Startups

Expanso Raises Strategic Investment From Samsung Next

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2024

Expanso, a distributed computing company based in Seattle, Washington, has secured a strategic investment from Samsung Next, signaling major ambitions to transform how data is managed and processed worldwide. Expanso, launched in early 2023 by tech veteran and former Kubernetes Product Lead David Aronchick, announced its closed financing from Samsung Next (the electronics giant’s venture capital arm).

Phenomix Sciences: $7.8 Million Raised To Bring Data Intelligence To Obesity Treatment

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 17, 2024

Phenomix Sciences, a precision medicine biotechnology company bringing data intelligence to the treatment of obesity, announced it raised $5.5 million in Series A funding from new investors, DexCom and Labcorp, and existing investors, including Health2047. And the company has also been awarded a $2.3 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Voxel51: Visual AI Company Secures $30 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Voxel51, a leader in visual AI, announced today that it has closed a $30 million Series B funding round. The funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from new investor Tru Arrow Partners and existing investors Drive Capital, Top Harvest Capital, Shasta Ventures and ID Ventures.

Manifold: AI-Powered Clinical Research Platform Company Raises $15 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Manifold, an AI-powered clinical research platform, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with veterans of the technology and healthcare industries. Following the $15 million Series A funding round, the expanded team will accelerate Manifold's ability to automate the manual work of clinical study and data operations alongside its customers, including Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

EV3 Global: $3 Million Raised To Mitigate Employee Turnover

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

EV3 Global, a company empowering customers with employment intelligence, has raised $3 million in funding. The funding was led by Real Tech Capital, partners from leading VC firms, and a group of private investors.

Blackwell Security: Healthcare-Focused Cybersecurity Company Raises $13 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Blackwell Security, a provider of specialized cybersecurity solutions personalized for the healthcare sector, announced a $13 million funding round co-led by General Catalyst and Rally Ventures to help support security operations in healthcare.

Definely: LegalTech Company Secures $7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Definely, a UK-based LegalTech company created to make legal documents easier to read, edit and understand, announced it has successfully raised Series A funding. The $7 million Series A investment round was led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from Cornerstone VC and Zrosk Investment Ltd. The round also included participation from well-known angels Claire Hughes Johnson, Comron Sattari, Ajay Patel, and Babatunde Soyoye to join the cap table. Edward Keelan, partner at Octopus Ventures joins CRE Venture Capital and Zrosk Investments on the board.

Honeycomb Insurance: Digital Insurer Company Raises $36 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Honeycomb, a leading fast-growing digital insurer, has raised $36 million in a Series B funding round. The funding round was led by Zeev Ventures, with the participation of new investors Arkin Holdings and Launchbay Capital. Existing investors Ibex Investors, Phoenix Insurance and IT-Farm also took part in the round.

Niobium: Zero Trust Computing Hardware Company Closes $5.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Niobium has announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed fundraising round, marking a significant step towards its future growth and development. And this achievement is accompanied by the expansion of its Board of Directors, further strengthening the company's leadership and strategic capabilities.

Commit Biologics: €16 Million Raised To Build Systems For Treating Cancer And Autoimmune Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Commit Biologics, a pioneer in activating the complement system to treat cancer and autoimmune disease, has exited from stealth mode with €16 million in seed funding from Bioqube Ventures and Novo Holdings.

Hysata: $111 Million Secured To Accelerate The Shift Away From Fossil Fuels

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Hysata has announced that it closed the largest Series B in Australian clean tech history at $111 million with strong backing from existing major strategic and financial global investors. And this is a significant milestone demonstrating global recognition of Hysata’s game-changing high-efficiency electrolyzer (41.5 kWh/kg incl BoP) with intrinsically low capex and a capital-efficient path to mass manufacturing. bp Ventures and Templewater each invested $10 million to co-lead the $111.3 million Series B round. There was also strong backing from existing major strategic and financial investors IP Group Australia, Kiko Ventures (IP Group plc’s cleantech platform), Virescent Ventures on behalf of Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Hostplus, Vestas Ventures, and BlueScopeX.

Zenas BioPharma: $200 Million Raised To Develop And Commercialize Inflammation And Immunology-Directed Therapies

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Zenas BioPharma, a global biopharmaceutical company focused on becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of inflammation and immunology-directed therapies, announced the closing of an upsized $200 million Series C preferred stock financing. This financing round was led by SR One along with NEA, Norwest Venture Partners, and Delos Capital with significant participation from Enavate Sciences and Longitude Capital. Additional new investors the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, and Arrowmark Partners along with existing investors, Fairmount, Wellington Management, Rock Springs Capital, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Vivo Capital, Quan Venture Fund, and Superstring Capital also joined the funding round.

Investcorp: $570 Million Tech Fund V Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Alternative investment firm Investcorp announced the final closing of its Investcorp Technology Partners V (ITP V) fund, which has $570 million in total commitments. The fund exceeded the $500 million target with commitments from new and existing LPs in Europe, North America, Asia, and the GCC.

Neurable: AI-Based Neurotechnology Company Secures $13 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Neurable, a neurotechnology company democratizing BCI technology, announced that it has raised an additional $13 million in funding from Ultratech Capital Partners, TRAC, Pace Ventures, and Metaplanet.

Pirouette: Over $5 Million Raised Via WeFunder

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Auto-injector platform company Pirouette announced they had surpassed $5 million raised in their community investment round via Wefunder, leading them to extend the round due to overwhelming demand. This extension gives the millions that this solution is designed to help more time to invest and accelerate the pathway to making it available. This is a rare opportunity to join along renowned investors like Safar Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Gaingels.

River SaaS Capital: TruWest Fund I Closed At $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

River SaaS Capital, a firm that provides alternative venture financing to growing software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses, announced its newly launched equity fund, TruWest Fund I. This new $50 million fund will invest in US-based B2B software-as-a-service businesses.

Haven: Pre-Seed Funding Raised And $1 Million In Revenue Surpassed

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Haven, a modern accounting team focused on setting a new standard in customer-centric accounting, announced the closing of its pre-seed. This funding round includes prominent investors, such as Anthony Pompliano (aka Pomp), Charlie Feng, Hari Raghavan, Eric Bahn, and over 40 others. And Haven achieved profitability within its first year of business, surpassing $1 million in top-line revenue.

Alkira: On-Demand Network Infrastructure-As-A-Service Company Closes $100 Million In Series C

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Alkira, a leader in on-demand network infrastructure-as-a-service, announced the closing of a $100 million Series C funding round, bringing the company's total funding to $176 million. Tiger Global Management led the funding round with additional investment from Dallas Venture Capital, Geodesic Capital, and NextEquity Partners, and participation from existing investors, including Kleiner Perkins, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and Sequoia Capital.

WEKA: AI-Native Data Platform Company Raises $140 Million At $1.6 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

WekaIO (WEKA), an AI-native data platform company, announced it had raised $140 million in an oversubscribed Series E funding round comprised of a combined primary and secondary transaction led by Valor Equity Partners (a previous investor in the company). WEKA's Series E funding round is unique in that it was raised entirely with existing investors like Valor seeking to increase their positions in the company. And Generation Investment Management, NVIDIA, Atreides Management, 10D, Hitachi Ventures, Ibex Investors, Key1 Capital, Lumir Ventures, MoreTech Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures joined Valor in contributing to the round. Under the deal terms, Valor's founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer, Antonio Gracias, will join WEKA's board.

cylib: Sustainable Battery Recycling Company Secures €55 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Sustainable end-to-end battery recycling firm cylib announced the completion of its €55 million Series A funding round in equity financing. The funding round, which is the largest round ever raised by a European battery recycling company, was completed less than two years after the company started operations. cylib will utilize the funding to power the industrialization of its proprietary technology, which is already used by leading OEMs and battery manufacturers, by scaling up its operations at an already-secured brownfield industrial facility in Germany.

Firmus: Pre-Construction AI Design Review And Risk Analysis Company Raises Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Firmus, a market leader in pre-construction AI design review and risk analysis, announced it closed on several million dollars in additional funding. The funding will facilitate Firmus' commitment to revolutionizing the industry's approach to pre-construction. Navitas Capital led the funding round, which included Heartland Ventures, PiLabs, and Unorthodox Ventures.

Opmed.ai: AI-Based Healthcare Optimization Platform Company Raises $15 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Opmed.ai, the AI optimization platform for healthcare, announced the successful funding of $15 million in Series A funding. The funding round was co-led by NFX and Grove Ventures, with Secret Chord Ventures, the Impact investor Sir Ronald Cohen, and Unbox Ventures also participating.

Cover Genius: Embedded Protection Insurtech Company Raises $80 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

Cover Genius - a leading insurtech for embedded protection - announced an $80 million Series E funding round. The funding round was led by Spark Capital with support from existing investors, including Dawn Capital, King River Capital and G Squared.

OverT Bio: $16 Million Raised To Unlock The Potential Of Cell Therapies In Solid Tumors

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 16, 2024

OverT Bio (a data-driven company working to unlock the curative potential of cell therapies in solid tumors) has raised $16 million in seed funding. This funding round was co-led by ARTIS Ventures and Wing VC, with participation from Fusion Fund, OMX Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Gaingels, Civilization Ventures, Hawktail, and Cancer Research Institute. This funding round will expand discovery platforms focused on addressing the primary barriers for cell therapy, leading to durable and curative treatments for advanced solid tumors.

Alphastream Raises Seed Round To Drive Private Credit Market Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 15, 2024

Alphastream, a pioneer in private credit analysis, announced a seed round from Motive Ventures. The company also expanded its leadership team. This advancement marks a major step in Alphastream's goal to reshape the private credit market landscape.

Starshot Capital: $35 Million Fund Launched To Invest In Climate Companies

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 15, 2024

Starshot Capital, a VC firm focused on finding and supporting high-impact companies in underinvested climate sectors, announced the launch of Starshot Fund I (a $35 million fund for companies working toward ambitious decarbonization goals).

Greenboard: Compliance And Operations Software Company Closes $4.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 15, 2024

Greenboard, a new compliance and operations software company for financial services, announced that the company has completed a $4.5 million Series Seed funding round led by Base 10 Partners, with participation from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Wayfinder Ventures, Liquid2 Ventures, Twenty Two Ventures, Rogue Capital, Transpose Platform, and more.

Gausium: Autonomous Cleaning Solutions Company Secures $50 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 15, 2024

Gausium, a leading company of autonomous cleaning solutions, announced it has raised a cumulative Series D funding round at $50 million.

Data Zoo: Identity Verification Solutions Company Raises $22.7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 15, 2024

Data Zoo, a leading global identity verification solutions provider, announced approximately $22.7 million (AU$35 million) in Series A funding from Ellerston JAADE (an Ellerston Capital fund). The funding round will help Data Zoo drive the adoption and innovation of its identity verification software. It provides direct access to authoritative data from 170+ countries, features advanced data sequencing to improve efficiency and maximize conversions, and prioritizes data protection and privacy by eliminating identity data storage.

Cross-Border Impact Ventures: Investing In Transformative Health Companies To Meet The Needs Of Women And Children

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 14, 2024

Cross-Border Impact Ventures (CBIV) is on a mission to be the preferred investor for transformative health technology companies with the potential of meeting the needs of women, children and adolescents across global markets. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Cross Border Impact Ventures managing partner Annie Thériault to learn more about the firm.