAI and Cognition employees, is developing AI agents designed to handle business operations over extended periods, consulting humans when necessary. The company aims to automate tasks like evaluating sales leads and is building cybersecurity guardrails for its agents. Early customers include Cognition and Modal.

Arena is an AI evaluation platform that measures frontier AI models and agents for real-world alignment with human intent. They have raised $200 million in Series B funding at a $3.1 billion valuation to advance their mission. The company also launched the Arena Alignment Index to measure how AI deviates from human values.

DeepX is a South Korean fabless AI chip startup developing neural processing units (NPUs) for on-device and edge AI markets. They focus on low-power consumption and high efficiency, having previously raised $80.5 million in Series C funding. This investment will fund their push into low-power processors for edge computing.

Universal Quantum is a UK-based hardware developer specializing in modular trapped-ion quantum computers. Their unique approach uses patented micro-electric field links (UQConnect) to shuttle qubits between chiplets, operating at a milder cryogenic temperature than traditional systems. This Series A funding will accelerate scaling, support international expansion, and fund deployment against contracts with entities like the German Aerospace Center.

Quaise Energy is developing advanced drilling technology to access deep geothermal energy, aiming to provide a clean and abundant power source. The company's approach utilizes existing infrastructure and novel methods to unlock the Earth's heat for energy generation. This funding will support their continued progress in demonstrating and scaling their innovative geothermal solutions.

Soda Labs builds privacy infrastructure for financial activity on public blockchains. They have raised a $3 million seed round to enable regulated money to move privately on public chains, addressing the need for institutional privacy that can still be disclosed to regulators. The company utilizes garbled circuits and multiparty computation to allow smart contracts to process encrypted data without revealing sensitive information on-chain.

Persona AI is developing an AI-powered wearable device. The company aims to create a personalized AI companion that can assist users in their daily lives. This funding round will likely support product development and market launch.

Persona is a new consumer AI assistant startup launched by the founder of Cal AI. The company has raised $10 million in funding to develop its AI assistant.

finmid is a Berlin-headquartered embedded lending firm that powers financing for platforms like Wolt and Delivery Hero. They have secured €17m in a Series A extension to grow their asset-finance offering, infrastructure for multiple funding sources, and underwriting capabilities, while expanding into new platform types like mobility and e-commerce.

Meanwhile has raised USD37.5M in funding at a valuation of USD350M. The company operates in the financial services sector. This funding round aims to support the company's growth and expansion efforts.

Fortastra is developing maneuverable spacecraft for on-orbit effects and security. The company aims to complete the design, development, and production of its next two prototype space vehicles, with a target launch in early 2028. This funding follows the successful launch of their first pair of spacecraft, Watchdog V0, as part of a SpaceX rideshare.

TailBlaze Longevity is an Indian pet food startup focused on canine longevity and nutrition, aiming to extend dogs' lives through specialized formulations. They have raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding to launch their wet dog food line, HeartPour, and expand their team.

Zinara, a digital-first lab-grown diamond jewellery brand founded by IIT Delhi alumni, has raised Rs 3.61 crore in a pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to expand its team, increase marketing investments, and strengthen its supply-chain infrastructure. Zinara offers a portfolio of over 400 designs in 18K gold vermeil and lab-grown diamonds, with a focus on lifetime warranty, buyback, and exchange options.

NeoFleet Capital is a mobility finance company that funds and manages professional taxi and mobility fleets across emerging markets. They focus on a corporate approach, financing local organizations that run taxi fleets. The company has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding to expand its operations and enter new markets in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Gudea is an AI company that predicts which online narratives will go viral. The company has raised $7 million in funding to further develop its predictive capabilities.

Sonilo is a generative audio startup founded by former TikTok AI and music division veterans. They are building AI models that can generate music and sound effects to match on-screen action, aiming to become an essential part of the AI-native video stack. The company targets creators, developer platforms, and enterprise production teams, with early distribution partners including TapNow and ComfyUI.

Gardens Interactive, founded by industry veterans behind games like Journey and Sky: Children of the Light, is developing its first title, Project Gardens. This multiplayer game is described as a "shared fantasy adventure" with "social roleplay elements," aiming to empower players to create experiences and build lasting relationships. The company seeks to become a global leader in social entertainment.

Vesta provides an AI-native loan origination system (LOS) designed to streamline mortgage processes. The platform integrates human staff and AI agents to automate tasks like underwriting, condition clearing, and closing reviews. This Series B funding will support Vesta's expansion, aiming to reduce origination costs and increase efficiency for lenders.

Phantom GI is developing a novel device, PercStoma, designed to create an ostomy using a needle puncture and local anesthesia, bypassing the need for invasive abdominal surgery. This technology targets patients with bowel obstruction who are considered inoperable with conventional methods, potentially reducing risks and costs associated with traditional surgical procedures.

Rein Security is a cybersecurity startup focused on protecting applications at runtime and providing real-time context within production environments. Their AI-native security platform offers visibility, guardrails, and governance for AI agents, addressing the gap between rapid AI adoption and security. This $25 million Series A funding will accelerate product innovation and global expansion.

TailBlaze is a pet nutrition startup focused on providing personalized meal plans and supplements for dogs. The company aims to improve pet health through science-backed nutrition. This pre-seed funding will help TailBlaze expand its product offerings and reach more pet owners.

At-Bay is a cyber insurance company that experienced rapid growth during a period of low interest rates and high valuations. As market conditions shifted with rising interest rates and falling cyber insurance prices, the company had to pivot and eventually accept an acquisition by Munich Re for $575 million.

Namespace has raised €37 million in Series B funding to fuel its expansion into the US market and further develop its developer infrastructure. The company focuses on providing tools and services for developers, aiming to streamline their workflows and enhance productivity.

Mecka AI is a startup that collects and analyzes human motion data to train humanoid and other robots. They pay individuals to record themselves performing everyday tasks while wearing sensors. This Series B funding, led by Sequoia, will help them scale their operations and compete in the growing robotics data market.

Wayren is an Estonian defence-tech startup founded in 2020 by former military software engineers. The company has raised €7.9 million from efa group and its subsidiary scytalys. Wayren previously passed through the NATO DIANA Estonian Accelerator, run by Tallinn science park Tehnopol.

Innercrowd is a Dutch startup that helps festival organizers activate loyal fans earlier in the sales cycle and turn their loyalty into ticket sales and wider reach. They use AI-powered engagement to handle one-to-one conversations with fans at scale, driving higher conversion rates than traditional methods. The company aims to expand internationally with its recent funding.

IMMIX is a London-based AI-native trading firm building FX infrastructure for stablecoin payments beyond the US dollar. They aim to reduce the cost and complexity of stablecoin FX for payment companies by collapsing multiple FX legs into single, directly priced transactions. This funding will help them expand their infrastructure to facilitate instant, frictionless, and scalable global money movement.

Vest Labs is a New York-based prop trading firm that offers a perpetual futures platform for equities, crypto, commodities, and FX. The company is developing its own mobile app and expanding its team to enhance its 24/7 multi-asset support. This pre-seed round aims to fuel this growth and technological development.

TODAY is a Copenhagen-based startup that provides an AI sales operating system for financial and insurance advisors. Their platform assists advisors before, during, and after client meetings by transcribing, anonymizing, and generating compliant documentation, offering real-time assistance, and providing a chat-based query system. The company aims to reduce administrative burdens and enhance advisor-client interactions.

Finches is a German startup developing AI for agricultural procurement, providing early warnings for supply chain risks. They consolidate field, sourcing, and external data to proactively alert companies in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. This €2 million pre-seed funding will accelerate product development and expand sales operations.

An AI lab founded by a former ByteDance intern is reportedly taking on Fei-Fei Li. The lab has secured $200 million in funding.

Yazen is a Swedish health startup offering a weight-loss program centered around popular weight-loss drugs. The company is experiencing steady growth and has secured funding to support its operations for the next few years. This round highlights investor interest in companies capitalizing on the trend of weight-loss drugs.

Biren Technology is a Chinese GPU maker aiming to build alternatives to Nvidia chips. This funding round will primarily support supply chain procurement, production ramp-up, and commercialization of its next-generation GPU line, with additional funds for R&D and software ecosystem development. The company is one of China's "Four Little Dragons" in the GPU space.

Vest is a crypto prop trading startup that has raised $13 million in seed funding. The company operates in the cryptocurrency trading space, providing services for proprietary trading firms. This funding round was led by Portal Ventures.

Every WiLL operates "Toriiku Spot," unmanned parcel pickup points designed to reduce delivery burdens and redeliveries by consolidating packages at regional hubs. The company aims to solve social issues in logistics through innovative receiving methods. This funding will support the expansion of pickup points, app development, data analysis, and partnerships.

Type One Energy is developing commercial fusion power plants using its FusionDirect™ technology. The company aims to industrialize fusion energy through a capital-efficient, partner-based OEM business model, leveraging established industry leaders. This $200 million Series B financing will support its Project Infinity, including the Infinity One engineering prototype and the Infinity Two commercial plant.

Preference Model, an AI data research company, has raised $16 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company is open-sourcing Karotte, a framework for building reinforcement learning environments that resist reward hacks, and has built RL environments for several frontier labs. This funding round, ranking in the 98th percentile for enterprise software seed rounds, highlights investor confidence in the data and training infrastructure for advanced AI systems.

A startup founded by a Nobel Prize winner has raised $350 million. However, the company is now facing funding challenges for its cancer programs. The article does not provide further details on the company's specific focus or the implications of the funding shortfall.

Bloom operates an AI-powered marketplace connecting hardware companies with US-based manufacturers and supply-chain providers. The platform uses AI agents to help businesses identify suitable partners for manufacturing, logistics, and supply-chain services, aiming to simplify domestic sourcing for US hardware companies.

Vitalize is a company focused on addressing hospital staffing shortages. The company has raised $31 million to tackle this critical issue within the healthcare sector.

Teddy AI is a legal services and compliance startup that has announced a $60 million seed funding round. The company, incubated by Tucker's Farm Corp., has not disclosed its specific focus or leadership but has reported passing $25 million in revenue to date. The funding round was described as having participation from traditional limited partners.

Polaris Electro-Optics, a CU Boulder spinout, has raised $50 million in Series B funding to commercialize its FenGlass technology for AI data center infrastructure. Their proprietary material enhances electro-optic modulators, enabling faster data transmission with lower power consumption. The company plans to use the funds to expand its product portfolio, scale production, and hire engineers, targeting its first product launch in 2027.

Zarea has raised $7.22 million in Sukuk financing, indicating a growing trend of Pakistani startups utilizing Islamic finance instruments. This funding round highlights the increasing accessibility of Sharia-compliant financial products for businesses in the region.

The Dough Therapy is a gourmet pizza brand founded in 2020, operating 10 outlets across Mumbai and offering over 30 vegetarian and vegan pizza varieties. They have raised Rs 5.25 crore in seed funding to expand to 20 outlets in the next 12 months, entering new cities through a mix of company-owned and franchise models. The capital will be allocated towards expansion, marketing, and supply chain infrastructure.

Shield is a cybersecurity startup focused on preventing data breaches. The company aims to protect sensitive information and ensure compliance for businesses. This funding round will likely support the expansion of their technology and market reach.

Cori Clinical is an AI-powered platform designed to streamline clinical trial design and planning. It provides a centralized workspace for clinical trial data, aiming to simplify study planning and regulatory submissions. The company was founded in 2026 by Jorn Jansen Schoonhoven and Patricio Fernández.