Startups

Optalysys: £23 Million Series A Extension Raised To Commercialize Photonic Chips And Expand In The U.S.

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Optalysys announced it has raised £23 million in a Series A extension round to accelerate the commercialization of its photonic computing technology and support a planned expansion into the United States. The round was led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from imec.xpand, Lingotto Horizon, and the U.K. government’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF). The financing is aimed at advancing Optalysys’ proprietary photonic chips and scaling go-to-market efforts as demand intensifies for faster, more energy-efficient computing infrastructure to support AI and cloud workloads.

Resolve M Therapeutics Exits Stealth With Pro-Resolution Drug Discovery Platform Targeting Chronic Inflammation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Resolve M Therapeutics has emerged from stealth with a platform designed to identify, validate, and advance drug targets that activate the body’s natural “pro-resolution” pathways—aiming to restore immune balance in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders without broadly suppressing the immune system.

Mendra Launched With $82 Million Series A To Build AI-Enabled Rare Disease Therapeutics Portfolio

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Mendra, a newly launched biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, has closed an oversubscribed $82 million Series A to acquire, develop, and commercialize therapies targeting high-unmet-need indications. The financing was co-led by OrbiMed, 8VC, and 5AM Ventures, with participation from Lux Capital and Wing VC.

DealHub.io: $100 Million Growth Round Raised To Scale Agentic Quote-To-Revenue Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

DealHub.io announced it has raised $100 million in a growth funding round led by Riverwood Capital as the company looks to accelerate global expansion and deepen product development for what it calls “Agentic Quote-to-Revenue” in the AI era.

Credit Key: $90 Million Growth Capital Round And Strategic Partnership With Barings

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Credit Key, a B2B payments and financing platform that enables merchants to offer net terms and flexible payment options at checkout, has closed $90 million in new growth capital and formed a strategic partnership with global investment manager Barings.

Gore Street Capital Secures First Close For €500 Million EU-Focused Battery Storage Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Gore Street Capital has completed the first close of its new European-focused battery energy storage fund, the GS EU Fund SCSp, backed by cornerstone commitments from the European Investment Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, alongside other institutional investors, strategics, and family offices. The specialist storage manager, whose portfolio totals roughly 1.4 GW of battery assets across three dedicated BESS funds—said it is preparing for an interim close and is targeting a final close by year-end, with a €500 million fundraising goal.

Claroty: $150 Million Series F Raised To Expand CPS Security Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Claroty raised $150 million in a Series F financing led by Golub Growth, an affiliate of Golub Capital, as the cyber-physical systems (CPS) security company pushes to broaden its platform and expand globally. The New York-based company said existing investors also committed up to an additional $50 million in the round.

Neurophos: $110 Million Series A Raised To Bring Exaflop-Scale Photonic AI Chips To Data Centers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

Neurophos has raised $110 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to accelerate the commercialization of its photonic AI chip technology, positioning the Austin-based company to push beyond the power and scalability limits facing today’s AI infrastructure. The financing brings Neurophos’ total funding to $118 million and was led by Gates Frontier, with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Carbon Direct Capital, Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Space Capital, and additional investors.

UAE Rain Enhancement Research Program Names Sixth-Cycle Grant Awardees

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), managed by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), has selected three projects for its sixth cycle of research grants, awarding each recipient up to $1.5 million over three years, with annual funding capped at $550,000.

University Of Arkansas GORP Seeks Applicants For Spring 2026 Outdoor Recreation Startup Cohort

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

The University of Arkansas’ Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Project (GORP), the school’s flagship business incubator for outdoor recreation startups, is accepting applications for its spring 2026 cohort as the program returns with new multi-year funding.

AiStrike: $7 Million Seed Funding Raised To Scale AI-Native And Preemptive Cyber Defense Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

AiStrike has raised $7 million in seed funding to expand an AI-native platform designed to help security teams move from reactive alert handling to what the company calls “preemptive” cyber defense. The round was led by Blumberg Capital, with participation from Runtime Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, and strategic angel investors.

LatticeFlow AI Acquires AI Sonar To Add On-Prem Discovery To Evidence-Based AI Governance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 22, 2026

LatticeFlow AI announced it has acquired Dublin-based AI Sonar Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CloudSphere Ltd., in a deal the company unveiled during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The acquisition adds AI Sonar’s “AI discovery” capabilities—aimed at detecting “shadow AI” across enterprise environments—to LatticeFlow AI’s governance platform, which focuses on technical evaluations and evidence generation.