Venture Capital

Leonard Green Launches $3.6 Billion Sage Equity Investors Fund To Scale GP-Led Single-Asset Continuation Investing

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., announced it has reached a final close for Sage Equity Investors and related entities, collectively known as Sage I, securing more than $3.6 billion in total commitments for its inaugural program focused primarily on single-asset continuation funds sponsored by third-party private equity managers.

Nubank To Invest Over R$2.5 Billion In Office Expansion As It Shifts To A New Hybrid Work Model

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Nubank announced it will invest more than R$ 2.5 billion, about $475 million, over the next five years to expand and upgrade its office footprint, with Brazil as the centerpiece of a broader push to scale infrastructure alongside its customer and employee growth.

Salvo Health: $8.5 Million Series A Raised To Expand Hybrid GI And Metabolic Care

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Salvo Health announced it has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding to accelerate the expansion of its hybrid gastrointestinal and metabolic care platform, a model designed to help GI practices deliver more continuous, outcomes-driven care while improving the patient experience and strengthening practice economics. The Series A was led by ManchesterStory, City Light Capital, and Threshold Ventures. Salvo said the funding will be used to help GI practices implement technology-enabled, continuous care capabilities and to scale what it describes as a provider-first model.

Corxel Raises Up to $287 Million In Series D1 To Advance Oral GLP 1 Program and Broader Cardiometabolic Pipeline

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

CORXEL Pharmaceuticals Limited said it has completed a Series D1 financing, raising up to $287 million to fund the development of CX11, its oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist for obesity and overweight, as well as additional cardiometabolic programs. The company is currently evaluating CX11 in a Phase 2 trial in the United States and noted a separate Phase 3 trial in China being conducted by Vincentage.

PAQ Therapeutics Extends Series B To $77 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

PAQ Therapeutics announced it has closed a Series B extension, bringing its total Series B financing to $77 million, strengthening its balance sheet as it advances multiple clinical programs for KRAS-driven cancers.

Maia Farms: $3.75 Million Seed Funding Closed To Scale Mushroom And Mycelium Ingredients

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Maia Farms, a Vancouver-based food technology company developing mushroom and mycelium-based ingredients, has closed an oversubscribed $3.75 million Seed equity financing as it looks to ramp up commercial production and expand partnerships with food manufacturers and distributors worldwide. The seed round was led by Active Impact Investments, with follow-on investments from Nya Planet, Ag-West Bio, PIC Investment Group, and Deep Checks. Separately, the company has also cited strategic and non-dilutive support from Genome BC, Natural Products Canada, Protein Industries Canada, and the National Research Council of Canada.

Aviwell: €11 Million Series A Raised To Scale AI-Driven Microbiota Platform For Sustainable Animal Nutrition

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Aviwell SAS, a Toulouse-based deep-tech animal nutrition company with operations spanning France and Boston, has closed a €11 million Series A financing to expand its AI-driven microbiome discovery and development platform and advance nature-based biological solutions for global agri-food markets, initially focused on poultry and aquaculture. The round brings in three new investors: Blue Revolution Fund (BRF), Blast.Club, and SWEN Capital Partners. Existing investors Elaia and MFS Investment Management also participated, according to the company.

Skrooge.ai: $1.85 Million Seed Funding Raised For Scaling AI-Based Accounting And Tax Services for UAE SMEs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

skrooge.ai, an AI-enabled accounting and tax service provider focused on small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE, has raised $1.85 million in a seed round through SAFE notes from fintech-experienced angel investors. The Dubai based company said the funding will be used to expand product and engineering and to increase delivery capacity as it grows its managed service offering for local SMEs.

Whistle Performance: $2 Million Seed Funding Raised And Rebrand From GPS DataViz

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Whistle Performance (formerly known as GPS DataViz) has closed a $2 million seed investment round and rebranded, aiming to accelerate global expansion and step up product innovation. The San Diego-based company positions its software as a hub for sports and broader human performance programs, aimed at helping teams and organizations turn complex athlete and workforce data into faster, clearer decisions.

Standard Nuclear Raises $140 Million Series A And Begins Production Of Advanced HALEU TRISO Fuel

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Standard Nuclear announced it has raised $140 million in Series A funding and has begun production of advanced HALEU TRISO nuclear fuel, positioning the company to scale domestic supplies of a key fuel form used in next-generation reactors. The round was led by Decisive Point, with participation from new investors Chevron Technology Ventures, StepStone Group, and XTX Ventures. Standard Nuclear said the financing also included support from existing investors Welara, Fundomo, Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, and Crucible Capital, among others.

Lucend: $3.3 Million Seed Funding Closed And Rebrands From Coolgradient

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Lucend, formerly known as Coolgradient, has raised $3.3 million in Seed funding as it expands into the U.S. market with software designed to improve data center uptime and reliability while reducing energy and water consumption. The financing was led by Remarkable Ventures Climate (RVC) and included Mitsubishi Electric Innovation Fund, New Climate Ventures, Avesta, and Stepchange, with support from existing investor 4impact capital.

Mine: $14 Million Series A Raised To Launch MoneyGPT AI Money Agent And Rebrand From Fizz

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Mine, formerly known as Fizz, raised a $14 million Series A to support the launch of MoneyGPT, an AI-powered personal finance agent designed to help young adults feel more in control of their money as they navigate variable income, debt, and shifting financial goals. The round was led by 359 Capital, with participation from Kleiner Perkins and new investor FJ Labs, as well as existing backers Y Combinator and U.S. News & World Report. The financing brings Mine’s total capital raised to $28 million.

Barnwell Bio: $6 Million Seed Funding Raised To Bring Metagenomic Biosurveillance To Poultry Producers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Barnwell Bio, a precision animal health intelligence company, has raised $6 million in seed funding to scale a metagenomic biosurveillance system that provides poultry producers with earlier warning of emerging disease threats. The round was led by Twelve Below, with participation from Max Ventures, Dorm Room Fund, Banter Capital, Planeteer Capital, AgVentures Alliance, Daybreak Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and AgLaunch Farmers.

GlassPoint: $20 Million Funding Raised To Fuel Expansion Of Solar Industrial Process Heat

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

GlassPoint, a provider of solar industrial process heat, announced it has closed a $20 million funding round led by N.I.S. New Investment Solutions, a Liechtenstein-based asset manager, with participation from returning investor MIG Capital. The company said the financing will support global expansion and advance large-scale deployments in its pipeline, with a near-term focus on projects in the U.S. Southwest, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and South America.

Grid Aero: $20 Million Series A Raised To Scale Long-Range Autonomous Airlift

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Grid Aero, an aerospace startup building low-cost, autonomous aircraft for long-range operations, has raised $20 million in a Series A round co-led by Bison Ventures and Geodesic Capital. The financing also included participation from Stony Lonesome Group and Alumni Ventures, alongside returning investors Ubiquity Ventures, Calibrate Ventures, and Commonweal Ventures.

Upwind Raises $250 Million Series B To Scale Runtime First Cloud Security Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Upwind, a runtime-first cloud security company, has raised $250 million in Series B financing, bringing total funding to $430 million. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital, alongside existing investors including Greylock, Cyberstarts, Leaders Fund, Craft Ventures, TCV, Alta Park, Cerca Partners, Swish Ventures, and Penny Jar Capital.

Visitt: $22 Million Series B Raised To Build A Single AI Interface For Commercial Real Estate Operations

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Visitt, an AI native property operations platform for commercial real estate, has raised $22 million in Series B funding led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures Israel, Anfield, and Sarona Ventures.

The Footprint Firm Closes First VC Fund At €76 Million For Northern Europe Climate Deep Tech

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

The Footprint Firm announced it has reached a final close of its debut venture capital vehicle, Footprint Fund I, raising €76 million to back pre-seed and seed climate deep-tech and scale-up companies across Northern Europe.

Yolando: $8.5 Million Raised From Drive Capital To Launch GEO And Competitive Intelligence Platform

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Yolando, a Toronto-based competitive intelligence and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform, said it has officially launched commercially after raising $8.5 million in total cumulative funding from Drive Capital. The company positions its software as a way for marketing teams to measure and improve how their brands appear in AI-generated answers, alongside traditional search visibility.

NVIDIA Expands CoreWeave Partnership And Invests $2 Billion To Speed Buildout Of AI Factories

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

NVIDIA and CoreWeave announced they are expanding their long-running collaboration to accelerate the buildout of more than 5 gigawatts of “AI factories” by 2030, positioning the companies to meet surging demand for AI compute at a global scale.

Epic Angels Backs Refurbi Seed Extension To Scale LATAM Refurbished Smartphone Ecosystem

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Epic Angels, the global all-female investor collective, has invested in Refurbi, a Colombia-founded company building a circular ecosystem for affordable, sustainable refurbished smartphones, as the startup raises a $4 million seed extension round across equity and debt.

MyARC: Over $2 Million Raised To Launch Next-Generation Platform For Fitness Creators

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

MyARC, a platform designed to help fitness creators train their communities at scale, announced the launch of a next-generation product to support, monetise, and grow creator-led fitness businesses. The company also disclosed a $2 million-plus funding round with participation from Araya Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Techstars, and G Fund.

Synthesia: $200 Million Series E At $4 Billion Valuation Raised To Expand AI Video And Agentic Workforce Training

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Synthesia, a London-headquartered AI video platform focused on helping organizations create and share knowledge, said it has raised a $200 million Series E round at a $4 billion valuation, positioning the company to accelerate product development aimed at enterprise learning, internal communications, and upskilling.

KPS Capital Partners to Buy Control Of Novacel From Chargeurs

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

KPS Capital Partners announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Novacel, the surface protection solutions business currently owned by Compagnie Chargeurs Invest SA. Chargeurs will reinvest alongside KPS and retain a 25% ownership interest in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Everything: $6.9 Million Seed Funding Raised To Build A Unified Perps and Markets ‘Everything Exchange’ With Humanity Verification

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Everything, a Hong Kong-based startup positioning itself as an “everything exchange” spanning perpetual futures, spot markets, prediction markets, and payments, has raised a $6.9 million seed round as it builds a unified trading experience across Telegram, mobile, and web.

Hivemind And CPIC IMHK Partner To Launch $500 Million Real-World Asset Tokenization Fund Strategy

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Hivemind Capital announced it has formed a strategic partnership with CPIC Investment Management to build a fund platform focused on tokenizing select real-world assets for institutional and other eligible non-retail counterparties, with an initial target capacity of up to $500 million.

2150 Closes €210 Million Second Fund, Lifting AUM To €500 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 26, 2026

Venture firm 2150 said it has reached a final close on its second fund at €210 million, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to €500 million as it continues investing in technology companies aimed at reshaping cities and the industries that power them.

Enechain: Japan Power Trading Startup Raises About $32 Million, Says Report

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 25, 2026

Japan power trading startup enechain has raised ¥5.05 billion (about $31.9 million) in an additional funding round to support business expansion. The round includes investors such as Soros Capital Management and Coreline Ventures, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The person said the financing details have not yet been publicly disclosed.

Santa Barbara Venture Partners: Interview With Founder & Managing Partner Dan Engel

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 24, 2026

Santa Barbara Venture Partners is a Santa Barbara-based venture capital firm that invests in software companies and helps portfolio companies accelerate marketing and customer acquisition through its 100+ LP expert network. The VC firm has a unique approach to VC in that it believes in producing ongoing liquidity and cash distributions for its Limited Partners, and has already completed eight successful exits after just five and a half years, a huge industry outlier in terms of performance. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Santa Barbara Venture Partners Founder and Managing Partner Dan Engel to gain a deeper understanding of the firm.

Sakana AI Announces Strategic Partnership With Google

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 24, 2026

Sakana AI announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Google following its Series B round, and that Google is also making a financial investment in the company to further strengthen the relationship.