Startups

Akedo: $5 Million Seed Funding Raised To Build AI-Native Multi-Agent Content Creation Engine And Launchpad

By Amit Chowdhry ● Today at 8:51 AM

AKEDO has raised $5 million in seed funding to accelerate development of its AI-native content creation engine and launchpad, a platform the company says is designed to improve game and digital content development efficiency through coordinated multi-agent systems.

Veera: $10 Million Raised To Expand Mobile On-Chain Financial Services Platform In Singapore

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 16, 2026

Veera, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency-focused financial services platform, has raised $10 million across pre-seed and seed funding rounds as it invests in product development and expansion of its on-chain financial services offering. The round included backing from Sigma Capital, CMCC Titan Fund, 6th Man Ventures, and Ayon Capital, according to the company. The funding will be used to build out its product roadmap and support growth initiatives tied to its mobile-first platform.

ClickHouse: $400 Million Series D Raised, Langfuse Acquisition, And Native Postgres Service Debuted

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 16, 2026

ClickHouse, an open-source database company focused on real-time analytics, data warehousing, observability and AI/ML workloads, has raised $400 million in a Series D financing led by Dragoneer Investment Group as the company pushes deeper into AI infrastructure and application monitoring.

Cytotheryx: $60 Million Series A Closed To Advance Cell Therapy Platform For Liver Disease

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 16, 2026

Ouroboros Family Founders Fund I has agreed to lead a $60 million Series A financing for Cytotheryx, a Mayo Clinic spinout developing a preclinical cell therapy platform to treat liver disease, with the deal unveiled during the 2026 Biotech Showcase in San Francisco. The company said the raise will fund the advancement of multiple programs toward the clinic, expand manufacturing infrastructure and GMP capacity, and support regulatory planning, alongside separate debt financing intended to grow its real estate footprint and enable additional manufacturing buildout.

Fleetzero: $43 Million Series A Raised To Scale Electric And Hybrid Propulsion Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 16, 2026

Fleetzero, a marine technology company developing hybrid and electric propulsion systems for commercial vessels, has raised a $43 million Series A round led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Maersk Growth, 8090 Industries, and existing backers including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Y Combinator, Benson Capital, Shorewind, and others. The company also announced the opening of a new manufacturing and research-and-development facility in Houston, Texas, intended to serve as its headquarters and production hub.

PolyML Announces Strategic Investment From Martinrea International

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

PolyML announced it has secured a strategic minority investment from Martinrea International Inc., a global automotive supplier, alongside a multi-year services and collaboration agreement to deploy PolyML’s machine-learning technology across automotive manufacturing operations.

Merge Labs: $252 Million Raised For Targeting High-Bandwidth And Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Merge Labs, a newly launched research lab, announced it is pursuing a long-term mission to bridge biological and artificial intelligence in order to “maximize human ability, agency, and experience.” The group describes its focus as developing fundamentally new brain-computer interface (BCI) approaches that interact with the brain at high bandwidth, integrate with advanced AI, and ultimately be safe and accessible for broad use. The company has raised $252 million in a seed round from OpenAI, Bain Capital, Gabe Newell, and several others.

Mangrove Lithium: Up To $85 Million Raised For Refining Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Canada Growth Fund and Mangrove Water Technologies, operating as Mangrove Lithium, announced they have closed an up to US$85 million structured financing package designed to accelerate the commercialization of the company’s lithium refining technology in Canada and international markets. The transaction pairs up to US$65 million expected from Canada Growth Fund (CGF) with additional participation from existing backers, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and BMW i Ventures, as Mangrove Lithium moves from technology validation toward scaled deployment.

Transition Metal Solutions: $6 Million Seed Funding Raised To Reinvent Bio-Based Copper Recovery

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Transition Metal Solutions has closed an oversubscribed $6 million seed round to commercialize a bio-enabled approach aimed at boosting copper recovery from existing mines and waste streams, as copper demand continues to climb faster than new supply can be brought online.

OTTO SPORT AI: $16.5 Million Seed Funding Raised To Build AI-Powered Operating System For Youth Sports

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

OTTO SPORT AI has raised $16.5 million in seed funding to accelerate development of its youth sports technology platform and expand its AI “Athlete Intelligence” Lab, as the company targets a market where organizers and families still contend with legacy software and manual workflows despite booming participation and spending.

HOLYWATER Raises $22 Million to Turn Microdramas Into Mainstream Entertainment In The U.S.

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

HOLYWATER, an entertainment technology company behind the vertical-series app My Drama and a suite of AI-enabled content products, has closed a $22 million financing round as it pushes to build what it describes as a mobile-first “Netflix” for vertical video in the U.S. and other Western markets.

Coxwave: $5 Million Pre-Series A Closed To Expand AI Reliability And Governance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Coxwave, the company behind Coxwave Align, announced it has closed $5 million in Pre-Series A funding to accelerate development of reliability and governance capabilities for AI systems as enterprises push more agentic tools into high-stakes workflows.

Cyb3r Operations Raises £4 Million Seed Round

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Cyb3r Operations said it has raised £4 million in seed funding in a round led by Octopus Ventures, with follow-on investment from Pi Labs, as the company looks to accelerate product development and expand its team.

Avalon Healthcare Solutions Lands Majority Investment From WindRose

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Avalon Healthcare Solutions announced it has secured a new majority investment from WindRose Health Investors, a transaction the company plans to use to accelerate product development and broaden its reach across the payer ecosystem. Existing backer Francisco Partners will continue to support the business through a reinvestment, positioning the company for the next phase of growth in diagnostic intelligence. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Tulip: $120 Million Series D At $1.3B Valuation Closed For Frontline Operations Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Tulip, a frontline operations software company focused on manufacturing and industrial environments, said Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has invested in the company and signed a strategic alliance agreement aimed at accelerating digital transformation initiatives on factory floors.

Unifyr: $20 MIllion Raised To Scale AI-Driven Partner Experience Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Unifyr announced it has raised a $20 million strategic growth investment led by Investcorp, which is backing the company through Investcorp Technology Partners Fund V. The funding is intended to accelerate Unifyr’s international expansion while advancing product development tied to its AI-driven partner ecosystem platform.

RouteSense: $2 Million Pre-Seed Funding Raised To Bring Predictive Analytics And MID Health Intelligence To Payments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

RouteSense, a payments-focused data analytics company, launched publicly alongside an approximately $2 million pre-seed round led by Redbud VC with participation from FOVC, Cultivation Capital, Service Provider Capital, and the University of Missouri AACE Fund.

Olelo Intelligence: $1 Million Angel Round Closed To Scale AI Sales Coaching For Auto Repair Shops

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Olelo Intelligence, a Honolulu-based startup building an AI sales coaching platform for high-volume automotive repair shops, has raised a $1 million angel round to expand its product and scale deployments across North America.

Mytra: $120 Million Series C Raised To Scale Operating System For Supply Chain

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Mytra, a Brisbane, California-based industrial robotics startup positioning itself as an “operating system for supply chains,” has raised $120 million in a Series C financing led by Avenir Growth, pushing the four-year-old company to more than $200 million in total funding.

CloudSEK Lands Strategic Investment From Connecticut Innovations in $10 Million Series B2 And Plans U.S. Hub

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

CloudSEK, an AI-driven predictive cyber threat intelligence company, said it has secured a strategic investment from Connecticut Innovations (CI) as part of its $10 million Series B2 financing, marking what the company described as the first time a U.S. state-backed venture fund has invested in an Indian-origin cybersecurity firm.

Pinch AI: $5 Million Seed Round Raised To Help Retailers Combat Return Fraud

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Pinch, an AI-based post-purchase intelligence platform focused on returns, refunds, and customer trust, has raised a $5 million total seed round co-led by Dynamo Ventures and Infinity Ventures, with participation from Defined Capital and PayPal Ventures.

Hydrosat: $60 Million Series B Raised To Expand Thermal-Infrared Satellite Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Hydrosat, a provider of thermal-infrared satellite data and AI-driven analytics for water and resource management, announced it has closed $60 million in new financing to support expansion across commercial, civil government, and defense markets. The Series B round was led by Hartree Partners, Subutai Capital Partners, and Space 4 Earth, with new participation from Truffle Capital. Hydrosat said the financing also included follow-on investment from the Luxembourg Future Fund, OTB Ventures, Blue Bear Capital, Statkraft Ventures, Cultivation Capital, and Santa Barbara Venture Partners.

Equal1: $60 Million Closed To Bring Quantum Computing To Standard Semiconductor Fabs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Equal1 has raised $60 million in new funding to accelerate development and deployment of its silicon-based quantum computing systems, aiming to make quantum hardware manufacturable and deployable using existing semiconductor manufacturing and standard data center infrastructure. The round was led by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), with participation from Atlantic Bridge Ventures, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Matterwave Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone, and TNO Ventures. The financing brings Equal1’s total funding to more than $85 million.

AlphaLum Raises CHF 3.4 Million Seed Round To Scale AR Optics For Smart Glasses

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

AlphaLum, a Lausanne-based augmented reality optics and sensing company spun out of ams OSRAM’s corporate incubator, has raised CHF 3.4 million in seed financing to accelerate its push from advanced engineering into a supplier role for next-generation smart glasses and spatial-computing hardware. The round was led by Vsquared Ventures.

Higgsfield Raises Series A Total Past $130 Million And Tops $200 Million Run Rate In Under Nine Months

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Higgsfield announced it has raised an $80 million Series A extension, bringing its total Series A financing to more than $130 million and valuing the company at more than $1.3 billion, as the generative video startup reports reaching a $200 million annual run rate less than nine months after launch. The round included participation from Accel, AI Capital Partners (Alpha Intelligence Capital’s U.S.-based fund), Menlo Ventures and other investors, the company said.

Konnex: $15 Million Raised To Build On-Chain Marketplace For Autonomous Robot Labor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Konnex announced it has raised $15 million from a group of strategic backers to expand a platform designed to turn autonomous robotic work into a standardized, app-like service that can be contracted, verified, and paid for in real time. The round included participation from venture firms Cogitent Ventures, Liquid Capital, Leland Ventures, Covey, M77 Ventures, and Block Maven.

WitnessAI: $58 Million Closed To Expand AI Agent Security And Governance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

WitnessAI announced it has raised $58 million in strategic funding to accelerate global go-to-market efforts, expand its product portfolio, and deepen security and governance controls for enterprises building and deploying AI agents.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies To Invest $200M In MrBeast’s Beast Industries

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced it has agreed to make a $200 million equity investment in Beast Industries, the entertainment and consumer products company founded by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast.

WeLab: $220 Million Series D Strategic Financing Raised To Fuel Southeast Asia Expansion And AI Push

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

WeLab announced it has closed a $220 million Series D strategic financing, describing the round as the largest digital banking capital raise in Asia in 2025 and the biggest funding round in the company’s history. The financing includes both debt and equity and brings in a mix of new investors alongside continued backing from existing investors and strategic capital partners.

Parloa: $350 Million Series D Raised At $3 Billion Valuation To Expand Agentic AI For Customer Experience

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Parloa, a provider of AI agents for enterprise customer experience, said it has raised $350 million in a Series D round that values the company at $3 billion, as it accelerates its push to become a category leader in “agentic AI” for customer relationships.