Startups

NuFund Venture Launches New Austin, Texas-Based Cluster

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

NuFund Venture Group, one of the nation’s largest and most active early-stage investor networks, has announced the launch of its new Austin Cluster. This expansion into the Texas Market represents the next step in NuFund’s mission to build thriving startup ecosystems beyond its Southern California roots.

Alto Reveals New Fund In Partnership With SignalRank

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Alto, an alternative asset platform that enables individuals to invest in alternative assets using retirement funds, announced a new investment opportunity with SignalRank, the first private markets index made up of preferred Series B shares in high-growth venture-backed companies.

Paren: Data Insights Company Secures $3 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Paren—a software platform powering electric mobility with unified data insights—announced that it has raised $3 million in its first financing round. Base10 Partners led the funding round. Founders Network Fund and Luc Vincent (founder of Google Street View and Lyft 5) also participated in the round. Paren will use the funding to scale its current data platform and build new services.

Blue Energy: Nuclear Power Plant Company Secures $45 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Nuclear power plant company Blue Energy announced it emerged from stealth with a $45 million Series A fundraise co-led by Engine Ventures and At One Ventures, with investment from Angular Ventures, Tamarack Global, Propeller Ventures, Starlight Ventures, and Nucleation Capital. And Blue Energy also introduced its modular nuclear power plant that can be centrally manufactured in existing shipyards.

3Laws: $4.1 Million (Seed) Raised For Enabling Robot Operations In Dynamic Environments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

3Laws, a leader in dynamic safety solutions for autonomous systems, announced it has secured $4.1 million in seed funding. TenOneTen led the round, which included the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. All pre-seed investors have chosen to maintain or increase their ownership.

Kings Group Ventures Invests In Way Media

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Kings Group Ventures (KGV), a Dubai-based strategic investment firm, announced an investment in Way Media (WM), a South African company. The funds from this investment will be used to expand Way Media's facilities in South Africa and further develop its international presence.

Empathy Health Technologies: $2.8 Million (Seed) Raised For Sober Sidekick App

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

With a goal of creating a wave of comeback stories and transforming the recovery landscape, Empathy Health Technologies has raised about $2.8 million in seed funding to expand the impact of its digital health app, Sober Sidekick.

Peregrine: Up To $250 Million In Debt Financing From KKR

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Peregrine Energy Solutions (an integrated multi-technology clean energy platform with a focus on utility-scale energy storage) and global investment firm KKR announced that Peregrine has closed on a credit facility from insurance accounts managed by KKR that can provide ﬁnancing for up to $250 million in assets.

Sabanci Renewables: $137 Million In Financing Completed For Oriana Solar Project

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Advantage Capital announced that it has committed to offering a $137 million investment to Sabanci Renewables, a North American subsidiary of Sabanci Holding, to complete the financing of its Oriana Solar Project. Located about 120 miles southeast of San Antonio, Texas, in Victoria County, Oriana is a 232 MWdc utility-scale solar project currently under construction.

Plumery: Digital Banking Company Raises $3.3 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Digital banking company Plumery announced it raised $3.3 million in additional funding from early-stage investor DN Capital and Fontes, managed by leading global VC firm QED Investors. This latest funding round brings Plumery’s total funding to $7.8 million, and is in preparation for a larger Series A round in 2025.

Sepion Technologies: $17.5 Million Grant Received For Building Advanced Battery Separator Manufacturing Facility

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Sepion Technologies - a leader in battery materials innovation - announced plans to build a cutting-edge lithium-ion battery separator manufacturing facility in the Capitol Innovation District, a 1 million square foot advanced biomanufacturing innovation district in the heart of West Sacramento. With a $17.5 million grant from CALSTART and the California Energy Commission’s PowerForward: ZEV Battery Manufacturing Grant Program, the facility will address critical supply chain gaps and bolster the domestic battery workforce — crucial for national security and the clean energy transition.

Integrated Biosciences: $17.2 Million (Seed) Secured To Advance Use Of Synthetic Biology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

Integrated Biosciences, a biotechnology company pioneering the use of synthetic biology and machine learning to develop next-generation therapeutics for age-related diseases, announced that it has closed a $17.2 million seed financing, led by Sutter Hill Ventures with participation from Root Ventures, Civilization Ventures, Illumina Ventures Labs, Lifespan Vision Ventures, Overlap Holdings, SH Fund (Sabrina Hahn), Conscience VC, Mission BioCapital, Reinforced Ventures, Polymath Capital, Michael Stoppelman, and Vijay Pandurangan. The company also revealed that Keith Loebner, Ph.D. has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors and that Karl Sylvester, M.D., Uri Alon, Ph.D., and Wendy B. Young, Ph.D. have been appointed as advisors to the company.

AirOps: $15.5 Million (Series A) Raised To Help Marketers Scale AI Growth Workflows

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

AirOps, a company helping marketers build and scale AI growth workflows, announced it has raised $15.5 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Unusual VC, with participation from Wing VC, Founder Collective, XFund, Alt Capital, Lauryn Motamedi, David Rogier, and JD Ross.

Endomimetics: University of Alabama At Birmingham Startup Receives $2.8 Million Grant

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 8, 2024

The University of Alabama at Birmingham startup company Endomimetics has received a $2.8 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

New Frontier Aerospace: Seed Funding Round From Pacific Bays Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

New Frontier Aerospace (NFA) - a leading developer of advanced aerospace technologies - announced that it has closed a seed funding round with Pacific Bays Capital (PacCap), which is a Tokyo-based investment fund focused on the aerospace, space, green agriculture and energy sectors.

InterVene: $13 Million (Series A) Secured To Develop Interventional Solutions For Chronic Venous Insufficiency

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

InterVene - a clinical-stage medical device company dedicated to developing interventional solutions for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) - announced the closing of its $13 million Series A financing round. The funding was co-led by new investor Treo Ventures and existing investor RiverVest Venture Partners. In connection with this financing, Brad Vale (Treo Ventures founding general partner) has joined InterVene’s Board of Directors.

Quorum: Unified Data Optimization Platform Company Raises Seed Funding Round

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

Quorum, a leading unified data optimization platform for marketers and publishers focused on driving actions, outcomes, and commerce at scale, announced its seed funding round closing. The funding, which includes Crush Ventures and Dudley Fund, will help Quorum accelerate growth and innovation in alignment with strong demand.

Ambow Education: $1.3 Million Licensing Deal Secured

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

Ambow Education - an AI-based educational technology company - announced today that it has entered into a $1.3 million non-exclusive, annually renewable licensing agreement with Inspiring Futures Pte. LTD. This agreement grants licensing authorization for the production of the HybriU AI UniBox and the sale of HybriU, a comprehensive AI-driven, plug-and-play educational solution, in international markets. The agreement aligns with Ambow's mission to advance the future of education and empower educators and students globally.

Future Trash: Multidisciplinary Creative Studio Raises $5 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

Future Trash, a multidisciplinary creative studio, announced that it has raised $5 million in venture capital funding led by TIRTA and General Catalyst. The funding round will be dedicated to Future Trash's flagship original IP, FOAD, which leverages Fortnite's Unreal Editor (UEFN) tools and ecosystem to create a User-Generated-Content (UGC) native video game franchise.

Kando: $10 Million Secured For Accelerating Innovation In Wastewater Intelligence

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

Kando (a leading wastewater intelligence company dedicated to improving global wastewater quality) announced the closing of its latest investment round, raising $10 million and bringing the total amount raised to $30 million.

Kailera Therapeutics: $400 Million (Series A) Raised To Advance Next-Gen Therapies For Obesity

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 7, 2024

Kailera Therapeutics announced its launch as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing a broad pipeline of next-generation therapies for treating obesity and related conditions. And Kailera launches with a $400 million Series A financing co-led by Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and RTW Investments, with participation from Lyra Capital. The company is also developing several clinical-stage injectable and oral therapies that have demonstrated potential as best-in-class treatments for chronic weight management.

Halon Security: Investment Raised From Intera Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 6, 2024

Intera Partners announced it has invested in Halon Security, a global leader in email infrastructure software based in Sweden. This new funding will enable Halon to accelerate its global expansion and continue leading innovation in carrier-grade email solutions.

Avarra: Enterprise Avatar Company Raises $8 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 6, 2024

Avarra announced an $8 million seed round of funding and the general availability of the industry's first fully interactive, AI-avatar-based enterprise application. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the funding round, which included participation from the GTM Fund, Firsthand Alliance, and industry leaders, including John W. Thompson.

Convergence: Personal AI Agent Company Raises $12 Million (Pre-Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 6, 2024

Convergence—a startup creating personal AI agents for everyone—announced it has raised $12 million in pre-seed funding led by Balderton Capital. Salesforce Ventures and Shopify Ventures also participated in the round. This funding round will be used to develop novel models that power Proxy assistants, going beyond the current generation of AI and focusing on enabling continual learning and skill acquisition through memory.

StrataPT: Billing-Aware Practice Management Platform Company Raises $25 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 6, 2024

StrataPT, a billing-aware practice management platform for outpatient therapy clinics, announced it raised $25 million in financing led by Council Capital. This funding round comes as StrataPT experiences substantial growth, led by demand for its SaaS-based platform, which combines Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), billing, and collections into a single solution that helps practitioners improve cash flow and focus on patient care.

Qure.ai: $65 Million (Series D) Raised To Expand Into More Markets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 4, 2024

Mumbai-based global healthcare AI company Qure.ai announced it raised a $65 million Series D funding round. This funding round will expedite expansion in the US market and other geographies, invest more in foundational AI models, and enable complementary med-tech company acquisitions.

Pallet: Transportation And Warehouse Management System Company Raises $18 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 4, 2024

Pallet - a unified transportation and warehouse management system, today announced an $18 million Series A led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and Activant Capital. And several angel investors also participated, including Zach Frankel, Toast founders Aman Narang and Steve Fredette, Dutchie CEO Tim Barash, Home Depot board member Manuel Kadre, and Cedar Capital partner John Curtius.

Augmodo: Inventory And Task Tracker Company Raises $5.3 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 4, 2024

Augmodo is a real-time inventory and task tracker that uses wearable SmartBadges for creating live 3D store maps.The company announced it has raised $5.3 million in seed funding.

TRAY: Cloud-Native POS Systems Company Raises Funding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 4, 2024

TRAY, a leader in cloud-native enterprise-class POS systems, announced it has expanded its existing partnership with Alraedah Finance, a digital solutions provider based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Alraedah made a significant financial investment in TRAY, further empowering the technology provider to develop its cutting-edge POS system and support its Enterprise customers. Alraedah Digital Solutions, a division of Alraedah Finance, will provide additional resources and expertise in data analytics, product development, and third-party integrations.

Billables AI: Modern Professional Service Providers Platform Secures $3.9 Million (Seed)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Oct 4, 2024

Billables AI, an AI-based platform for professional service providers that streamlines operations with its flagship AI-powered timekeeping solution, announced it raised $3.9 million in seed funding led by Wing VC with participation from F7, SignalFire, Darkmode, Alumni Ventures, and a group of AI leaders and industry veterans like angel investors from Google, Stanford, SambaNova, and more.