Startups

One Raven Raises $5 Million Seed Round To Launch Privacy-First Smart Home Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

One Raven, a privacy-focused smart home platform, announced its launch alongside a $5 million seed funding round led by Fifth Wall. The company aims to redefine the smart home by keeping intelligence and data inside the home rather than relying on cloud infrastructure.

Healome Therapeutics Raises £2 Million Seed Round To Advance Eye-Drop Matrix Technology For Ocular Surface Diseases

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Healome Therapeutics, a University of Birmingham spinout developing a proprietary eye-drop matrix platform for ocular surface diseases, announced it has raised an oversubscribed £2 million seed funding round. The financing was led by Empirical Ventures, with participation from DEBRA Research, Cure EB, Oshen Bio, and existing investor SFC Capital.

Norm Ai Raises $120 Million Series C At $1.2 Billion Valuation To Expand AI-Native Legal Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Norm Ai announced it has raised $120 million in Series C funding at a $1.2 billion valuation in a round led by Khosla Ventures. The financing included participation from Blackstone, Bain Capital Ventures, Craft Ventures, Coatue, Vanguard, New York Life, TIAA, Tony James, Jeff Hammes, and Fenwick LLP. Since launching less than three years ago, the company has now raised more than $260 million.

Atlassian Ventures Invests In Rocketlane To Advance AI-Powered Professional Services Delivery

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Rocketlane announced it has received a strategic investment from Atlassian Ventures, reinforcing the growing importance of AI-powered professional services platforms as enterprises rethink how implementation and consulting work is delivered. The investment follows Rocketlane's recent $60 million Series C financing and reflects Atlassian's confidence in the company's vision after adopting Rocketlane internally for its own AI-driven professional services operations.

FORE Biotherapeutics Raises $67.4 Million In Series D-2 Extension To Advance Plixorafenib

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

FORE Biotherapeutics, a registration-stage oncology company focused on targeted cancer therapies, announced the closing of an upsized $67.4 million Series D-2 extension financing, bringing the total raised in the Series D-2 round to $110 million.

EdVisorly Raises $13.3 Million Series A To Modernize College Admissions And Enrollment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

EdVisorly, an AI-powered enrollment technology company serving higher education institutions, announced it has raised $13.3 million in Series A funding to accelerate product development, expand customer support, and help colleges and universities modernize admissions and enrollment operations.

Hostie Raises $12 Million Series A To Expand AI-Powered Restaurant Concierge Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Hostie, an AI-powered virtual concierge platform for restaurants, announced it has raised a $12 million Series A funding round led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Gradient, Scribble Ventures, Burst Capital, and Behind Genius Ventures. The financing brings the San Francisco-based company's total funding to $16 million.

Kord Raises £6.4 Million Series A To Simplify Client Onboarding And Client Money Management

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Kord, a fintech company focused on modernizing financial workflows for regulated businesses, announced it has raised £6.4 million in Series A funding to accelerate the growth of its platform that combines client onboarding and client money management into a single solution.

Tangos Raises $20 Million Seed Round To Automate Financial Crime Investigations With AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Tangos AI, an autonomous AI platform for financial crime investigations, announced it has raised $20 million in seed funding to expand its technology and help financial institutions accelerate complex compliance and investigative workflows. The funding round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners, with participation from Leaders Fund, Clarim, Venture Israel, Signal Fire, Clutch Capital, Selah Ventures, and a strategic investment from Bright Data.

Whispp Raises €5 Million To Scale Real-Time On-Device Voice Reconstruction AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Whispp, a deep technology company focused on transforming speech through artificial intelligence, announced it has raised €5 million in follow-on funding to accelerate the development and global deployment of its real-time, on-device Voice Reconstruction AI technology.

Kuehnle AgroSystems Raises Multi-Million-Dollar Series B To Scale Sustainable Natural Astaxanthin Production

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Kuehnle AgroSystems (KAS), an algal biotechnology company developing sustainable natural astaxanthin through proprietary dark fermentation technology, announced the closing of a multi-million-dollar Series B financing round. The round was led by IVC, with continued participation from existing investors S2G Investments and Hatch Blue, alongside new investor Dest EOOD.

Floqer Raises $2 Million Pre-Seed To Expand Autonomous Customer Knowledge Platform For GTM Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Floqer, an AI startup building an autonomous customer knowledge base for go-to-market (GTM) teams, announced it has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding. The round included participation from Perplexity's F7 Fund, N49P, Tidal Venture Partners, and Perplexity co-founder Denis Yarats.

Polysense Raises $10.7 Million Seed Round To Scale AI-Powered Food Manufacturing Quality Control

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Belgian food technology company Polysense announced it has raised $10.7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round to accelerate the adoption of its AI-powered quality control and process optimization platform for food manufacturers. The round was led by Felix Capital, with participation from Fortino Ventures and angel investors including Syndicate One and 100IN.

Fleek Raises $25 Million Series B To Modernize The Global Secondhand Clothing Supply Chain

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Fleek, a technology company modernizing the global secondhand clothing supply chain, announced that it has raised $25 million in Series B funding to accelerate the development of its AI-powered platform and expand its global marketplace for used apparel.

Alchemab Raises £25 Million Extension to Series A to Advance AI-Driven Antibody Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Clinical-stage biotechnology company Alchemab Therapeutics announced a £25 million (approximately $34 million) extension to its Series A financing from the British Business Bank. The investment marks the largest life sciences investment made by the British Business Bank to date and increases Alchemab’s total Series A funding to £109 million.

Ollama Raises $65 Million In Series B Funding To Expand Its Open-Source AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Ollama, the developer platform for open AI models, announced that it has raised $65 million in Series B funding led by Theory Ventures, with participation from Benchmark, 8VC, Y Combinator, Pace Capital, 49 Palms, GTMFund, and other investors and angel backers. The latest financing brings the company’s total funding to $88 million. Benchmark previously led Ollama’s Series A round, and Benchmark General Partner Peter Fenton serves on the company’s board.

Otovo Closes $7.25 Million Financing Round To Fund Green Panel Acquisition And Global Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Otovo announced it has closed a $7.25 million private placement financing round, bringing the company's total capital raised over the past nine months to approximately $34 million. The new funding will primarily support Otovo's planned acquisition of Green Panel Solar Energy Systems Ltd., a leading behind-the-meter energy services provider in Israel, while also funding continued investments in the company's AI-powered energy platform.

Databento Raises $97 Million Series B To Expand Global Market Data Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Databento, a market data platform for financial institutions, announced it has raised $97 million in Series B funding in a round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from DRW Venture Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Tribe Capital, and other strategic and existing investors. The financing was significantly oversubscribed, attracting more than $300 million in investor demand.

MITS Capital Invests In Dropla Tech To Scale Edge-AI Defense Systems And Unmanned Ground Vehicles

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

MITS Capital announced an investment in Dropla Tech, a Danish-Ukrainian defense technology company developing edge-AI explosive threat detection systems and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Financial terms of the investment, including the company's valuation, were not disclosed.

QIZ Security Raises $17 Million Seed Round To Advance Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

QIZ Security announced it has raised $17 million in seed funding to accelerate the development and expansion of its cryptographic posture and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) management platform. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Merlin Ventures, with participation from Evolution Equity Partners, Qbeat Ventures, Singtel Innov8, and Qino Cyber Capital.

NAVER D2SF Invests in 23i to Advance Virtual Entertainment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

NAVER’s venture arm D2SF has invested in 23i, a South Korea–based virtual entertainment startup focused on building multi-persona digital artists and scalable fan experiences.

Airties To Acquire Aprecomm To Expand AI Connectivity Platform And Accelerate Growth In Emerging Markets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Airties announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aprecomm, an AI-driven broadband connectivity software company, to strengthen its Connectivity Experience Management platform and expand its presence in high-growth broadband markets, including India, South Asia, Southeast Asia, South America, and other developing regions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

GIM Raises $20 Million Series A To Advance Agentic AI Investing Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

GIM (Grace Investment Machine) announced it has raised $20 million in Series A funding to accelerate development of its AI-native investment technology platform focused on autonomous, agentic investing systems.

QuantumDiamonds Raises €91 Million To Scale Quantum Chip Inspection Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

QuantumDiamonds, a Munich-based semiconductor equipment company developing quantum-based chip inspection technology, announced it has raised €91 million to expand production of its next-generation semiconductor inspection systems. The financing includes a €15 million equity round led by World Fund and €76 million in non-dilutive funding approved under the European Chips Act.

Pixel-Flo Raises £5.25 Million Seed Round To Scale MicroLED Manufacturing Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Pixel-Flo, a University of Sheffield spin-out developing technology to address a major manufacturing bottleneck for MicroLED displays, announced it has raised £5.25 million in Seed funding. The oversubscribed round was led by Northern Gritstone, with participation from SCVC, Parkwalk’s Northern Universities Venture Fund, and HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds).

Kraken Technology Group Raises $175 Million Series B At $1 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

British maritime defense technology company Kraken Technology Group announced it has raised $175 million in Series B funding at a $1 billion valuation to accelerate development of its uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), expand payload capabilities, and scale localized manufacturing operations worldwide.

Rubrik To Invest £375 Million In UK And Establish London As EMEA Headquarters

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Rubrik announced plans to invest more than £375 million (approximately $500 million) in the UK over the next five years while naming London as its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) headquarters. The investment underscores the UK's growing importance to Rubrik's global business and supports the company's continued expansion across the region.

Velocity Raises $27 Million Seed To Help AI Companies Turn Growth Into Sustainable Revenue

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Velocity announced that it raised $27 million in seed funding to help AI-native software companies turn rapid user growth into sustainable revenue. The round was led by NFX and Red Dot Capital Partners. Stardom Ventures, Corner Ventures, and Transcend also participated in the round. Velocity plans to use the funding to support its AI monetization infrastructure.

Alta Raises $25 Million Series A To Redefine Go-To-Market Architecture For Revenue Teams

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Alta announced that it raised $25 million in Series A funding. The company describes itself as an AI System of Actions for go-to-market teams. The round was led by IN Venture, with participation from Mindset Ventures, Skywell Capital, LeumiTech77, and existing investors Entrée Capital, Target Global, and Verissimo Ventures. Prominent angel investors and scout funds also joined the round.

Venus Aerospace Raises $91 Million Series B To Mature Flight-Proven RDRE Propulsion Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jul 9, 2026

Venus Aerospace announced the close of a $91 million Series B financing round to scale development and production of its rotating detonation rocket engine technology. The round was led by Mercury Fund, with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity, and other new and existing strategic and institutional investors.