Venture Capital

Aurelius Systems: $10 Million Raised For Advancing Autonomous Laser Defense Against Drone Threats

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 10, 2025

Aurelius Systems, a defense technology startup based in San Francisco, has secured $10 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of its autonomous laser platform designed to neutralize drone threats. The round was co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates, with the funding earmarked for scaling operations, expanding engineering and manufacturing capabilities, and launching field testing programs with operational partners.

Pathwork: $3.5 Million Seed Funding Secured To Modernize Life And Health Insurance

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Pathwork, a San Francisco-based startup focused on transforming the life and health insurance industry, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Costanoa and joined by Logos Fund, American Family Ventures, Meridian Ventures, and several experienced industry investors. This funding will help Pathwork accelerate the adoption of its AI-powered platform among brokers and insurance carriers across the United States.

Labs: $22.5 Million At $10 Billion Valuation Raised And Yuhmmy App 2.0 Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Labs Companies, a Santa Monica-based human-enhancement technology firm founded by Maya Elz Davis and Duránd F. Davis Jr., has announced the close of a $22.5 million Series Seed funding round. The round, which values the company at $10 billion post-money, was completed four months ago but is being revealed now alongside a follow-on debt financing round to provide a full picture of the company’s capital strategy.

Parento: $5.9 Million Raised For Expanding Inclusive Paid Parental Leave Insurance Nationwide

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Parento, a New York-based startup dedicated to transforming how companies support working parents, has announced the close of a $5.9 million Seed II funding round. Led by ResilienceVC, the round included participation from Kapor Capital, Bread & Butter Ventures, Operator Stack, Coyote Ventures, ffVC, Human Ventures, Springbank, Precursor, Cross Impact, K Street, Evidenced, and Avesta. This brings Parento’s total funding to $10.3 million and marks a significant step in its mission to make paid parental leave accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Speedchain: $111 Million Secured To Modernize Financial Workflows In Construction

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Speedchain, a fintech company specializing in commercial card programs and expense management for project-driven sectors, has announced the close of $111 million in strategic equity and debt financing. The round includes debt financing from Community Investment Management (CIM), a private credit impact investor, and equity backing from GTM Fund, Village Global, TTV Capital, K5 Global, Tandem, and Emigrant Bank.

Adaptive Security: $55 Million Raised With Continued Backing From OpenAI To Combat AI-Driven Fraud

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Adaptive Security, a cybersecurity company focused on preventing AI-based social engineering attacks, has announced a follow-on investment from the OpenAI Startup Fund, bringing its Series A total to $55 million. This makes Adaptive the only cybersecurity firm backed by OpenAI’s venture arm, underscoring the fund’s confidence in Adaptive’s human-centered approach to digital protection.

Astrus: $8 Million Raised To Transform Analog Chip Design With Physics-Aware AI

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Astrus, a Toronto and Waterloo-based AI startup, has secured $8 million in funding to accelerate development of its physics-aware foundation model for analog chip design. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Pradeep Sindhu (founder of Juniper Networks), 1517 Fund, Drive Capital, Alumni Ventures, and other strategic backers.

Databricks: $1 Billion Series K Raised At $100 Billion Valuation For AI Agent Builder

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Databricks announced it has surpassed a $4 billion revenue run-rate in Q2, reflecting over 50% year-over-year growth. Its AI products alone have crossed a $1 billion run-rate, underscoring the company’s rapid momentum in enterprise AI adoption. Databricks also reported positive free cash flow over the past 12 months and a net retention rate above 140%, with more than 650 customers generating over $1 million in annual revenue.

Mistral AI: €1.7 Billion Series C Raised At €11.7 Billion Valuation For Advancing Frontier AI For Strategic Industries

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Mistral AI has announced a €1.7 billion Series C funding round, bringing its post-money valuation to €11.7 billion. The round is led by ASML Holding. The funding also includes continued support from existing investors such as DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Bpifrance, General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Lightspeed, and NVIDIA.

Property Finder: $525 Million Investment Secured To Advance Real Estate Growth Across The MENA

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Property Finder, known as a leading property portal across the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a significant strategic investment totaling $525 million. Permira leads the funding round with substantial participation from Blackstone Growth. This infusion of capital marks a pivotal moment for Property Finder, reinforcing its position as a leader in the region’s rapidly evolving property classifieds sector.

ElevenLabs: $100 Million Employee Tender Offer Launched At $6.6 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

ElevenLabs has announced a $100 million employee tender offer, enabling team members to realize liquidity at a company valuation of $6.6 billion—twice the value of its Series C round just nine months ago. The offer is led by existing investors Sequoia and ICONIQ, with additional participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Smash Capital, World Innovation Lab, and other insiders. This move reflects strong investor confidence in ElevenLabs’ trajectory and long-term vision.

Unrivaled: Series B Raised At $340 Million Valuation For Professional Women’s Sports League

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Unrivaled, the professional women’s sports league presented by Samsung Galaxy, has announced the closing of its oversubscribed Series B investment round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The round brings the league’s valuation to $340 million—an extraordinary milestone for a startup league founded just two years ago. This latest funding round reflects growing investor confidence in Unrivaled’s athlete-first model and its potential to redefine the landscape of professional sports.

Rockbridge: Equity Fund III Fund Closed At Over $360 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Rockbridge Growth Equity Management has announced the successful close of its third flagship fund, RB Equity Fund III and RB Equity Fund III-A, with total commitments exceeding $360 million. This close marks a significant milestone for the Detroit-based private equity firm, bringing its total assets under management to more than $1.7 billion.

Shine Capital: Ethan Daly Promoted To General Partner

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Shine Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, has announced the promotion of Ethan Daly to General Partner. Daly, who joined Shine in 2020 as its first hire, has played a significant role in shaping the firm’s investment strategy and supporting its portfolio companies.

White Star Capital: $50 Million North American Seed Fund Launched

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

White Star Capital has announced the first close of its new $50 million North American Seed Fund, securing $25 million in initial commitments. The fund is anchored by Fonds de solidarité FTQ and joined by several other limited partners, including Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), Fonds québécois d'amorçage Teralys backed by La Caisse, and TD Innovation Partners, a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

MCatalysis: Seed Funding Raised For Microwave Catalysis Technology

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

MCatalysis, a deep tech startup focused on sustainable fuels and chemicals, has announced the closing of its seed funding round led by HL Energy Ventures (HLEV). The funding will advance the development and commercialization of MCatalysis’s proprietary microwave catalysis technology, which is exclusively licensed from Oxford University Innovation (OUI), the tech transfer arm of the University of Oxford.

Higgsfield: $50 Million Series A Raised To Transform AI Video Creation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Higgsfield.ai, a rapidly growing company specializing in AI for video creation, has announced the successful close of its $50 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by GFT Ventures and joined by a group of firms, including BroadLight Capital, NextEquity Partners, AI Capital Partners, Menlo Ventures, Alpha Square Group, and other strategic backers.

QuEra: $230 Million Series B Expanded With NVentures Investment

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

QuEra Computing, a developer of neutral-atom quantum computers, has announced an additional investment from NVentures (the venture capital arm of NVIDIA). This latest funding expands QuEra’s $230 million Series B round, which was first unveiled in February 2025 and included participation from Google. The round further strengthens QuEra’s position at the intersection of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud infrastructure.

iRegene Therapeutics: $40 Million Secured For Advancing Parkinson’s Cell Therapy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

iRegene Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in Chengdu, China, has announced the completion of its Series B+ financing round, securing over RMB 300 million (about $40 million). The round was co-led by Northern Light Venture Capital, Chuangjing Capital, and OneHealth Haihe Capital, with additional support from other investors.

Rogo Buying AI-Based Spreadsheet Company Subset

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Rogo Technologies, the AI platform trusted by leading investment banks, has announced its acquisition of Subset, an AI-powered spreadsheet company backed by Index Ventures. The deal marks a significant step in Rogo’s mission to transform financial modeling by embedding intelligent spreadsheet agents directly into the workflows of bankers and investors.

Boomerang Medical: $20 Million Series B Raised To Advance Pivotal Trial in Ulcerative Colitis

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Boomerang Medical, a women-led innovator in bioelectronic medicine, has announced the closing of a $20 million Series B financing round co-led by Arboretum Ventures and Hatteras Venture Partners.

NuGen Capital: $100 Million Commitment To Advance U.S. Solar And Storage Projects

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

NuGen Capital Management, a national leader in energy development and capital solutions, has announced a new $100 million investment into near-term and operating solar and storage projects across the US.

CIM Group: $132.5 Million Loan Closed For Supporting Santander Tower’s Mixed-Use

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

CIM Group, through its CIM Real Estate Debt Solutions business and on behalf of a CIM-managed fund, has closed a $132.5 million whole loan to Pacific Elm Properties to recapitalize Santander Tower, a landmark high-rise in Downtown Dallas.

Motion: $60 Million Raised At $550 Million Valuation For Scaling Agentic Work Suite

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Motion, a company focused on agentic work platforms for SMBs, has announced a combined $60 million raise across its Series B, Series C, and Series C2 rounds, bringing total funding to $75 million and valuing the company at $550 million.

CoinShares Going Public Via $1.2 Billion SPAC Merger With Vine Hill Capital

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

CoinShares International, Europe’s leading digital asset manager with roughly $10 billion in assets under management, has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Vine Hill Capital Investment, a publicly traded SPAC listed on NASDAQ. Once the transaction is complete, CoinShares will become publicly listed in the United States under a newly formed entity, Odysseus Holdings Limited.

Guidewell Education: Strategic Investment Raised From Eagle Merchant Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Global education company Guidewell Education has received a strategic growth investment from Eagle Merchant Partners. This partnership marks a significant milestone in Guidewell’s evolution, positioning the company to accelerate its expansion and deepen its impact on students worldwide.

Accion: $61.6 Million Fund Closed To Invest In Early-Stage Fintechs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Accion, a global nonprofit focused on financial inclusion, has announced the final close of its second early-stage fintech fund, Accion Venture Lab Fund II, LP, now rebranded as Accion Ventures. The $61.6 million fund will be deployed to support innovative fintech startups that are building solutions for underserved populations across the globe. This marks a continuation of Accion’s decade-long strategy of combining social impact with venture capital discipline to catalyze inclusive financial systems.

Morgan Stanley: JPY131 Billion Closed For Japan-Focused Real Estate Fund

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI), the private real estate investment arm of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, has announced the final close of its inaugural North Haven Real Estate Japan Strategy Fund I (JSF), raising JPY131 billion—approximately US$900 million. This total significantly surpasses the fund’s original target of JPY75 billion (around US$500 million), reflecting strong investor confidence in the firm’s Japan-focused strategy.

Walker & Dunlop: $68 Million In HUD Financing Secured

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Walker & Dunlop has announced the origination of $68.3 million in HUD 232/223(f) loans to refinance seven skilled nursing facilities across Illinois and Wisconsin. The transaction was arranged by the firm’s FHA Finance team, led by Joshua Rosen, Brad Annis, and Johnny Rice, and leverages HUD’s long-term, fixed-rate, non-recourse financing structure. This approach enabled borrowers to replace short-term, variable-rate debt with more stable and predictable capital, thereby enhancing the financial resilience of their healthcare portfolio.

Forward Industries: $1.65 Billion Private Placement For Launching Solana-Focused Digital Asset Treasury Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Sep 9, 2025

Forward Industries has announced a $1.65 billion private placement in cash and stablecoin commitments, marking a pivotal shift toward a Solana-centric digital asset treasury strategy. The PIPE (private investment in public equity) round is led by Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital—three of the most influential players in the crypto space. C/M Capital Partners, LP, one of Forward’s largest existing shareholders, also participated.