Startups

UTulsa’s Hurricane Ventures Backs Electrolysis Startup Tobe Energy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 26, 2025

The University of Tulsa and its venture fund, Hurricane Ventures, have invested in Tobe Energy, an electrolyzer startup co-founded by UTulsa alumni Colby DeWeese and Caleb Lareau. The funding will support Tobe Energy’s efforts to make clean hydrogen production more cost-effective and efficient, with the broader goal of expanding access to low-emissions hydrogen as part of the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

Imprint: $150 Million Series D At $1.2 Billion Valuation Raised To Expand Co-Brand Cards Into A Full Loyalty Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Imprint, a New York-based financial technology company focused on co-brand card programs, has raised $150 million in Series D financing at a $1.2 billion valuation. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Thrive Capital, Ribbit Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Hedosophia, Spice Capital, Timeless, and meaningful participation from existing backers.

NextFoods: $10 Million Series 3 Raised To Expand Science-Backed Functional Wellness Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

NextFoods, the parent company of functional nutrition brands Cheribundi and GoodBelly, has closed a $10 million Series 3 funding round led by ECP Growth. The company said the financing will support product innovation, brand expansion, and deeper retail partnerships as demand rises for everyday wellness solutions spanning gut health, muscle recovery, and sleep.

Manifold: $18 Million Series B Raised To Expand Vertical AI Platform For Life Sciences

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Manifold, an AI platform focused on life sciences workflows from discovery through clinical and precision care, has raised $18 million in a Series B financing led by Reach Capital, with participation from SilverArc Capital, Industry Ventures, and existing investors TQ Ventures and Calibrate Ventures. The round brings Manifold’s total capital raised to $40 million as the company positions itself as a category player in “vertical AI” for the life sciences market.

StretchSense: $2.3 Million Raised To Drive Global Expansion Of XR Training Gloves

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Wearables technology firm StretchSense, which develops high-tech hand data capture gloves, has raised $2.3 million (£1.75 million) in a funding round led by PXN Ventures and supported by Scottish Enterprise as it pushes global expansion of its extended reality training glove for enterprise and government use.

T-CURX: $20 Million Series A First Closing Raised To Advance Non-Viral CAR-T Pipeline And In Vivo Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

T-CURX GmbH said it has completed the first closing of a $20 million (€17.7 million) Series A financing to accelerate the clinical development of its non-viral CAR-T programs in acute myeloid leukemia and solid tumors, while advancing proprietary technologies designed to enable non-viral, in vivo CAR-T generation.

Marissa Mayer’s Dazzle AI Raises $8 Million Seed Round At $35 Million Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Dazzle AI, a new startup founded by entrepreneur and former Google and Yahoo executive Marissa Mayer, has raised $8 million in seed funding at a $35 million post-money valuation.

Destinus: €50 Million Commerzbank Facility Closed, Lifting Total Capital Raised To Nearly €400M

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Destinus, a European aerospace and defense company headquartered in the Netherlands, has secured a €50 million commercial bank financing facility from Commerzbank, marking the company’s first commercial bank facility and backing its next phase of industrial expansion across Europe.

Neural Concept: $100 Million Series C Closed To Scale AI-Native Engineering Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Neural Concept has closed a $100 million Series C funding round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, as the company looks to scale its CAD-native, physics-aware AI platform across enterprise engineering workflows. The round included participation from existing investors Forestay Capital, Alven, HTGF, D. E. Shaw Ventures, and Aster Capital.

FoRx Therapeutics: $50 Million Series A Raised To Advance FORX-428

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

FoRx Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech developing precision oncology medicines, has closed an insider-led $50 million (CHF 40 million) Series A financing to advance its lead candidate, FORX-428, into and through Phase 1 clinical development in advanced solid tumors.

TargED: €21.5 Million Series A Extension Raised To Advance Targeted Thrombolytic TGD001

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

TargED Biopharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage biotech company developing targeted treatments for thrombotic diseases, has closed a €21.5 million Series A extension led by BioGeneration Ventures (BGV). Existing investors, including Andera Partners, Fund+, Hadean Ventures, Inkef Capital, Sunstone Life Science Ventures, and Curie Capital, also participated, bringing the company’s total Series A funding to more than €60 million.

Syremis Therapeutics Launches With $165 Million Series A Funding To Advance New Schizophrenia And Depression Drug Programs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Syremis Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on mental health, has launched with $165 million in Series A financing to advance a neuropsychiatric pipeline rooted in clinically validated biology. The round was co-led by Dexcel Pharma and Third Rock Ventures, with participation from Bain Capital Life Sciences, GV, QVT, and Pictet.

Lemon Slice Launched With $10.5 Million Seed Round

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Lemon Slice, a frontier AI research and product lab focused on interactive video, debuted publicly with $10.5 million in seed funding and the launch of Lemon Slice-2. This real-time, “zero-shot” avatar model can turn a single image into a live, conversational video experience.

Bedrock Data: $25 Million Series A Closed For Data Security And AI Governance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Bedrock Data has expanded its executive team with three new vice presidents as the company looks to scale go-to-market execution amid rising enterprise demand for data security and AI governance. The Menlo Park-based company appointed Jon Engler as vice president of sales, Bryan Liberator as vice president of finance and operations, and John Coyle as vice president of business development.

Mindoo: €5 Million Seed Funding Closed To Build Voice-First AI Agents For Hospital Intake, Patient Access, And Follow-Up

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Mindoo, a Belgium-based healthcare AI company, said it has raised €5 million in seed financing to expand a configurable “AI workforce” platform designed to automate routine administrative and clinical support workflows for hospital teams. The round was backed by 6 Degrees Capital, Syndicate One, and a group of strategic angel investors, according to the company.

FINNY: $17 Million Series A Raised To Expand AI Prospecting And Marketing Platform For Financial Advisors

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

FINNY AI, an AI-powered prospecting and marketing platform built specifically for financial advisors, has raised $17 million in Series A funding to scale product development and go-to-market efforts amid renewed industry emphasis on organic growth. The round was led by Venrock and included participation from new investors such as former Vanguard chairman and CEO William McNabb and Activant and Altruist’s Jason Wenk, alongside continued backing from Y Combinator, Maple VC, and Crossbeam Ventures.

Thread: $18 Million Raised From Susquehanna To Expand Agentic AI Service Intelligence For MSPs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Thread, an AI service desk platform built for managed service providers, has raised an $18 million in growth equity investment led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, with participation from Headline, as the company accelerates development of its Service Intelligence platform and agentic AI products to modernize how MSPs deliver support.

I-care Hits €1 Billion Valuation After €20 Million Funding For Predictive Maintenance Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

I-care said it has completed a €20 million fundraising and refinancing operation that values the Belgian predictive maintenance company at €1 billion, pushing the group into unicorn territory. The transaction was structured as a round reserved for existing shareholders and employees.

Roamless: $12 Million Series A Closed To Build Global Mobile Operator For Travelers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Roamless announced it has raised a $12 million Series A round as it works to build what it describes as the world’s first “truly global” mobile operator, aiming to simplify how travelers stay connected across borders. The round was led by Rasmal Ventures, with participation from Shorooq and Revo Capital, as well as additional backing from Finberg and JIMCO, the company said. Roamless said the financing brings its total capital raised to $18 million since launching in 2023.

Ben Raises Over $27.5 Million To Expand AI-Native Global Employee Benefits Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Ben, the employee benefits technology company operating under Thanks Ben Ltd., has raised more than $27.5 million (£20.8 million) in a Series B financing to accelerate product development and broaden go-to-market efforts as large employers grapple with the growing complexity of benefits across multiple countries.

Chai Discovery: $130 Million Series B At $1.3 Billion Valuation Raised To Advance AI-Driven Molecular Design

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Chai Discovery, a San Francisco-based AI company focused on predicting and reprogramming biochemical molecule interactions, has raised a $130 million Series B financing round co-led by Oak HC/FT and General Catalyst, valuing the company at $1.3 billion.

Sequence: $20 Million Series A Raised To Build AI Agents for Revenue Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Sequence announced it has raised a $20 million Series A financing round to expand its AI-driven platform that automates revenue operations workflows, including quoting, billing, invoicing, collections, and revenue recognition.

Ankar: $20 Million Series A Raised To Expand AI-Powered Patent Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Ankar, a London-based software company building an “AI operating system for innovation,” has raised $20 million in Series A funding to scale its AI-driven patent platform and expand further into the U.S. The round was led by Atomico, with Index Ventures doubling down on its prior investment and additional participation from Norrsken VC and Daphni. With the Series A, the company's total funding now stands at $24 million.

Kargo: $42 Million Series B Raised To Expand AI-Powered Warehouse Deployments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Kargo, an industrial artificial intelligence company focused on supply chain and logistics, has raised a $42 million Series B funding round as it looks to scale deployments of its warehouse and loading dock technology with large enterprise customers.

Neurable: $35 Million Series A Raised To Bring Everyday Brain Computer Interface Tech To Market

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Neurable has raised $35 million in a Series A round to accelerate the commercialization of Neurable AI, its compact brain signal-processing technology aimed at embedding noninvasive brain-computer interface capabilities into consumer devices people already use in daily life. Spectrum Moonshot Fund led the round and it brings Neurable’s total funding to $65 million.

Vyriad: Final $25 Million Series B Tranche Closed To Advance In Vivo CAR T Candidate Into Clinic

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Vyriad, a Rochester, Minnesota-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted genetic therapies, said it has closed a $25 million final tranche of its Series B financing, bringing the round’s total to $85 million. The company said the additional capital will support imminent first-in-human testing of VV169, its in vivo CAR T-cell therapy candidate for patients with relapsed or treatment-refractory multiple myeloma.

YSE Beauty: $15 Million Series A Raised For Skincare Brand

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

YSE Beauty, the clinically tested skincare brand founded by entrepreneur and actress Molly Sims, has closed a $15 million Series A growth equity round to accelerate its expansion at Sephora, invest in new product development, and further scale its direct to consumer business.

Hale Capital: Fund V Closed, Lifting Assets Under Management To $334 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Hale Capital Management announced the successful close of Hale Capital Partners Fund V, bringing the firm’s assets under management to $334 million. The New York-based investment firm said Fund V will continue its long-standing strategy of partnering with management teams and boards to build, scale, and reinvent lower-middle-market national security and technology businesses at key operating and growth inflection points.

Looma: $13 Million Closed To Expand In Store Retail Media Network And Rolls Out To Nearly 600 Kroger Stores

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Looma, an in-store retail media platform focused on storytelling and product recommendations at the shelf, has raised $13 million in new capital to accelerate its national expansion and support a major Kroger rollout in wine and spirits departments.

Adaptive Security: $81 Million Series B Secured To Counter AI Powered Cyber Threats

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 23, 2025

Adaptive Security has raised an $81 million in Series B funding as it scales a platform designed to help organizations defend against AI-enabled impersonation, deepfakes, and multi-channel social engineering attacks. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures and included participation from NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, the OpenAI Startup Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Citi Ventures.