Venture Capital

Protege: $30 Million Raised To Expand Real-World Data Access For AI Development

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 8, 2026

Protege, an AI data platform focused on unlocking trusted, real-world datasets at scale, has raised a $30 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The financing expands the company’s previously announced $25 million Series A from August 2025 and brings total funding to $65 million since Protege’s founding in 2024. Returning investors include Footwork, CRV, Bloomberg Beta, Flex Capital, Shaper Capital, and others.

Tenax Aerospace Completes Refinancing, Buys Out Bain Capital Credit And Consolidates NTC Group Ownership

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 8, 2026

Tenax Aerospace, a provider of special mission aircraft and related services to U.S. government and commercial customers, said it has completed a refinancing that includes the buyout of its junior capital partner, Bain Capital Credit, consolidating ownership of the business under NTC Group.

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.

LoneTree Capital Names Gerald Castaldo Partner As Firm Prepares For Next Growth Phase

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

LoneTree Capital has added Gerald Castaldo as a partner, expanding the leadership team as the New York-based growth capital firm ramps up investing activity and prepares to launch fundraising for its second fund later this year.

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.

KKR And Oak Hill Capital Commit Nearly $2 Billion To European Data Center Platform Global Technical Realty

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

KKR is increasing its investment in Global Technical Realty (GTR) with an additional $1.5 billion equity commitment, as Oak Hill Capital joins the company as a new investor with an approximately $400 million commitment.

BV Investment Partners: Fund XII Closed With $2.465 Billion In Commitments

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

BV Investment Partners, a private equity firm focused on tech-enabled business services and solutions, said it has completed fundraising for BVIP Fund XII at its hard cap of $2.465 billion, exceeding an initial target of $2 billion.

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.

Monroe Capital Raises $6.1 Billion For Private Credit Fund V And Related Mandates

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Monroe Capital announced it has reached a final close for its 2025 Monroe Capital Private Credit Fund V, bringing total investable capital tied to the strategy to $6.1 billion when including the fund, targeted fund-level leverage, and separately managed accounts that are expected to invest alongside the same mandate.

Libertas Funding Surpasses $5 Billion In Funding In Under A Decade

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Libertas Funding announced it has surpassed $5 billion in total funding in less than 10 years, a milestone the Greenwich, Connecticut-based growth capital provider framed as evidence of rising demand among small and mid-sized businesses for faster, more customized financing solutions.

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.

Russell Investments Secures $1.225 Billion Apollo Financing To Refinance Debt And Support Long-Term Growth

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Russell Investments announced it has completed a $1.225 billion strategic financing provided by funds and affiliates managed by Apollo that are associated with Apollo’s hybrid and credit strategies. The firm said the transaction is designed to provide long-term capital and greater balance sheet flexibility as it continues to execute its growth strategy.

DayOne Data Centers Secures Over $2 Billion Series C To Advance Hyperscale Expansion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

DayOne Data Centers Limited announced it has entered into definitive agreements for more than $2.0 billion in Series C equity financing, a fundraising total the company described as one of the largest private capital raises in the data center sector. The Singapore-headquartered platform said the new capital is intended to accelerate development of next-generation, AI-ready digital infrastructure across key markets in Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Orano Secures $900 Million DOE Funding For Planned U.S. Uranium Enrichment Plant in Tennessee

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

Orano announced it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive $900 million in funding to help build a new enriched uranium production facility in the United States, a project the company estimates will cost nearly $5 billion in total.

The AmeriFlex Group Secures Strategic Minority Investment From Cambridge

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 7, 2026

The AmeriFlex Group, an advisor-owned hybrid RIA based in Las Vegas, said Cambridge Investment Research has made a strategic minority investment in the firm to accelerate the national expansion of its SuccessionFully platform.

Pluto Raises $8.6 Million And Launches AI-Powered Lending Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

Pluto Financial Technologies has launched what it describes as the first AI-powered lending platform purpose-built for private markets, aiming to help investors access liquidity without selling private fund positions. The New York-based company said it is backed by Motive Ventures, Portage, Apollo Global Management, Hamilton Lane, Tectonic Ventures, and Broadhaven Ventures, and has raised $8.6 million in equity alongside securing “hundreds of millions” in lending capacity.

TPG To Manage At Least $12 Billion for Jackson Financial And Takes $500 Million Minority Stake

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

TPG and Jackson Financial said they have formed a long-term strategic investment-management partnership designed to expand Jackson’s access to credit strategies while supporting TPG’s growing insurance-capital platform.

Qualinx: €20 Million Raised To Scale Ultra-Low-Power GNSS Chip For The Connected Edge

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

Qualinx, a Delft-based European fabless semiconductor company, raised €20 million in funding led by Invest-NL, with participation from existing investors FORWARD.one, InnovationQuarter Capital and Waterman Ventures. The round brings Qualinx’s total funding to date to €40 million.

Lindsay Goldberg: Oversubscribed $4.9 Billion Fund VI Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

Lindsay Goldberg has raised $4.9 billion for its sixth flagship fund, an oversubscribed close that exceeded the firm’s $4.0 billion target and marked a step-up in scale versus its prior vehicle. The fund, Lindsay Goldberg VI L.P. and related vehicles (collectively Fund VI), closed more than 40% larger than Fund V, underscoring continued limited partner demand for the firm’s focused, relationship-driven approach to private equity investing.

Excel Engineering Announces Strategic Investment And Partnership With Fusion Capital Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

Excel Engineering, a Diagonal, Iowa-based testing and certification firm serving North American original equipment manufacturers, has secured a strategic investment from Fusion Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on engineered products and services in the industrial sector. The partnership is intended to help Excel scale its business and broaden its technical capabilities as OEMs and industrial customers navigate increasingly complex regulatory requirements and the continued evolution of powertrain and battery technologies.

Main Capital Partners Acquires Majority Stake In IQ Messenger

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

Main Capital Partners announced it has acquired a majority stake in IQ Messenger (IQM), a provider of vendor-neutral critical communication software used by healthcare institutions, as the firm looks to back product innovation and accelerate the company’s international growth.

AB InBev To Reacquire Minority Stake in U.S. Metal Container Plants For About $3 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

Anheuser-Busch InBev said it has exercised its right to reacquire the 49.9% minority stake in its U.S.-based metal container plants from a consortium of institutional investors led and/or advised by affiliates of Apollo Global Management for an estimated purchase price of approximately $3 billion.

Lupus Research Alliance Launches Lupus Ventures Philanthropic Fund To Back New SLE Therapies And Diagnostics

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

The Lupus Research Alliance, the largest private funder of lupus research, said it has formed a philanthropic venture fund called Lupus Ventures to help advance treatments and diagnostics for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), its manifestations, and related autoimmune conditions.

xAI Raises $20 Billion Series E

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

xAI announced it has closed an upsized Series E funding round totaling $20 billion, surpassing its previously targeted $15 billion raise, as the company accelerates development of its AI models and the infrastructure behind them. The company said the financing included participation from Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, among other investors. And xAI added that NVIDIA and Cisco Investments joined as strategic investors, backing efforts to scale compute capacity and expand what it described as some of the world’s largest GPU clusters.

LMArena: $150 Million At $1.7 Billion Valuation Raised To Expand Real-World AI Evaluation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 6, 2026

LMArena announced it has raised $150 million in new financing to expand its community-driven platform for evaluating frontier AI models, valuing the company at $1.7 billion post-money. The round was led by Felicis and UC Investments, the University of California’s investment office, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, The House Fund, LDVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Laude Ventures.