Startups

Uluu: A$16 Million Series A Raised For Scaling Seaweed-Based Plastic Alternative

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 31, 2025

Uluu, an Australian startup developing sustainable materials from seaweed, has raised A$16 million in Series A funding to build a demonstration plant and advance its mission to replace fossil fuel-based plastics with natural biodegradable alternatives. The round was led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments, with participation from Main Sequence, Novel Investments (the family office of one of the world’s largest textile groups), Startmate, and a consortium of impact and family investors including Fairground and Trinity Ventures.

Recess: $30 Million Series B Closed And Kyle Thomas Named As President And Co-CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 31, 2025

Recess, a pioneer in the relaxation beverage category, has raised $30 million in Series B funding and appointed industry veteran Kyle Thomas as its new President and Co-CEO. The round was led by CAVU Consumer Partners, with participation from Rocana, Midnight Ventures, Torch Capital, Doehler Ventures, KAS Venture Partners, Vanquish, and Craig Kallman.

Hoop.dev: Seed Funding Raised For Advancing Secure Application Delivery For Developers And AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 31, 2025

Hoop.dev, a secure access platform designed to eliminate friction in application delivery, announced a seed funding round led by Venture Guides with participation from Y Combinator. The funding will help the company scale its platform, expand its team, and accelerate innovation at the intersection of developer productivity, security, and AI.

Lula Commerce: $8 Million Series A Raised For Advancing AI-Based Digital Transformation In Convenience Retail

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Lula Commerce, a leader in AI-powered e-commerce solutions for convenience retailers, announced it has raised an $8 million Series A funding round led by SEMCAP AI, with participation from Rich Products Ventures, GO PA Fund, NZVC, UP.Partners, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures, and Outlander VC. The new capital brings Lula’s total funding to over $16 million, positioning the company to meet growing digital demand across the $1 trillion U.S. convenience retail market.

Vesence: $9 Million Seed Funding Closed For Law Firm AI Agent Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Vesence, an emerging AI platform transforming how law firms work, announced it has raised a $9 million seed round led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Creandum, Y Combinator, and 20VC. The round also included angel investors Paul Graham, Anton Osika, and Jason Boehmig, underscoring strong early confidence in the company’s vision for precision-driven AI in legal workflows.

FrontlineIQ: $3.3 Million Seed Funding Closed For Building AI Coaching Platform For In-Person Sales Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Montreal-based FrontlineIQ has officially emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $3.3 million seed round to bring AI-powered sales coaching to millions of in-person sales professionals across North America. The funding round was led by AQC Capital with participation from strategic investors across retail, automotive, and financial services.

Sparrow BioAcoustics: $10 Million Secured For Expanding U.S. Rollout Of Smartphone-Based Cardiac AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Sparrow BioAcoustics has raised $10 million in new financing to accelerate the expansion of its AI-driven cardiac assessment platform across hospitals in North America. The funding round was led by Killick Capital and Klister Credit, with participation from Pelorus VC, 98827 Newfoundland & Labrador Inc., and Brinex Capital.

BluWave: $14 Million Growth Investment Raised For Advancing AI-Driven Market Network for Private Equity Services

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

BluWave, a leading market network platform serving the private equity ecosystem, announced the closing of a $14 million strategic growth investment led by Highmount Capital, with participation from HighSage Ventures and other investors. The funding will be used to advance BluWave’s AI and data intelligence capabilities, expand its network of service providers, and scale its go-to-market operations.

Rarity PBC: $4.6 Million Seed Funding Raised For Advancing Gene Therapy For ADA-SCID

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Rarity PBC, a Public Benefit Corporation dedicated to expanding access to transformative gene therapies for rare diseases, announced it has closed a $4.6 million seed financing round led by biotech investor Steve Oliveira, Head of Nemean Asset Management. The new funding will accelerate the development of Rarity’s lead program, a one-time autologous hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for adenosine deaminase severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID).

BTS Software Solutions: Investment Raised From Blue Delta Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

BTS Software Solutions (BTS), a veteran-owned technology and intelligence firm serving U.S. national security agencies, announced a new venture capital investment from Blue Delta Capital Partners, a growth-stage firm focused exclusively on the U.S. federal government services market.

CustoMED: $6 Million Secured For Scaling AI-Based 3D Printed Orthopedic Surgery Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

CustoMED, a leader in AI-driven, surgeon-first orthopedic technologies, announced the successful close of a $6 million seed funding round. The round included participation from Longevity Venture Partners, Varana Capital, Flag Capital, the Israel Innovation Authority, a leading orthopedic implant company, and Avishai Abrahami, Co-founder and CEO of Wix.

Hercle: $60 Million Raised For Scaling Institutional Infrastructure For Global Money Movement

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Hercle, an institutional infrastructure company bridging stablecoins, digital assets, and cross-border settlement, announced $60 million in new financing. The raise includes a $10 million equity round led by F-Prime with participation from Fulgur Ventures and Exponential Science, alongside a $50 million credit facility to support the company’s rapid global expansion.

Curve Biosciences: $40 Million Raised To Advance Whole-Body Intelligence Platform for Chronic Disease Monitoring

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Curve Biosciences, a biotechnology company pioneering Whole-Body Intelligence for proactive and personalized chronic disease care, has raised $40 million in new funding led by Luma Group, with participation from First Spark Ventures, Techas Capital, Micah Spear, Civilization Ventures, LifeX Ventures, Incite, Mintaka VC, NZVC, and others.

iOrganBio: $2 Million Raised For Developing AI-Based Cell Manufacturing Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

iOrganBio, a biotechnology startup developing AI-based cell manufacturing solutions, has emerged from stealth with $2 million in seed funding to launch CellForge, the first artificial intelligence-powered platform for scalable and reproducible human cell and organoid engineering. The round was led by First Star Ventures, with participation from IndieBio, Cape Fear BioCapital, 2ndF, Terasaki Institute, and Alix Ventures.

Lyzr: $8 Million Series A Closed To Build Agentic Operating Systems for Enterprise Functions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Lyzr, a leading enterprise agentic AI infrastructure company, announced it has raised $8 million in Series A funding led by global venture fund Rocketship.vc, with participation from GFT Ventures, Accenture Ventures, Firstsource, Plug and Play Tech Center, BGV, Partnership Fund for New York City, and Arka.

Fruitist: $150 Million Investment Secured From J.P. Morgan To Drive Global Growth In Healthy Snacking

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Fruitist, a rapidly growing superfruit brand redefining healthy snacking, announced that it has raised $150 million in equity financing led by a vehicle managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, along with participation from new and existing investors. The funding will accelerate Fruitist’s global retail expansion, expand its product portfolio, and strengthen its position as a leader in the $600 billion global snacking market.

TestSprite: $6.7 Million Seed Funding Closed To Power Testing For AI-Native Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

TestSprite, an AI-driven autonomous testing platform for next-generation software development, announced it has raised $6.7 million in seed funding, bringing total funding to $8.1 million. Trilogy Equity Partners led the round with participation from Techstars, Jinqiu Capital, MiraclePlus, Hat-trick Capital, Baidu Ventures, and EdgeCase Capital Partners.

Voxel: Strategic Investment Raised From Ericsson To Advance AI-Based Workplace Safety

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 30, 2025

Voxel, an applied artificial intelligence company transforming workplace safety through computer vision technology, has announced a strategic investment from Ericsson Ventures, the venture capital arm of the global communications technology leader Ericsson. The funding marks the latest in a series of AI-focused commitments from Ericsson as it continues expanding its footprint in intelligent automation and industrial innovation.

Good Carbon Co.: $20 Million Loan Facility Secured From NY Green Bank

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Good Carbon Co. (GCC), a climate-focused developer and financier of sustainable housing and clean energy systems, has closed an upsized $20 million loan facility with NY Green Bank (NYGB), a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The financing will support the installation of geothermal heating and cooling systems across a growing portfolio of affordable multifamily housing properties in the Buffalo region.

Element Solutions Buying Micromax From Celanese For About $500 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Element Solutions, a specialty chemical technology company, announced an agreement to acquire Micromax from Celanese for approximately $500 million in cash. The acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026 pending regulatory approvals, will integrate Micromax into Element Solutions’ MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions business, further strengthening the company’s position in the electronics materials market.

Frontline Wildfire Defense: $48 Million Series A Closed To Scale Wildfire Protection Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Frontline Wildfire Defense, a leader in proactive wildfire defense technology for homes, businesses, and communities, has raised $48 million in a Series A round led by Norwest. The funding—comprising both primary and secondary capital—will expand Frontline’s operations across fire-prone U.S. regions amid an era of escalating wildfire risk and insurance market instability.

Socratix AI: $4.1 Million Raised To Build AI Coworkers For Fraud and Risk Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Socratix AI, a San Francisco–based company developing autonomous AI coworkers for fraud and risk teams, has raised $4.1 million in seed funding led by Pear VC, with participation from Y Combinator, Twenty Two Ventures, Transpose Platform Management, and several strategic angel investors.

SimSpace: $39 Million Raised For Expanding AI Cyber Range Capabilities

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

SimSpace, a Boston-based cybersecurity company specializing in realistic and intelligent cyber ranges, has secured $39 million in new funding through a combination of debt and equity. The round includes participation from new investors BTG Pactual U.S. Private Credit Investments and Communitas Capital, as well as existing backer L2 Point Management. The investment will accelerate SimSpace’s mission to enhance cyber readiness across government agencies, enterprises, and academic institutions facing increasingly AI-powered threats.

Pinetree Therapeutics: $47 Million Series B Raised For Advancing Protein Degraders In Oncology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Pinetree Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing targeted protein degraders to treat drug-resistant cancers, has raised $47 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round. The new capital will fund advancing its lead oncology programs into Phase I clinical trials and accelerate the development of its proprietary AbReptor platform.

Myriad Venture Partners: Sarah Adams Named As Partner And Head Of Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Myriad Venture Partners, an early-stage venture firm redefining enterprise innovation, has appointed Sarah Adams as Partner & Head of Platform. In this newly created role, Adams will scale the firm’s portfolio value-creation initiatives and strengthen Myriad’s corporate partner networks, reinforcing its model of connecting high-potential founders with Fortune 1000 enterprises.

DRUO: Seed Funding Raised For Expanding Global Payments Network

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Miami-based DRUO, a fintech company focused on transforming how businesses accept payments, has raised seed funding led by Global PayTech Ventures. The investment will enable DRUO to scale its global direct-debit payment network to more than 30 countries by 2026, advancing its mission to make bank-to-bank payments faster, more secure, and more cost-efficient for enterprises and consumers alike.

Fireworks AI: $250 Million Series C At $4 Billion Valuation Raised For Expanding Enterprise Inference Cloud Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Fireworks AI, a rapidly growing inference cloud platform that powers large-scale AI applications for global enterprises, has secured $250 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at $4 billion. The round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Index Ventures, and Evantic, with additional participation from existing backer Sequoia Capital.

Arya Health: $18.2 Million Series A Closed For Advancing AI Agents For Post-Acute Care Administration

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Arya Health has secured $18.2 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-driven administrative automation platform for post-acute and home health providers. The round was led by ACME Capital, with participation from Ridge Ventures, Twelve Below, OpenAI executives, and several leading post-acute care providers, bringing the company’s total funding to $25 million.

Maple Bridge Ventures: C$10.2 Million Closed To Back Immigrant Founders

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

Maple Bridge Ventures announced the first close of its $20 million CAD debut venture fund at $10.2 million CAD, led by anchor investors Farm Credit Canada and Realize Capital Partners. The fund, founded by Eric Agyemang, supports immigrant founders building high-growth companies in AgriFoodTech, HealthTech, and Enterprise Solutions.

WideField Security: $11.3 Million Series A Raised For Protecting The Identity Lifecycle

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 29, 2025

WideField Security, a cybersecurity company providing complete visibility and protection across the identity lifecycle, has raised $11.3 million in a Series A round led by Crosspoint Capital, with participation from Engineering Capital and others. The company will use the funding to accelerate product development and market expansion amid rising identity-based threats.