Startups

Waymo: Autonomous Vehicle Company Raises $5.6 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Waymo announced it has completed an oversubscribed funding round of $5.6 billion, the company’s largest investment round so far. Alphabet led this round, which continued to include Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Fidelity, Perry Creek, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price.

General Catalyst: $8 Billion In New Capital Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

General Catalyst announced it has closed on $8 billion in new capital. Of this amount, $4.5 billion has been earmarked for the core VC funds focused on seed and growth equity (across the Ignition, Endurance, and Health Assurance strategies), $1.5 billion for the Creation strategy, and $2 billion of separately managed accounts.

Neysa: AI Acceleration Cloud System Provider Raises $30 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

AI Acceleration Cloud System provider Neysa announced it has raised $30 million in Series A funding. This funding round was co-led by existing investors NTTVC, Z47 (fka Matrix Partners India) and Nexus Venture Partners. This funding builds on Neysa's $20 million seed round earlier this year, emphasizing strong investor confidence in the company's mission to accelerate Gen AI innovation, for Indian enterprises and public sector.

1st Edge: $35.8 Million AI/ML Contract Secured With US Army

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

1st Edge—a leading Small Business provider to the Department of Defense—was awarded a $35.8 million Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). This three-year contract is focused on developing artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) prototypes to enhance the effectiveness of space and missile defense missions.

Hydrosome Labs: Ultrafine Bubbles Company Raises $3.7 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Ultrafine bubbles company Hydrosome Labs announced $3.7 million in seed funding to scale its operations, expand sales efforts, and continue to innovate. This patented process—which creates Hydrosome H2O—delivers active ingredients to cells more efficiently and completely. Commercial uses include improving nutrient uptake in skincare, driving more efficient and sustainable processes for precision fermentation, delivering faster, longer-lasting, enhanced hydration in performance drinks, and helping plants grow faster and healthier with less fertilizer.

Adden Energy: Harvard University Spin-Off Secures $15 Million For Expanding EV Accessibility

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Adden Energy has developed lithium-metal solid-state battery technology. To scale production and bring this technology to car manufacturers, the company has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by At One Ventures. Primavera Capital Group, Rhapsody Venture Partners, and MassVentures also participated. The funding will be used to construct a roll-to-roll pilot line production facility at Adden Energy’s headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Valon: Mortgage Servicing Platform Company Raises $100 Million (Series C)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Valon, a vertically integrated mortgage servicing platform, announced the completion of its $100 million Series C funding round. This funding round was led by WestCap with participation from new and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, bringing Valon’s total raised capital to $230 million since its founding in 2019.

Nimble: AI-Based Robotics Company Raises $106 Million (Series C) At $1 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Nimble, an AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology company, announced the closing of a $106 million Series C funding round, elevating the company to a $1 billion valuation. This funding round was led by FedEx and co-led by existing shareholder Cedar Pine. As part of a strategic alliance, FedEx has entered into a commercial agreement to scale its FedEx Fulfillment service using Nimble's technology and fully autonomous 3PL model. This funding emphasizes FedEx’s confidence in Nimble's groundbreaking technology and its commercial potential.

Carbon Ridge: Modular Onboard Carbon Capture Company Raises $9.5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Carbon Ridge - a leading developer of modular onboard carbon capture and storage solutions for decarbonizing the maritime shipping industry - announced it has raised $9.5 million in funding, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $15.5 million. The funding round was led by Crosscut Ventures and Western Technology Investment (WTI), with participation from existing investors The Grantham Foundation, Berge Bulk, Rusheen Capital Management and Plug and Play Ventures. Katapult Ocean, Incite, Spitzer Industries and Canopy Generations Fund also participated in the round.

Be Bio: $82 Million Raised To Discover And Develop Engineered B Cell Medicines

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Be Biopharma - a leader in the discovery and development of engineered B Cell Medicines (BCMs) - announced key milestones alongside a new round of funding as its lead program BE-101 for Hemophilia B, enters the clinic, and its second development candidate for Hypophosphatasia is revealed.

Agentech: $3 Million (Seed) Secured To Transform Insurance Claims

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Agentech, a global AI support workforce for insurance claims, announced the completion of its $3 million seed round in just 30 days. And Agentech’s AI support workforce integrates seamlessly into insurers' existing claims management systems, resulting in little to no change management.

Pharos: Hospital Quality Reporting Automation Company Raises $5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Hospital quality reporting platform Pharos announced the closing of an oversubscribed $5 million seed round led by Felicis with participation from General Catalyst, Moxxie, and Y Combinator.

WarrCloud: Automated Warranty Processing Platform Company Raises $20 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

WarrCloud, the automotive industry’s leading automated warranty processing platform, announced it has raised $20 million in Series B funds. WarrCloud will use the funds to further develop its AI capabilities, focusing on supporting automotive warranty claims automation and strengthening customer success capabilities. Centana Growth Partners led the funding round.

Dryad Networks: Wildfire Detection Technology Raises €6.3 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Ultra-early wildfire detection technology company Dryad Networks announced a significant financial boost to advance its wildfire prevention solutions. And the company was awarded a €3.8 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), via Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB), to accelerate the development of its transformative wildfire suppression project (codenamed Florian). This grant will drive the development of an autonomous drone-based system designed to combat wildfires at their inception.

Tour24: Self-Guided Tour Company Secures $5 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Leading self-guided tour company Tour24 announced the closing of a $5 million Series B funding round. This round was led by leading real estate technology venture capital firm RET Ventures.

Universal Fuel Technologies: $3 Million (Seed) Raised For Reducing Sustainable Aviation Energy Costs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

As the demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is expected to increase substantially, Universal Fuel Technologies (Unifuel) has closed $3 million in funding for its Flexiforming technology that cuts SAF production costs by up to 50% and the related carbon emissions by up to 75%. This seed round was led by TO VC, with participation from Alchemist Accelerator, Claire Technologies, and World Star Aviation, will support the advancement of the company’s proprietary Flexiforming process and help establish lab space in Texas for SAF sample production.

DailyPay: $100 Million In Credit Commitment Raised From Citi

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

DailyPay, a work tech company and leading provider of earned wage access, announced it has secured an additional $100 million commitment from Citi to its secured credit facility capacity. The additional commitment doubles Citi's commitment from $100 million to $200 million.

Ramdam: AI-Based Creator Ad Platform Raises $3.15 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Ramdam, an AI-based platform redefining user-generated content (UGC) production for advertisers, announced the closing of a $3.15 million seed funding round. This funding round was led by The Moon Venture, Paris Region Venture Fund, and Data Tech Fund, with support from BPI (Banque Publique d’Investissement).

Globality: AI-Based Sourcing And Procurement Company Raises $47 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Globality, a market leader in AI-based sourcing and procurement, announced that it raised $47 million in a Series D-1 and Series D-2 preferred stock offering. This offering was supported by the company’s existing preferred shareholders and new investors, including Rollins Capital, and brings the total capital raised by Globality to $356 million.

Dash Bio: Drug Development Company Secures $6.5 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Dash Bio, an innovator in drug development services, announced that it has raised $6.5 million in seed financing. Freestyle Capital led the round, which also included Swift Ventures, LifeX Ventures, and other private investors.

Infinity Ventures: $184 Million Fund II Closed To Invest In Companies Enabling Future Of Fintech

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Infinity Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing in companies enabling the future of fintech and commerce, announced that it had raised $184 million for Fund II. This firm was co-founded in 2021 by former PayPal executives Jeremy Jonker, Jay Ganatra, and Mario Ruiz.

Clerk Chat: AI-Based Conversational Messaging Platform Company Raises $7 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Clerk Chat, a leading AI telecom platform for enterprises, announced it raised a $7 million funding round led by Race Capital, with participation from HF0, Mento VC, and Altair VC.

Paccurate: Packing Intelligence Platform Company Secures $8.1 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Paccurate, a packing intelligence platform for parcel shippers, announced the closing of an $8.1 million Series A funding. This funding round was led by High Alpha, with participation from Tech Square Ventures, Grand Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Las Olas Venture Capital, Springtime Ventures, and Royal Street Ventures.

Planetary Technologies: Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Company Secures $11.35 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Planetary Technologies, a leader in ocean-based climate solutions, announced it has completed its Series A funding round, raising $11.35 million. The round was led by Evok Innovations and included new investors BDC Capital, Amplify Capital, and DNX Ventures. And these funds will support Planetary's mission to enhance the ocean's natural ability to fight climate change through carbon removal and storage.

Passkey Therapeutics: $20 Million (Seed) Raised To Address Complex Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 25, 2024

Passkey Therapeutics, a pioneer of Synergistic Multifunctional Therapeutics (SMThs), announced that it has emerged from stealth with $20 million in seed funding led by Breakout Ventures along with founding investors Innovation Endeavors and Bison Ventures. And additional participants include Wireframe Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, and GRIDS Capital.

Attention: $14 Million (Series A) Secured To Transform Customer Conversations Into Insights

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 24, 2024

Attention, a platform that transforms customer conversations into actionable insights, announced $14 million in Series A funding to power its next phase of growth. Alven led this funding round, which also included Eniac, 645 Ventures, Aglae, Frst, and Liquid2.

Interos: $40 Million Raised From Blue Owl Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 24, 2024

Interos, a leader in AI-based supply chain risk intelligence trusted by over 100 Fortune 1000 companies and numerous leading federal agencies, announced a strategic $40 million growth capital investment from funds managed by Blue Owl Capital.

Nooks: AI Sales Assistant Platform Raises $43 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 24, 2024

Nooks announced the launch of the first AI Sales Assistant Platform (ASAP) with $43 million in Series B funding. This funding round was led by Kleiner Perkins and included existing investors Lachy Groom and Tola Capital. This round brings Nooks' total funding to $70 million.

Calicat: $3 Million (Series A-2) Secured To Commercialize Advanced Hydrogen Electrolyzer Components

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 24, 2024

Calicat (California Catalysts - previously known as H2U Technologies), the world’s premier developer of advanced materials for electrolysis, announced the closing of its $3 million Series A-2 funding, bringing the total amount raised to $18 million.

BiltOn: Construction Operations Software Company Raises $15 Million (Series B)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 24, 2024

BiltOn—a leading provider of construction operations and risk management software—announced it has raised a $15 million Series B funding round and rebranded from its former name, Beti. This funding round was led by PSG Equity, a growth equity firm specializing in software and technology-enabled services, with additional participation from Titan Capital and 97212 Ventures.