Startups

Parabilis Medicines: $305 Million Series F Raised To Advance Zolucatetide Program And Helicon Peptide Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 8, 2026

Parabilis Medicines, a clinical-stage cancer drug developer, said it has closed an oversubscribed $305 million Series F financing to fund ongoing clinical development of its lead candidate FOG-001 (zolucatetide) across multiple tumor types and to expand a broader pipeline built on its Helicon peptide platform. The round was co-led by RA Capital Management, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Janus Henderson Investors. Parabilis said new investors in the financing included Frazier Life Sciences, Soleus Capital, and a life science-dedicated investment fund, alongside participation from a broad syndicate of existing backers including venBio Partners, Cormorant Asset Management, ARCH Venture Partners, GV, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Marshall Wace, General Catalyst, Invus, Farallon Capital Management, Foresite Capital, Rock Springs Capital, HBM Healthcare, Samsara BioCapital, Catalio Capital Management, and others.

NovaWave Capital Adds New Investors And Unveils Arizona “WaveX” AI Venture Studio With State Commerce Authority

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 8, 2026

NovaWave Capital announced it has reached a new milestone for its NovaWave Fund I generation, adding AZ Venture Capital Inc. and Sunny Day Sports as incoming investors, as it expands its public-private capital base to support innovation across the U.S.

Babylon Raises $15 Million From a16z Crypto To Enable Native Bitcoin Collateral

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Babylon announced that it has raised $15 million from a16z crypto to develop Babylon Trustless BTCVaults, an infrastructure system designed to let native Bitcoin be used as collateral across on-chain financial applications without relying on wrapping, custodians, or intermediaries.

Rakuten Medical: $100 Million Series F Raised To Accelerate U.S. Path For ASP-1929

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Rakuten Medical, a San Diego-based biotechnology company developing its Alluminox platform-based photoimmunotherapy, has closed a $100 million oversubscribed Series F financing to support a global Phase 3 program for its lead investigational therapy ASP-1929 and advance toward a planned U.S. Biologics License Application submission in 2028.

Mediar Therapeutics: $76 Million Series B Raised As Fibrosis Programs Advance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Mediar Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech developing first-in-class therapies designed to halt fibrosis, said it closed an oversubscribed $76 million Series B financing co-led by Amplitude Ventures and ICG as it advances a portfolio of antibody programs targeting fibrotic diseases affecting the skin, lung, and kidney.

Sigrid: $5 Million Raised To Scale Non-Systemic Metabolic Health Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Sigrid, a Swedish consumer health company focused on metabolic health through non-systemic science, announced it has raised $5 million to accelerate commercialization and platform expansion, bringing its total capital raised to about $27 million.

Linker Vision Raises $35 Million Series A To Expand Physical AI Platform Globally

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Linker Vision said it has closed a $35 million Series A financing to accelerate deployment of its AI software platforms for smart cities and smart spaces, as the company pushes to broaden its presence across major international markets.

WashU Startups Draw Record $1.7 Billion In Private Investment As Commercialization Accelerates

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Startup companies built on Washington University in St. Louis discoveries attracted a record $1.7 billion in private-sector investment over the past year, funding that WashU leaders say is speeding the path from campus research to diagnostics, therapeutics and medical devices.

Photonic Raises C$180 Million First Close To Push Distributed Quantum Toward Commercialization

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Photonic, a Vancouver-based quantum technology company focused on distributed quantum computing and quantum networking, said it has raised $180 million CAD (about $130 million USD) in the first close of its latest financing round. The raise was led by Planet First Partners, with new participation from Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), TELUS, and other investors, while existing backers including BCI and Microsoft also returned.