Venture Capital

AF Gruppen Acquires Majority Stake In Swedish Concrete Contractor

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

AF Gruppen is expanding its footprint in Sweden’s construction sector through a majority investment in a regional concrete specialist. AF Bygg Syd AB has signed an agreement to acquire 70% of the shares in H.A. Bygg Entreprenad AB, with the remaining 30% continuing to be owned by the company’s employees.

Sitegeist Raises €4 Million Pre-Seed To Automate Concrete Renovation Across Europe

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Sitegeist, a Munich-based construction robotics startup, has raised €4 million in pre-seed funding to deploy automated, AI-enabled modular robots on construction sites and address Europe’s mounting infrastructure repair backlog. The round was co-led by b2venture and OpenOcean, with participation from UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators and angel investors including Verena Pausder, Lea-Sophie Cramer, and Alexander Schwörer, alongside additional strategic backers from the construction and robotics sectors.

National Fish And Wildlife Foundation Awards $3 Million Through Southeast Aquatics Fund To Restore Freshwater Habitats

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $3 million in grants through its Southeast Aquatics Fund to restore aquatic habitats and support native freshwater species across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Rivage: €2.6 Million Pre-Seed Raised For Modernizing Payroll For Accounting Firms

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

France-based payroll software startup Rivage has secured €2.6 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by Partech, marking the company’s first institutional raise since its founding in July 2025.

Newron Pharmaceuticals Secures Up To €38 Million To Advance Phase III Evenamide Program

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Newron Pharmaceuticals has secured up to €38 million in gross proceeds through an agreement with a group of existing and new shareholders from Europe and Asia, strengthening its financial position as it advances the Phase III ENIGMA-TRS program for evenamide in treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

The Bland Company Raises $2.67 Million Pre-Seed Round To Replace Eggs In Food Manufacturing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

The Bland Company has raised a $2.67 million pre-seed round led by Initialized Capital, with participation from Entrepreneurs First, Alumni Ventures, Transpose Platform, Behind Genius Ventures, and Vento.

AIT Worldwide Logistics Partners With Private Equity Firm Greenbriar Equity Group

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Supply chain solutions provider AIT Worldwide Logistics has entered into a definitive agreement to form a strategic partnership with Greenbriar Equity Group, marking a new phase of growth for the privately held logistics company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Temporal: $300 Million Series D At $5 Billion Valuation Secured For Open-Source Durable Execution Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Temporal, the open-source platform powering agentic AI applications, has raised $300 million in a Series D financing round at a $5 billion valuation as companies accelerate efforts to move AI systems from pilot projects into production environments. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sapphire Ventures. Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Tiger Global Management, GIC, Madrona Venture Group, and Amplify Partners, also participated.

ChipAgents: $74 Million Closed For Agentic AI Platform For Semiconductor Design

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

ChipAgents, an agentic AI platform focused on accelerating semiconductor design workflows, announced it has closed an oversubscribed $50 million Series A1 round, bringing its total capital raised to $74 million. The round was led by Matter Venture Partners, a TSMC-backed hardtech venture capital firm, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek, and Ericsson.

VulnCheck: $25 Million Series B Raised For Exploit Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

VulnCheck has raised $25 million in Series B financing to meet surging demand for its exploit intelligence solutions, bringing the company’s total funding to $45 million. The round was led by Sorenson Capital, with participation from National Grid Partners and existing investors including Ten Eleven Ventures and In-Q-Tel.

Certivo: $4 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI-Native Compliance Automation Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Certivo, an AI-powered supply chain compliance management platform, announced it has raised $4 million in seed funding to accelerate the launch of what it describes as the AI-native compliance automation category. The round was led by Suffolk Technologies with participation from Pioneer Square Ventures and other investors.

Sphinx: $7.1 Million Seed Funding Closed To Scale Browser-Native Agents For Financial Institutions

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Sphinx, a compliance automation platform that builds browser-native agents for financial institutions, announced it has raised $7.1 million in seed funding to expand its agent workforce and support growing demand from banks and fintechs managing anti-money laundering and onboarding operations. The round was led by Cherry Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, Deel Ventures, and Singularity Capital.

QuadSci: $8 Million Series A Raised For Customer Intelligence AI Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

QuadSci, a predictive and prescriptive AI platform for customer intelligence, has raised $8 million in a Series A financing round to accelerate product development and expand its go-to-market operations. The round was led by Crosslink Capital, with participation from Alumni Ventures, Correlation Ventures, and angel investors Shail Jain, Peter Gibson, Tom Roloff, and Rob Eberle.

Fireplace: $1.5 Million Pre-Seed Funding Raised For Prediction Market Trading Terminal Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Fireplace, a professional trading terminal for prediction markets, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round aimed at bringing institutional-grade trading infrastructure to one of the fastest-growing asset classes in financial markets. The round was led by Frachtis, with participation from White Star Capital and several other venture capital firms and angel investors, including syndicate rounds on Legion and Echo.

Seek Labs Awarded $2 Million USDA Grant To Develop CRISPR-Based And Mutation-Resistant Avian Flu Therapeutic

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Seek Labs has been awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to develop a novel, mutation-resistant therapeutic for highly pathogenic avian influenza using its proprietary Programmable Target Ablation Platform. The funding is part of a broader federal effort to combat the ongoing spread of avian influenza, which has disrupted poultry production, driven up egg and poultry prices, and strained the global food supply.

Veritas Capital Raises $15.3 Billion Across Fund IX Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Veritas Capital announced it has raised $15.3 billion in total capital across The Veritas Capital Fund IX and related investment vehicles, closing one of the largest fundraises in a market characterized by extended timelines and tighter allocations.

EIGHTClouds Launches $300+ Million Real Estate Investment Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Dubai-based alternative investment firm EIGHTClouds has launched the EIGHTClouds Real Estate Investment Fund, an open-ended vehicle targeting more than $300 million in committed capital and over $600 million in gross asset value during its first decade. The fund is structured to deliver predictable income and long-term capital appreciation through a diversified portfolio of high-yield, income-generating residential assets across Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates.

HarbourVest Partners Closes $1.1 Billion Inaugural Continuation Solutions Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

HarbourVest Partners, a global private markets investment firm with more than $146 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025, announced the final close of its inaugural Private Equity Continuation Solutions Fund at more than $1.1 billion in capital commitments.

Startup India Fund Of Funds 2.0: Cabinet Approves Over $118 Million To Boost Deep Tech And Manufacturing Startups

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the establishment of Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with a total corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore (over $118 million) to mobilize venture capital for India’s startup ecosystem.

Mundi Ventures: €750 Million First Close For Kembara Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Mundi Ventures has announced a €750 million first close for Kembara, described as Europe’s largest dedicated deep tech growth fund, as it works toward a €1 billion target. The fund is now actively investing in breakthrough deep tech science and engineering companies across the continent.

Tikehau Capital: Over $1 Billion In Commitments Closed For Second Private Debt Secondaries Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Tikehau Capital, the global alternative asset manager, announced the final close of its second vintage private debt secondaries fund, Tikehau Private Debt Secondaries II (TPDS II), with more than $1 billion in limited partner (LP) equity commitments, significantly exceeding its original $750 million target and more than doubling the size of its first-generation fund.

Blue Owl Capital Closes Over $3 Billion For Inaugural Strategic Equity Secondaries Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Blue Owl Capital announced the final close of its inaugural strategic equity and secondaries strategy, Blue Owl Strategic Equity, with more than $3 billion in total commitments raised across institutional and private wealth channels.

Middleburg Closes $125 Million Oversubscribed Third GP Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 18, 2026

Middleburg, a vertically integrated real estate investment firm focused on rental housing, announced it has reached the final close of its third GP Fund, raising $125 million in total capital commitments and exceeding its original target to hit the fund’s hard cap.

Odyssey Secures Investment From NVentures And Samsung Next For AI Research Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

Odyssey, an artificial intelligence research company focused on frontier world models, has announced a new investment from NVentures, the venture capital arm of NVIDIA, and Samsung Next. The funding will support the company’s push to develop a general-purpose world simulator capable of generating infinitely long, interactive simulations from any starting point.

Render: $100 Million Series C Extension At $1.5 Billion Valuation Raised For Modern Cloud Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

Render has raised $100 million in a Series C extension at a $1.5 billion valuation, bringing its total funding to $258 million as it doubles down on building infrastructure for AI-native software companies.

Upside Robotics: $7.5 Million Seed Funding Raised To Advance Sustainable Farm Automation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

Upside Robotics has raised $7.5 million in seed funding to propel its next phase of growth, giving the Velocity-based startup momentum to deepen its partnerships with farmers and agricultural companies across Canada. The funding round was led by Plural, with participation from Garage Capital, Entrepreneurs First and the founders of Clearpath Robotics. The round brings Upside Robotics’ total funding to more than $11 million.

Wave Function Ventures Invests In Aerospace Company Natilus To Advance Sustainable Aviation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

Wave Function Ventures announced a strategic investment in Natilus, a San Diego-based aerospace company developing blended-wing-body aircraft aimed at transforming both cargo and passenger aviation through improved efficiency and reduced emissions.

Gemdale Gold Secures C$2.4 Million Strategic Investment From Gold Producer Eldorado

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

Gemdale Gold has closed a C$2.4 million strategic investment from Eldorado Gold Corporation through a non-brokered private placement, bringing a new strategic partner onto its share register as it advances its exploration portfolio in Finland.

Tozaro: £6 Million Secured To Cut Gene Therapy Manufacturing Costs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

Tozaro, a Bedfordshire-based developer of Smart Polymer technology for cell and gene therapy manufacturing, has secured £6 million in new funding to accelerate commercial partnerships and broaden access to gene therapies. The funding round was led by Mercia Ventures through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II and Mercia’s own funds, with participation from existing investors. The latest investment brings the company’s total funding to £23.7 million since its inception. Mercia first backed the business in 2015 when it operated under its former name, MIP Discovery.

inKind Closes $450 Million In Capital To Fund Up To 10,000 U.S. Restaurants In The Next Year

By Amit Chowdhry ● Feb 17, 2026

inKind has secured $450 million in capital to accelerate its restaurant commerce platform, which currently serves 6,000 restaurants across the U.S. The funding, a combination of equity and debt, is expected to expand the platform to an additional 10,000 U.S. restaurants over the next year.