Startups

A-Cube Secures €4 Million Round To Accelerate International Tax Compliance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 4, 2026

A-Cube, an Italian technology company specializing in automated digital tax compliance, has closed a €4 million funding round led by P101 SGR, one of Italy's leading venture capital firms. Sella Direct Ventures, a fintech-focused investor, also participated in the round and will make its global network available to the company. The capital will support A-Cube's expansion across key European markets, accelerate the development of its API-first platform, and fund integration of artificial intelligence models to enhance automation and predictive capability. The Milan-based company, founded in 2018, has processed more than 70 million invoices since 2019 and currently serves more than 450 customers across more than 10 countries.

Woodward Sports Names Co-Founder Joey Namou CEO Following Majority Stake Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 4, 2026

Woodward Sports announced that co-founder Joey Namou has acquired a majority stake in the company in a seven-figure transaction and has been named Chief Executive Officer, marking a significant milestone for Detroit's leading digital sports media platform.

Reserv: $125 Million Series C Raised To Scale AI-Native Insurance Claims Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 4, 2026

Reserv, the property and casualty insurance industry's largest AI-native third-party administrator, has raised $125 million in a Series C funding round led by KKR, with participation from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Flourish Ventures, as well as select strategic partners and clients.

Latus Bio: $97 Million Series A Raised To Advance Gene Therapy Platform Into Larger Patient Populations

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 4, 2026

Latus Bio, a biotechnology company engineering scalable gene therapies for broader patient populations, has closed a $97 million Series A financing, including a $43 million extension led by 8VC, with participation from existing investors DCVC Bio, BioAdvance, Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners, Modi Ventures, Gaingels, and Hatch BioFund, along with new investors Korea Development Bank and Helen's Pink Sky Foundation.

Fun: $72 Million Raised To Scale Global Payments Infrastructure For Internet-Native Capital Markets

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Fun, a global payments infrastructure company operating in stealth since its 2022 founding, has raised $72 million in a Series A round co-led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire. The company has built proprietary technology to become the payments backbone for platforms operating at a global scale, processing over $18 billion in transaction volume per year with a 99.999% success rate, supporting millions of users across more than 100 countries.

Lumian: $3 Million Raised To Build AI-Native Amazon Agency With Specialized Agents For Brand Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Lumian, a San Francisco-based AI-native Amazon agency, has raised $3 million in funding backed by Flybridge, Bowery Capital, and Fika Ventures. The company has built a single workspace in which specialized AI agents run advertising, listings, inventory, content, and account health continuously, with human brand managers owning strategy and decisions.

Featherless: $20 Million Raised To Scale Open-Source AI Infrastructure Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Featherless, a neutral infrastructure platform for open-source AI models, has raised a $20 million Series A co-led by AMD Ventures and Airbus Ventures, with significant participation from BMW i Ventures, Kickstart Ventures, Panache Ventures, and Wavemaker Ventures. The capital will support global footprint expansion, deeper technical integrations, enterprise deployments, and advancement of the company's open-source agent runtime.

Nura Studios Emerges From Stealth With Animation Platform Showcraft To Transform IP Into Episodic Content

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Nura Studios, an animation technology company founded by veterans from Apple, Unity, Roblox, Adobe, and Canva, has emerged from stealth with the announcement that its Showcraft animation platform will enter Early Access on May 19. The company is backed by seed funding from iGlobe Partners, Fellows Fund, and Shanda Ventures.

VideoTutor: $11 Million Seed-Backed AI Tutoring Platform Surpasses 50 Million TikTok Views

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

VideoTutor, an AI tutoring startup founded by Gen Z entrepreneurs and backed by $11 million in seed funding from YZi Labs, Baidu Ventures, and Amino Capital, has announced that VideoTutor-related content has surpassed 50 million cumulative views on TikTok, driven largely by organic student sharing. The milestone reflects growing demand for AI tutoring that generates visual, animated instructional content rather than text-based answers.

Ctruh: $2.5 Million Raised To Scale Browser-Native 3D Platform For Spatial Internet Experiences

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Ctruh, a full-stack platform enabling brands to deploy 3D and extended reality experiences at scale, has raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures and co-led by Avinya Ventures. The round saw additional participation from India Accelerator, Finvolve, Founders Avenue, Anthill Ventures, and LVX, alongside angel investors including Vivek Sinha, former COO of Unacademy, and Shivakumar Ganesan, founder of Exotel. The latest raise brings Ctruh's total capital raised to $4.5 million and will fund deep-tech research and development as well as market launches in the United States and UAE in 2026.

Techcyte: $15 Million Raised To Scale AI-Powered Digital Pathology Platform Toward Profitability

By Amit Chowdhry ● May 1, 2026

Techcyte, a leading provider of AI-powered digital diagnostics for anatomic and clinical pathology, has completed a $15 million capital raise led by Van Tuyl Companies, with participation from existing investors Zoetis and Mayo Clinic. The investment supports Techcyte's path to profitability and continued expansion of its Fusion platform across veterinary, environmental, and human diagnostic segments.