Venture Capital

ALTÉRRA And BBVA Partner On Proposed $1.2 Billion Climate Co-Investment Fund With $250M Commitment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

ALTÉRRA, one of the world’s largest private investment vehicles for climate finance, and BBVA said they have formed a new partnership centered on a climate co-investment vehicle that ALTÉRRA plans to launch, with BBVA committing $250 million as a proposed strategic limited partner, subject to regulatory approvals.

Slips: $3.5 Million Series Seed Raised To Expand Peer-To-Peer Betting Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Slips, a peer-to-peer betting company positioning itself as an alternative to traditional sportsbooks, said it has raised a $3.5 million series seed round to accelerate product development, hiring, and national expansion. The round was led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital. Slips also cited participation from several individual and strategic investors, including Andrew Schwartzberg, whom the company identified as a co-owner of the Charlotte Hornets and Leeds United.

Ammobia: $7.5 Million Raised To Scale Low-Cost Ammonia Production Technology Critical To Energy Resilience

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Ammobia, a San Francisco-based startup developing modular “Haber-Bosch 2.0” ammonia production plants, has raised a $7.5 million seed round to advance reactor technology it says can materially cut the cost and complexity of ammonia synthesis. The round was backed by Shell Ventures, ALIAD (Air Liquide), MOL Switch (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ venture arm), and Chevron Technology Ventures, with additional participation from Katapult Ocean, AIR Capital, Alumni Ventures, and Motivate Fund. Ammobia also reported follow-on capital from existing investors, including Starlight Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Arosa Capital, and Zero Infinity Partners, bringing total funding to $13.5 million across dilutive and non-dilutive capital.

One Rock Capital Partners Buys Majority Stake In American Furniture Rentals

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

One Rock Capital Partners announced an affiliate has acquired a majority stake in American Furniture Rentals (AFR), a national furniture rental provider serving special events, trade shows, and residential and commercial customers across the U.S. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Atomic Insights: $10 Million Seed Funding Raised To Modernize Money Movement And Payment Workflows For RIAs And Family Offices

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 15, 2026

Atomic Insights, a fintech provider of money-movement and workflow automation tools for registered investment advisors and family offices, has raised $10 million in seed funding as it expands a platform designed to centralize payment requests, automate approvals, and connect directly to custodians and banks through real-time APIs.

Aikido: $60 Million Series B Raised At $1 Billion Valuation For Cybersecurity Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Aikido announced it has raised a $60 million Series B financing at a $1 billion valuation, marking one of the fastest reported paths to unicorn status for a European cybersecurity company. The round was led by DST Global’s Tom Stafford, with participation from PSG Equity, Singular, Notion Capital, and other investors.

Crowe Invests In Crowe Advisory Services India To Expand Consulting Capabilities And Grow In India

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Crowe has made a strategic investment in Crowe Advisory Services India LLP (CAS), a move aimed at expanding Crowe’s consulting and advisory footprint and strengthening delivery capabilities in India, one of the world’s fastest-growing major markets.

Ryan Announces Minority Investment From Neuberger Berman Capital Solutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Ryan, LLC, a global tax services and software provider, said Wednesday that Neuberger Berman Capital Solutions and funds managed by Neuberger Berman Private Markets have committed to acquire a “significant minority” equity interest in the company, adding a new long-term strategic shareholder alongside Onex Partners and Ares Private Equity Funds.

depthfirst Raises $40 Million Series A To Bring AI Agents to Software Security

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

depthfirst, an applied AI lab focused on software security, has raised a $40 million Series A funding round as it positions its “General Security Intelligence” platform as a response to a fast-changing threat landscape shaped by AI-generated code and increasingly automated attacks. The round was led by Accel and included participation from Alt Capital, BoxGroup, Liquid 2 Ventures, Mantis VC and SV Angel, alongside angel investors Jeff Dean, Kirsten Green, Colin Evans, Logan Kilpatrick and Julian Schrittwieser, the company said.

Exelon Adds $10 Million To Customer Relief Fund As Winter Energy Use Rises

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Exelon announced it is contributing an additional $10 million to its Customer Relief Fund to help utility customers facing higher bills as cold weather increases energy demand and overall costs remain elevated.

CalcFocus Lands Growth Investment From Pamlico Capital And Names Sandia Ren As CEO

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

CalcFocus announced it has secured a significant growth investment from Pamlico Capital as the insurer-focused software provider looks to accelerate expansion and deepen its push to modernize core systems for life, health, and annuity carriers.

Novee Emerges From Stealth With $51.5 Million To Counter AI Cyberattacks With A Proprietary AI Hacker

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Novee, an AI offensive security startup based in Tel Aviv, Israel, has launched out of stealth with $51.5 million in total funding as it targets the rise of AI-enabled cyberattacks with continuous, AI-driven penetration testing.

Alpaca: $150 Million At $1.15 Billion Valuation Raised To Build The Global Standard For Brokerage Infrastructure

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Alpaca, a brokerage infrastructure provider whose APIs are used by partners including Kraken, SBI Securities, and Dime!, has raised a $150 million Series D at a $1.15 billion valuation. The round was led by Drive Capital, and Drive Capital co-founder and partner Chris Olsen will join Alpaca’s board as part of the financing. Investors participating in the Series D included Citadel Securities; Opera Tech Ventures, the venture arm of BNP Paribas; MUFG Innovation Partners; Flat Capital; DRW Venture Capital; Kraken; Altered Capital; X&KSK; Bank Muscat; and Endeavor Catalyst, among others. Returning backers included Portage, Horizons Ventures, Social Leverage, Unbound, Diagram, and Derayah Financial, while Revolut CTO Vlad Yatsenko also participated as an angel investor.

Caldera Therapeutics Launches With $112.5 Million And Doses First Subjects In Phase 1 Trial Of CLD-423

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Caldera Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a first-in-class bispecific antibody for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other immunologic and inflammatory diseases, launched with $112.5 million in total capital raised and said it has dosed the first subjects in a Phase 1 trial of its lead program, CLD-423.

Tailwind Capital Invests In Valor Fleet Services

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Tailwind Capital, a growth-oriented private equity firm focused on Industrial and Technical Services, has made an investment in Valor Fleet Services, partnering with the Mid-Atlantic towing and roadside services platform to support its next phase of expansion.

Kikin Financial Secures Up To $20 Million Debt Facility Via Percent To Expand UK SME Lending

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Kikin Financial, a UK-based fintech lending platform focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, announced it has secured initial funding through Percent’s private credit platform, with capacity to access up to $20 million as it scales its UK business.

Pillr Health: Funding Raised From Water Street Healthcare Partners To Expand Hospital Pharmacy Enablement Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Water Street Healthcare Partners has invested in Pillr Health, a provider of software and tech-enabled services designed to help hospitals and health systems optimize pharmacy operations, particularly within the federal 340B outpatient drug pricing program.

SkyFi: $12.7 Million Series A Closed To Broaden Access to Satellite Imagery And Analytics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

SkyFi, an AI-first Earth intelligence platform, has raised $12.7 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to expand access to on-demand satellite imagery and built-in geospatial analytics across commercial and government use cases. The financing was co-led by Buoyant Ventures and IronGate Capital Advisors, with new participation from DNV Ventures, TFX Capital, Beyond Earth Ventures, Nova Threshold, and Chris Morisoli, alongside existing investors RSquared VC and J2 Ventures.

osapiens: $100 Million Series C Raised For Sustainable Growth Enterprise Software

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

osapiens, a provider of enterprise software focused on sustainable growth, has entered into an agreement for Decarbonization Partners—a joint venture between BlackRock and Temasek—to lead a $100 million Series C round, subject to regulatory approvals. The financing pushes osapiens to unicorn status, marking a valuation of more than $1 billion.

Amperon Adds Samsung Ventures Backing To Expand AI Energy Forecasting Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Amperon announced it has secured an investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, adding a major strategic backer as the company continues international expansion and develops its next-generation AI-driven forecasting products for energy markets. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Vista AI: $29.5 Million Series B Raised To Expand Automated MRI Scanning Across Health Systems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Vista AI, a provider of automated MRI scanning software for hospitals and imaging centers, has closed a $29.5 million Series B financing round backed by a mix of health systems and venture investors as it looks to scale its FDA-cleared cardiac MRI platform and broaden into additional anatomies.

Listen Labs: $69 Million Series B Closed To Bring Customer Voices Into Every Decision

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Listen Labs, an AI-first customer research platform, said it has raised $69 million in a Series B round led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from Evantic and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Conviction, and Pear VC.

Project Eleven: $20 Million Series A Raised To Build Post-Quantum Migration Tools For Digital Assets

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Project Eleven, a company focused on post-quantum security and migration for digital assets, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Fin Capital, Variant, Quantonation, Nebular, Formation, Lattice Fund, Satstreet Ventures, Nascent Ventures and Balaji Srinivasan.

Quadric: $30 Million Series C Closed As Design Wins Accelerate For On-Device AI Across Edge LLMs, Automotive, And Enterprise

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Quadric, an on-device AI inference processor IP and tooling provider headquartered in Burlingame, California, has raised an oversubscribed $30 million Series C round, bringing total capital raised to $72 million. The financing was led by the ACCELERATE Fund, managed by BEENEXT Capital Management.

Meld Raises $7 Million Strategic Round To Accelerate Global Network Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Meld, a provider of infrastructure for accessing digital assets and stablecoins, has raised a $7 million strategic funding round led by Lightspeed Faction, with participation from F-Prime, Yolo Investments, and Scytale Digital.

Provest Equity Partners And CTW Venture Partners Announce Strategic Joint Investment In Natural Fiber Welding

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Natural Fiber Welding (NFW), a Peoria, Illinois-based materials science company developing high-performance, plant-based alternatives to petroleum-derived plastics and synthetics, said it has secured a strategic joint investment from Provest Equity Partners and CTW Venture Partners.

Skild AI Raises $1.4 Billion At $14 Billion Valuation For AI Robotics Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Skild AI, a Pittsburgh-based AI robotics company developing a foundation model designed to serve as a general-purpose “brain” for multiple types of robots, announced it has raised close to $1.4 billion in new funding at a valuation above $14 billion.

Jadwa Investment Launches SAR 750 Million GCC-Focused Private Credit Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Jadwa Investment has launched its flagship private credit vehicle, the Jadwa GCC Diversified Private Credit Fund, targeting up to SAR 750 million (about $200 million) as the firm expands its regional private credit platform beyond deal-by-deal strategies.

Coating Place Lands Growth Investment From 1315 Capital To Expand Microencapsulation CDMO Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Coating Place, a U.S.-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in microencapsulation, has secured a strategic growth capital investment from 1315 Capital, the firms said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Sixth Street Closes €3.75 Billion For Third European Direct Lending Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 14, 2026

Sixth Street announced it has reached a final close on Sixth Street Specialty Lending Europe III (SLE III) at its hard cap with €3.75 billion in equity commitments, marking the firm’s largest dedicated fund focused on European direct lending. The firm expects total investable capital for SLE III to be about €7 billion, including anticipated leverage.