Startups

Radical AI: $55 Million Series Seed+ Raised For Advancing Materials Research

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 21, 2025

Radical AI is a company focused on transforming materials science and advanced manufacturing through the power of artificial intelligence. Its core mission is to dramatically accelerate the discovery, development, and production of new materials, which has traditionally been a slow and resource-intensive process. The company announced a $55 million Series Seed+ funding round led by RTX Ventures, with participation from NVentures (NVIDIA's VC arm), Noa, Infinite Capital, Eni, AlleyCorp, and others.

Auxxo: €26 Million First Closing Of Female Catalyst Fund II Completed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 21, 2025

Auxxo has announced a significant milestone: the first closing of the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund II at €26 million, with the European Investment Fund (EIF) joining as an anchor investor. Other significant investors, including Aurum Impact, Cherry Ventures, Speedinvest, various family offices, business angels, and founders from across Europe, also joined.

iCOUNTER: $30 Million Series A Raised For Cybersecurity Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 20, 2025

Apollo Information Systems has announced the launch of iCOUNTER, a cyber risk intelligence company led by John Watters, a pioneer in cyber threat intelligence. iCOUNTER focuses on delivering precision risk intelligence to protect customers in the SLED, SMB, and enterprise sectors from targeted attacks.

Substack: $100 Million Series C Raised At Reported $1.1 Billion Valuation For Newsletter Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 20, 2025

Substack has announced that it has raised $100 million in Series C funding, led by investors at BOND and The Chernin Group (TCG), with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Rich Paul (CEO and founder of Klutch Sports Group), and Jens Grede (CEO and co-founder of SKIMS).

Mantis VC: $100 Million Third Fund Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 20, 2025

Mantis VC, a venture capital firm co-founded by Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, members of the musical group The Chainsmokers, has raised $100 million in commitments for its third fund. This amount marks a $20 million increase from the previous Fund II, which raised $80 million. With this new fund, Mantis VC now manages a total of $225 million across all three funds.

EPR Fireworks: Strategic Growth Investment Raised For Advancing Fire And EMS Software Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

EPR Fireworks, a leading provider of cloud-based records management solutions for fire and EMS services, has secured growth capital from Frontier Growth, a SaaS-focused equity firm with expertise in government technology. This partnership will help EPR enhance its platform and develop new industry solutions while the founding team retains majority ownership.

Paddle: $25 Million Secured For Merchant Of Record Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

Paddle, a leading Merchant of Record for digital products, has raised $25 million from CIBC Innovation Banking to support global expansion and product development. This funding follows a total of $293 million in previous investments from firms such as FTV Capital and KKR.

Confident Security: $4.2 Million Raised To Enable Provably Private AI Interactions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

Confident Security, a company focused on private AI interactions, has launched with $4.2 million in funding from Decibel, South Park Commons, Ex Ante, and Swyx. With AI managing sensitive data, such as medical records and trade secrets, privacy is a critical concern.

JA Mining: $17 Million Series A Raised For Expanding Green Mining Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

Ja Mining, a blockchain infrastructure company, has closed a $17 million Series A round, funded by investors with experience in blockchain and renewable energy. The money will expand renewable-powered cloud mining across North America, Europe, and Asia.

ghSMART: Significant Minority Investment Raised From KKR

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

ghSMART (a global leadership advisory firm) and KKR (a global investment firm) announced that KKR funds will acquire a significant minority stake in ghSMART. The firm partners with CEOs, boards, and investors to develop effective leadership teams and support high-stakes decisions. ghSMART’s founder, partners, and employees will retain majority ownership, while CEO Jeff McLean and the current management team continue to lead. The financial details weren't disclosed.

re:cap: €125 Million Raised For Scaling Capital OS

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

re:cap, a Berlin-based fintech firm known for its Capital Operating System (Capital OS), is expanding into the UK market and has secured a €125 million credit facility from HSBC Innovation Banking and Avellinia Capital. This funding will enable the company to offer more flexible financing options to tech firms.

BrightAI: $51 Million Raised For Bringing AI Into The Physical World

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

BrightAI, a company specializing in integrating AI into physical infrastructure, has raised $51 million in Series A funding, co-led by Khosla Ventures and Inspired Capital. With previous funding from Upfront Ventures, BrightAI's total funding now stands at $78 million.

Hadrian: $260 Million Raised For Building AI-Based Factories For America

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

Hadrian, an advanced manufacturing company specializing in AI-powered factories for the American defense sector, has announced the acquisition of $260 million in capital. This investment will facilitate significant expansions in California and Arizona, adding nearly five football fields of manufacturing space. The funds will enhance research and development (R&D) capabilities and create specialized teams for shipbuilding and naval defense.

Q.ANT: €62 Million Secured For Photonic Processing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

Q.ANT, a leader in photonic processing, has secured €62 million in a Series A financing round to accelerate the commercialization of its energy-efficient photonic processors for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). The funding was co-led by Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, and imec.xpand, includes participation from various deep tech investors. This significant investment aims to transform AI computing.

Exein: €70 Million Series C Raised For Building Digital Immune System For IoT Devices

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 19, 2025

Exein, a leader in embedded IoT security, has secured €70 million in a Series C funding round to advance its mission of developing a digital immune system for connected devices, providing real-time security solutions. The funding, led by Balderton with contributions from Supernova, Lakestar, and previous investors, will enable Exein's global expansion into key markets, including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Receive: $4 Million Seed Funding Raised For Democratizing Financial Access For SMBs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

Receive, a fintech startup focused on democratizing financial access for small businesses, has emerged from stealth mode with a $4 million seed funding round led by NGVP, raising its total funding to $7.1 million. Supported by investors like Blank Ventures and Insight Partners, Receive addresses issues such as delayed payouts and high capital costs that hinder SMB growth.

Blockskye: $15.8 Million Secured For Overhauling Corporate Travel

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

Blockskye, a global travel infrastructure company focused on modernizing enterprise travel, has raised $15.8 million in a funding round led by Blockchange, with participation from United Airlines Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, and others.

LeadStory: $2.75 Million Seed Funding Raised For Advanced AI Video Search Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

LeadStory, an innovative on-demand news streaming platform, has secured $2.75 million in Seed funding to enhance its AI-driven video search functionality and expand its global audience of 10 million.

Teletactica: $1.5 Million Raised For Scaling Advanced Communication Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

Teletactica, a Ukrainian DefenseTech company specializing in jamming-resistant communication systems, has secured a $1.5 million investment from MITS Capital and Green Flag Ventures. MITS Capital is an investment group focused on Ukrainian defense innovation, and this funding round builds on Teletactica's participation in the MITS Acceleration Program and a previous pre-seed round.

AWAKE Chocolate: C$8 Million Secured For Caffeine Alternative

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

AWAKE Chocolate, known for its delicious caffeinated chocolate bites and bars, has successfully raised C$8 million in its latest investment round. This includes C$5 million from Btomorrow Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of British American Tobacco, and C$3 million from BDC Capital. The latest funding round boosts AWAKE's total investment to C$15.5 million.

GigaIO: $21 Million Closed For Scaling AI Inferencing Infrastructure Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

GigaIO, a leader in scalable AI inferencing infrastructure, has secured $21 million in the first tranche of its Series B financing, led by Impact Venture Capital with contributions from CerraCap Ventures, G Vision Capital, Mark IV Capital, and SourceCode Cerberus.

Occupi: Over $3 Million Raised For Property Management Payment Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 18, 2025

Occupi, an Alabama-based fintech company, has successfully completed its oversubscribed seed funding round, raising $3.105 million. The round was co-led by Fenway Summer and Assurant Ventures, with investments from social impact firms like Halcyon Venture Partners and Sorenson Impact Foundation, along with various private investors from states including Washington D.C., Georgia, Utah, and Alabama.

Coverflow: $4.8 Million Raised For Helping Insurance Brokers Save Time

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Coverflow, an AI-driven insurance platform aimed at reducing $130 billion in waste, has secured $4.8 million in seed funding led by AIX Ventures, with participation from Founder Collective and Afore Capital. Its platform automates policy checks, flags discrepancies, and generates proposals, saving brokers over six hours per day.

Jinx: Series C Funding Raised For Pet Food Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Jinx, a next-generation pet food company, has announced a leadership transition, significant retail expansion, and plans for a Series C funding round, marking a new era of growth as it nears the $100 million revenue milestone. Launched in 2020 by former Casper executives, Jinx aims to provide high-quality nutrition for modern dogs and has gained a loyal following.

Amperon: Strategic Investment Raised From Acario

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Amperon, a leader in AI-based energy forecasting and analytics, has secured a strategic investment from Acario, the corporate venture capital division of Tokyo Gas. This investment reflects investor confidence in Amperon's technology and will support its growth in North America, Europe, and beyond.

Bedrock Robotics: $80 Million Raised For Autonomous Construction Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Bedrock Robotics is advancing autonomous systems for the construction industry and has recently raised $80 million in Seed and Series A funding. Instead of selling new machinery, Bedrock enhances existing heavy equipment with reversible, same-day hardware and software installations for fully autonomous operations.

Paypercut: €2 Million Pre-Seed Raised For Fintech Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Paypercut, a European fintech that allows small and mid-sized merchants to offer "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) services through a single integration. The company has raised €2 million in pre-seed funding, one of the largest rounds for a payments-focused firm in the region, led by Concentric with participation from various investors.

Billee Technologies: $9.15 Million Seed Funding Raised For Utility Management Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Billee Technologies, a utility management platform, has completed its Seed financing round, raising $9.15 million, led by strategic investors including RET Ventures. Founded by industry veteran John Hinckley, Billee aims to transform utility billing for the multifamily sector by using artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to improve outdated workflows, eliminate manual processes, and ensure accurate billing.

Quandri: $12 Million Raised For Scaling AI Automation For Insurance Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

Quandri, an AI platform modernizing servicing work for insurance brokerages and agencies, has raised $12 million in its latest funding round, bringing its total funding to over $20 million since its inception in 2021. This round was led by Framework Venture Partners, with existing investors FUSE and Defined Capital increasing their investments, and Intact Ventures also participating.

H2Ok Innovations: $12.42 Million Series A Closed For AI-Based Sensors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 17, 2025

H2Ok Innovations, a provider of patented inline sensors that leverage science and AI to enhance factory operations, has raised $12.42 million in a Series A funding round led by Greycroft, with participation from 2048 Ventures and Construct Capital.