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A hub for startup news, trends, and insights, covering the global startup ecosystem for founders, investors, and innovators. Community: @startupdis Buy Ads: @strategy (this is our only account).
🌍 Tensec Rebuilds Cross-Border Payments
Tensec, a Palo Alto-based fintech, has raised $12M in seed funding to modernize how global businesses move money. With a sleek, AI-powered platform, Tensec helps trading firms embed treasury, FX, and payments directly into their workflows—without touching legacy banking rails.
💸 Embedded finance for global trade
• Offers instant KYB onboarding, smart compliance, and no-code FX infrastructure
• Built on real-time rails, with U.S. banking powered by Stearns Bank (FDIC member)
• Traders access hedging, multi-currency wallets, and real-time settlements out of the box
📈 Early traction, massive market
• Supporting ~$10B in trade volume with plans to scale to $30B+
• Targeting SMBs in physical goods trade—40% of a $25T market
• Positioned for APAC and EU expansion as global payments hit $250T by 2030
👥 Veteran team meets modern infrastructure
• Founded by ex-Rapyd, Goldman Sachs, and Meta execs with deep trade and fintech roots
• Backed by Costanoa, Quiet Capital, WillowTree, and Cambrian Ventures
• Aims to be the “Stripe for cross-border B2B” by eliminating friction in trade flows
Tensec is giving modern exporters and traders the infrastructure big banks never built—and doing it with speed, compliance, and scale.
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💳 Ramp Expands from Corporate Card to All-in-One Finance OS
Ramp, the NYC-based fintech streamlining company spending, has raised a $200M Series E led by Founders Fund, pushing its valuation to $16B. Once known for its corporate card, Ramp now offers an AI-powered platform for every part of the finance stack—from expenses to procurement and treasury.
🧠 AI for finance automation
• Automates expense reports, bill pay, approvals, and accounting workflows
• Acquired Venue to power smarter procurement decisions
• New features include Ramp Treasury (2.5% yield) and Priceline-powered travel booking
📈 Rapid scale across enterprise finance
• Serves 40,000+ customers, including Shopify, Notion, and Anduril
• Processes tens of billions in annual transactions
• Shipped over 270 product updates in 2025 alone
🧭 Strategic focus beyond cards
• Founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneurs Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh
• Backed repeatedly by Founders Fund, Thrive, and General Catalyst
• Only ~1.5% market penetration in the U.S.—with runway for much more
Ramp is evolving into the operating system for modern CFOs—automating not just spending, but how finance teams work.
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🧠 Thinking Machines Wants to Make AI Safer, Smarter—and Open
Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has emerged from stealth with a $2B seed round and a $10B valuation. The San Francisco-based company aims to build general-purpose AI that is more interpretable, open, and aligned with human values.
🔬 Research-first, open-science approach
• Public benefit corporation focused on transparency and reproducibility
• Committed to open-sourcing code, datasets, and research outputs
• Prioritizes human-AI collaboration and alignment with democratic norms
💥 Massive funding, elite team
• $2B seed round led by a16z and Conviction, with $50M+ minimum checks
• Advisors include top AI talent from OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind
• ~30 researchers from Meta, Mistral, Google Brain, and others onboard
🧭 Murati’s mission with majority control
• Murati retains majority board voting power to protect long-term vision
• Company still in R&D phase—no product yet, but heavy investor conviction
• Strategy mirrors Anthropic’s playbook: bet big on frontier science and safety
Thinking Machines is making an audacious bid to reshape how frontier AI is built—openly, securely, and with human benefit at the center.
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🌍 Glyde Disrupts FX Market with Pre‑Seed Round
Glyde, the London-headquartered FX startup aiming to shake up cross-border payments, has raised £450,000 in a pre-seed round led by Fuel Ventures. The capital will fuel engineering growth, global expansion, and sharpen its transparent FX tools.
💱 Transparent, user‑centric currency exchange
• Enables users—freelancers, global earners, SMEs—to send, receive and convert 50+ currencies without hidden markups
• Users select their own exchange rates, cutting costs up to 3× compared to Revolut and brokers
• Launching a public FX calculator that highlights the real cost of traditional providers—no sign-up required
📈 Momentum and backing
• Backed by Fuel Ventures alongside 16 angel investors including former Nomura FX head Danny Kinnear
• Funds directed toward product development, building the engineering team, and user acquisition in the UK and abroad
🧭 Built for the globe-trotting workforce
• Founded by brothers Ellis and Nathan Taylor with deep FX customer insights
• Targets digital nomads, freelancers billing in different currencies, ecommerce businesses paying suppliers
• Positioned to bring transparency and automation to FX workflows for modern global professionals and small businesses
Glyde flips the FX model—putting exchange rate control back in users’ hands. With early traction, public tools, and a capital boost, it’s poised to redefine cross-border payments for a new generation.
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🤖 Typedef Turns AI Prototypes into Production-Ready Pipelines
Typedef, an AI infrastructure startup founded by ex-Facebook and Google engineers, has emerged from stealth with $5.5M in seed funding. Its mission: help developers turn AI experiments into production-grade software with reliability, traceability, and scale.
🧩 Built for real-world AI deployment
• Typedef provides a data engine optimized for AI inference and deterministic pipelines
• Converts unstructured model output into structured, auditable, and observable systems
• Helps teams avoid the common pitfalls of brittle, one-off AI implementations
📈 Backing and founding team strength
• Seed round backed by The General Partnership and a group of top-tier angels
• Founders previously led AI platform work at Meta, Google, and Scale AI
• Described as a “world-class team” with deep infra and developer tools experience
🧭 Closing the AI production gap
• Targets teams moving from AI PoCs to enterprise-grade products
• Offers traceability, monitoring, and reliability from day one
• Early traction with devs building mission-critical AI systems
Typedef isn’t another AI model company — it’s the scaffolding that makes real-world AI actually work at scale.
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💳 Ramp Reinvents Corporate Spend with AI-Driven Finance Tools
Ramp, the New York-based fintech streamlining business spend, has raised $200M in a round led by Founders Fund, pushing its valuation to $16B. The company is doubling down on AI to automate everything from expense management to bill pay.
🧠 AI-powered finance automation
• Ramp’s platform covers corporate cards, expense tracking, bill pay, and procurement
• AI handles expense categorization, policy enforcement, and workflow automation
• Designed to replace legacy tools like Concur with smarter, faster systems
📈 Scale and investor backing
• Ramp now generates over $300M in annualized revenue
• Total funding exceeds $1B, with support from Founders Fund, Stripe, Khosla, and Thrive
• Valuation more than doubled since early 2024
🧭 From card startup to CFO platform
• Founded in 2019 by Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh
• Evolving into a full finance operating system for modern companies
• Long-term bet: AI-native finance will give CFOs strategic leverage, not just cost savings
Ramp’s AI-first strategy positions it as a category-definer in modern finance infrastructure.
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🧠 Sword Health: The AI therapist expanding from pain to mental health
Sword Health just raised $40M to push beyond physical therapy into AI-powered mental health care, hitting a $4B valuation as it bets on full-spectrum digital treatment.
🎯 From muscle strain to mental strain
• Initially built for musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, using sensors + AI for at-home therapy
• Now expanding into mental health with CBT-based tools and AI-powered coaching
• Targets conditions like anxiety and depression with integrated physical-mental support
🚀 Scaling quietly, executing globally
• Serves patients in 4 continents, with partnerships from employers to NHS trusts
• Acquired UK-based Surgery Hero in Jan 2025 to expand pre/post-op care
• Grew to $340M+ in total funding, maintaining operational efficiency through tech-first care
🗣️ Led by a mission-driven founder
• CEO Virgílio Bento founded Sword after his brother’s accident showed gaps in rehab access
• Blends clinical expertise with aggressive product and M&A strategy
• Pushing toward a unified AI care stack that delivers across body and mind
Sword isn’t just adding a mental health tab—it’s building a full-service, AI-native care platform from the inside out.
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🛸 PostHog Turns Product Analytics into a Full AI-Driven Customer Stack
PostHog, the developer-first analytics platform, has raised a $70M Series D led by Stripe to build the next generation of AI-native tools for customer insights, experimentation, and engagement — all in one unified workspace.
⚙️ One Platform for Every Customer Signal
• Combines analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, LLM observability, surveys, and data warehousing
• New “Max AI” feature turns user behavior into natural-language insights, auto-generated dashboards, and smart summaries
• Aims to replace stitched-together tools with a seamless, developer-friendly system
📈 Stripe Backs the Shift to AI-Native Infrastructure
• Series D round led by Stripe, joined by Y Combinator, GV, and Formus Capital
• Valuation climbs to $920M, with capital fueling product expansion and team growth
• Roadmap includes a CDP launch and new tools for AI-powered support, marketing, and sales
🛸 Built for Builders, Backed by Open Source
• Founded by James Hawkins and Tim Glaser via YC in 2020 — built from day one for engineers
• Used by 176K+ companies and teams who want control, transparency, and speed
• Differentiates through open-source roots, developer-first design, and modular flexibility
PostHog is positioning itself as the AI-native control center for customer data — replacing siloed GTM stacks with one powerful platform for product-led teams.
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🛡️ Circumvent Uses AI to Eliminate Cloud Security Alert Fatigue
Circumvent, a cloud security startup founded to address the growing problem of alert fatigue, has raised a $6M seed round to build an AI-driven remediation engine. The round was backed by notable angels including Riccardo Zacconi, co-founder of King.
✅ A new AI layer for cloud alerts
• Product: Circumvent automatically filters, correlates, and resolves cloud security alerts using a proprietary AI engine
• Pain point: SOC teams are flooded with false positives — Circumvent reduces alert noise and accelerates real threat response
• Platform: Works across fragmented cloud environments, integrating into existing security operations workflows
📈 Early traction and capital partners
• Funding: $6M seed round with backing from strategic angels and cybersecurity veterans
• Use of funds: Scaling product development and expanding go-to-market
• Vision: Become the “auto-pilot” layer for cloud security teams overwhelmed by manual alert triage
🛸 Founded by experts, focused on execution
• Founders: Built by ex-cloud and security engineers who experienced alert fatigue firsthand
• Edge: Combines automation, context, and decision logic in a single remediation layer
• Timing: Positioned at the intersection of AI-native security and rising cloud complexity
Circumvent is betting that in the era of AI and hyperscale cloud, the future of security lies in autonomous remediation, not just detection.
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⚡️ Fervo Energy Builds Massive Geothermal Plant to Power 375,000 Homes
Fervo Energy is developing Cape Station in Utah, set to become the world’s largest enhanced geothermal project. Backed by Breakthrough Energy and energy investors, the plant will deliver 500MW of always-on clean power by 2028—starting with a 100MW phase in 2026.
⚙️ Next-Gen Geothermal Tech
• Uses enhanced geothermal systems (EGS): horizontal drilling + hydraulic stimulation, adapted from fracking.
• Recent test well reached 15,765 ft with temperatures over 520°F—ready for high-efficiency power output.
• Geothermal offers 24/7 baseload power, with zero emissions and low land impact.
📈 Funding & Deployment Milestones
• $206M secured, including $100M from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (Bill Gates) and $60M from Mercuria.
• Adds to $500M+ raised since 2024—underscoring investor confidence in scalable geothermal.
• Commercial launch starts in 2026, with full 500MW capacity targeted by 2028.
🌍 Strategic Positioning in Clean Power
• Power purchase agreement signed with Southern California Edison.
• Fervo is positioned as a utility-scale clean baseload provider for grids and data centers.
• Improved drilling efficiency (lower cost, faster wells) is accelerating the geothermal rollout.
By unlocking scalable, round-the-clock clean power, Fervo is turning geothermal from niche to essential in the future energy mix.
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🛌 Mosanna Therapeutics Launches Series A for Night‑Time Nasal Spray Treating Sleep Apnea
Mosanna Therapeutics has launched with an $80M Series A to advance MOS118, a once-nightly nasal spray targeting the root causes of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The round was led by EQT Life Sciences and Pivotal bioVenture Partners.
🤧 A Pharma Alternative to CPAP
• MOS118 restores natural airway muscle control — treating OSA at the source.
• Unlike CPAP, it’s non-mechanical and designed for higher patient comfort and adherence.
• Funds will support Phase 2 trials following a successful Phase 1.
📊 Backed by Leading Life Sciences Investors
• EQT and Pivotal co-led; joined by Forbion, Norwest, Broadview, and others.
• Addresses a massive market: nearly 1B people suffer from OSA, with low CPAP compliance.
• New board members from EQT, Forbion, and Norwest signal investor conviction.
👤 New CEO, Global Footprint
• Veteran biotech exec David Weber appointed CEO.
• Founded in 2022, with teams in Redwood City and Basel.
• Aiming to become the first drug-based standard of care for OSA.
Mosanna is betting that the future of sleep apnea treatment isn’t a mask — it’s a molecule.
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🛸 Alexandr Wang Joins Meta After Scale AI Stake to Lead AGI Effort
Meta has acquired a 49% non-voting stake in Scale AI for $14.3 billion, valuing the data-labeling powerhouse at ~$29B — and bringing on its co-founder and CEO Alexandr Wang to lead Meta’s “superintelligence” initiative.
✅ Scale AI Meets Zuckerberg’s AGI Ambitions
• Wang will head Meta’s new AGI division, reporting directly to Mark Zuckerberg.
• The group will focus on developing artificial general intelligence with access to Scale’s massive data infrastructure.
• Wang remains on Scale’s board, while CSO Jason Droege becomes interim CEO.
💰 $14.3B for Talent, Infrastructure, and Strategy
• Meta’s stake is non-voting — ensuring Scale’s operational independence.
• The structure avoids regulatory pushback while securing data access and leadership.
• Scale remains a core vendor to OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and U.S. defense — for now.
🛸 Meta’s AGI Bet Gets Real
• Comes after disappointing traction with Meta’s Llama models in the enterprise market.
• Zuckerberg has been on an AI talent spree — offering up to 9-figure comp to top researchers.
• The deal positions Meta to vertically integrate data labeling and model training.
🚀 From YC Startup to Global AGI Hub
• Scale AI was founded in 2016 by Alexandr Wang and Lucy Guo.
• Went from defense contracts to powering AI pipelines for Silicon Valley giants.
• Now at the center of Meta’s most ambitious AI play yet.
Meta didn’t just invest in Scale — it invested in its architect. Wang’s move signals a new phase of AGI competition, where infrastructure and intelligence are built in-house.
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🧱 Gecko Robotics Uses AI-Climbing Bots to Modernize Infrastructure Inspections
Gecko Robotics has entered the unicorn club with a $125M Series D, building wall-climbing robots that inspect critical infrastructure faster, safer, and more accurately than humans.
🤖 Robots That Scale, Scan, and Report
• Magnetic robots inspect ships, refineries, and power plants — 10× faster than manual checks.
• Capture 1,000× more data per job, feeding into Gecko’s AI platform, Cantilever.
• Reduces risk for workers while boosting maintenance accuracy.
⚙️ AI-First Inspections at Scale
• Used by the U.S. Navy, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, and NAES.
• Cuts downtime and enables predictive repairs with actionable AI insights.
• Backed by $347M total funding; investors include Founders Fund and Y Combinator.
⛓ From Dorm Room to Defense Tech
• Founded in 2016 in a college dorm by Jake Loosararian and Troy Demmer.
• Now valued at $1.25B, expanding across defense, energy, and manufacturing.
Gecko is turning dangerous inspections into a high-speed, high-precision AI process — climbing walls to keep infrastructure upright.
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💰 Chime IPO Pops as Neobank Bets on Everyday Banking
Digital banking startup Chime raised $700M in its IPO at a valuation of $11.6B, marking one of the biggest public debuts in the consumer fintech space this year. Shares jumped 59% on day one, trading under the ticker CHYM.
📲 Neobank for the Everyday American
• Chime targets users earning under $100K/year, with 2/3 using it as their primary account.
• Offers fee-free checking and savings, with most revenue from interchange (“swipe”) fees.
• Simplicity is the strategy: 72% of revenue is from debit card use, not lending or credit.
📈 Real Revenue, Real Usage
• Q1 2025 revenue: $518.7M — up 32% YoY.
• Q4 net income: $12.9M, maintaining profitability.
• 8.6M monthly active users, with high app engagement (4–5 opens/day per user).
🛸 Retention Engine with Direct Deposit
• Over 90% of users stay once they set up direct deposit.
• Average user makes 55 transactions/month — strong for a consumer neobank.
• User acquisition driven by $1.4B in marketing between 2022–24, now leveraged by loyalty.
📉 IPO Valuation Reset, but Still a Leader
• $11.6B valuation is less than half of 2021’s $25B private round.
• Reflects fintech’s broader market correction — but Chime remains a category-defining player.
• Public debut seen as a potential bellwether for stalled fintech IPO pipeline.
⚠️ From Early Struggles to Public Market
• Nearly failed before Series B — over 100 VCs passed.
• Faced regulatory pushback in 2021 for calling itself a “bank.”
• Now profitable, scaled, and positioned as the everyman’s fintech.
As fintech IPOs cautiously return, Chime’s clean model, sticky users, and growth discipline offer a rare combination — but staying public-ready is the next challenge.
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🦾 Wandercraft Brings Self-Balancing Exoskeletons to Everyday Mobility
Paris-based robotics startup Wandercraft is launching Eve, the world’s first self-balancing personal exoskeleton designed to help wheelchair users walk again—without crutches or external support. After years of clinical success with Atalante X, the company is now targeting home and daily-life mobility.
🦿 Engineered for Independent Walking
• Eve offers hands-free walking—no crutches or walkers needed
• Built on Wandercraft’s Atalante X, used in 100+ rehab centers globally
• Designed for everyday use in homes, communities, and public spaces
🤖 Clinical-Grade Tech, Consumer-Ready Design
• Uses 12 active joints + AI-powered dynamic gait algorithms
• Real-time self-balancing mimics natural walking across terrain
• Trials show 100% task success and confident use after just 5 sessions
📈 Scaling into Healthcare & Robotics Markets
• $75M Series D supports launch of Eve by 2026
• Funds also scale Atalante X adoption and production
• Investing in development of Calvin-40, a humanoid robot for industry
🤝 Strategic Backing with Industrial Vision
• Series D co-led by Renault Group, Bpifrance, Teampact Ventures, Quadrant Management
• Renault partnership brings industrial design and manufacturing support
• Builds on France’s push for robotics leadership across healthcare and automation
🌍 Built in Paris, Designed for Global Impact
• Founded in 2012, now 70+ employees focused on exoskeletons and robotics
• Dual FDA clearances already achieved in stroke and spinal rehab
• Positioned to lead in personal mobility, not just clinical use
Wandercraft is reshaping assistive mobility from rehab centers to real life—combining robotics precision with human-centered design. Could Eve be the iPhone moment for exoskeletons?
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🧠 Apple Eyes Perplexity to Supercharge AI Search Ambitions
Apple is in early talks to acquire Perplexity AI, the red-hot search startup reimagining how users find information with conversational AI. With a $14B valuation and rapid user growth, Perplexity could give Apple a serious alternative to Google—and a leap forward in its AI push.
🔍 Rethinking search with AI chat
• Combines multiple LLMs (GPT-4.1, Claude, Gemini) for fast, cited answers
• Over 30M daily queries; ~20% monthly query growth
• Revenue from $20/month Pro plans and publisher rev-share
📱 Strategic fit across Apple’s ecosystem
• Could slot into Safari and Siri to replace or complement Google Search
• Ongoing antitrust scrutiny has Apple seeking more control over search stack
• Also in talks with other AI search players for potential integration
🤖 Big bets on future of AI
• Internally led by Eddy Cue (Services) and Adrian Perica (M&A)
• Would be Apple’s largest-ever acquisition—4x the size of its Beats deal
• Move aligns with broader Apple Intelligence rollout and GenAI upgrades
Perplexity could help Apple reclaim search—and stake a bigger claim in the AI race.
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🥸 Cluely Builds AI That Helps You Cheat—On Everything
Cluely, the viral AI startup helping users “cheat” on job interviews, exams, and sales calls, has raised a $15M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, following a $5.3M seed round just two months ago. Its desktop assistant quietly feeds answers in real time during high-stakes conversations.
🧠 Real-time AI for high-pressure moments
• Watches your screen and listens through your mic during live sessions
• Delivers real-time answers for interviews, tests, and client calls
• Designed to be undetectable and context-aware across workflows
📈 Viral growth meets early revenue
• Hit $3M in ARR and claims early profitability
• Valued at $120M post-money, with $50M+ check sizes from investors
• Growth powered by creator-led marketing and bold online campaigns
🧭 Controversial roots, bold vision
• Founded by Columbia dropouts behind a banned interview-prep tool
• a16z backs it as a “new category” of proactive AI assistance
• Faces scrutiny over ethics, reliability, and legal gray zones
Cluely is betting big that AI-enhanced “performance” is the future of knowledge work—whether the world sees it as cheating or simply evolving.
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💉 Tennr Automates Patient Referrals with AI to Fix Healthcare’s Bottleneck
Tennr, the NYC-based health-tech startup streamlining patient referrals, has raised a Series C round led by IVP, with backing from a16z, Lightspeed, ICONIQ, and GV. Its AI platform is replacing outdated, manual referral systems with real-time coordination.
🧠 AI for referral chaos
• Uses proprietary RaeLM model to interpret faxes, PDFs, and scanned forms
• Automates routing and intake based on payer and provider rules
• Now processes over 10M medical documents monthly
📈 Fast growth and product evolution
• Revenue has tripled since late 2024
• Launching Tennr Network to connect providers, specialists, and patients
• Funds will expand engineering and go-to-market teams
🧭 Built by engineers, shaped by care gaps
• Founded in 2021 by Stanford engineers frustrated by manual workflows
• Designed to work within existing EMRs—no disruption for clinical teams
Tennr is quietly building the digital backbone for how patients get from referral to care—faster, smarter, and with far less friction.
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📊 Sifflet Brings Trust to AI with End-to-End Data Observability
Sifflet, the Paris-based startup tackling data reliability, has raised an $18M Series A led by EQT Ventures and Mangrove Capital. As AI adoption accelerates, Sifflet ensures data pipelines stay clean, observable, and ready for machine learning.
🧠 AI-ready data, monitored in real time
• Sifflet provides full-stack data observability—from ingestion to dashboards
• Platform detects anomalies, broken pipelines, and quality issues automatically
• Used by data teams to maintain trust in ML models and analytics
📈 Traction and global expansion
• Clients include Penguin Random House, Euronext, and other enterprise users
• New funding will support North America growth and autonomous “data watchdogs”
• Backed by EQT, Mangrove, and Capmont Technology
🧭 From stealth to strategic infrastructure
• Founded in 2021 by Salma Bakouk and the Fathallah brothers
• CEO Bakouk is ex-Goldman Sachs with a vision for trusted AI data stacks
• Positioned as a critical reliability layer in enterprise AI workflows
Sifflet is riding the observability wave as clean data becomes non-negotiable for enterprise AI.
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🧬 Biotope Backs Biotech Founders at the Earliest Stage
Biotope, the Belgian incubator launched by life sciences institute VIB, has secured €5M to support early-stage biotech startups across Europe. The funding will power its unique incubation model blending capital, lab access, and mentorship.
🧪 Structured launchpad for biotech founders
• Biotope selects 2–4 teams per cohort via its biannual “basecamp”
• Each startup gets €250K, 18 months of support, and access to VIB’s scientific and IP infrastructure
• Focus on transforming academic science into investable biotech companies
🌍 Early traction and pan-European reach
• Since 2022, Biotope has backed 13 startups across 5 cohorts
• Alumni span Belgium, UK, Germany, Israel, Denmark, and more
• Startups have raised over €10M in follow-on capital and €10M+ in grant funding
🧭 Bridging the biotech pre-seed gap
• Led by VIB and supported by experienced operators and scientists
• Targets agtech, therapeutics, and bio-based innovation
• Aims to scale to 30 startups with a €9M fund over six years
Biotope is proving that deep science startups don’t just need capital — they need a launch environment built by scientists, for scientists.
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🛡️ Helsing Builds Europe’s Full-Stack AI Defense Platform
German defense AI startup Helsing has raised €600M (~$694M) in a new round led by Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s Prima Materia, doubling its valuation to $12B as it scales from battlefield AI to autonomous drones, jets, and subs.
🎯 From software to strike drones
• Started with real-time AI for battlefield awareness—now building autonomous weapons platforms
• Products include HF-1 and HX-2 drones, AI-piloted fighter jets, and unmanned subs
• Core tech: “vision-language-action” models that help machines make fast decisions in combat
🚀 Backed by Europe’s biggest names
• Already supplying drones to Ukraine; deals with UK, Germany, Sweden
• Partnerships with Airbus, SAAB, Rheinmetall, and French AI lab Mistral
• Total funding now ~€1.37B, with investors like Lightspeed, Accel, and General Catalyst
⚠️ Full-stack means full complexity
• Rapid hardware push adds execution and regulatory risk
• Emphasizes “human-in-the-loop” control amid growing scrutiny of autonomous weapons
With €600M in fresh backing, Helsing is positioning itself as Europe’s Anduril—full-stack, combat-tested, and ready to define the future of autonomous defense.
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🚀 xAI Eyes War Chest to Build the Future of Superintelligent AI
Elon Musk’s xAI is raising $4.3B in equity, on top of a recent $5B debt deal, to scale Grok and its massive Colossus supercomputer as it races against OpenAI and Anthropic in the AGI race.
🛸 AI Built from the Ground Up
• xAI builds Grok, a chatbot focused on reasoning and truth-seeking, now integrated into X.
• It’s also building Colossus, a 100,000-GPU supercomputer under construction in Memphis.
• The company claims Grok-3 competes with GPT-4, and aims for full-stack control from chips to models.
📊 Massive Burn, Bigger Ambitions
• Total raise will hit $9.3B, making xAI one of the most capitalized AI players.
• The company is burning $1B/month with only $4B in cash left, prompting the fresh raise.
• Revenue is projected at $500M in 2025, with hopes of $2B+ by 2026.
⚠️ Strategy or Spend Trap?
• xAI’s deep integration with X and infrastructure focus set it apart—but require enormous capital.
• Environmental concerns and unclear monetization paths pose real risks.
xAI is betting that controlling the full AI stack—chips to chatbot—will justify its $9B+ burn.
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💳 Aspora Builds Full-Stack NRI Banking Platform
Aspora, the cross-border fintech formerly known as Vance, has raised a $53M Series B to expand its digital banking platform for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and other global immigrant communities. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital and Greylock, with participation from Y Combinator, Quantum Light, and Hummingbird Ventures.
✅ A cross-border platform for diaspora finance
• Product: A full-stack financial app offering remittances, banking, investments, insurance, and concierge services
• Core feature: Fee-free, real-time remittances with competitive FX rates—now extending into deposits and credit products
• Coverage: Operating in the UK, EU, and UAE; launching in the US (July 2025), with Canada, Australia, and Singapore coming soon
📈 Rapid growth and global rollout
• Traction: Over 250K users and $2B+ in transaction volume in six months, saving users an estimated $15–17M in fees
• Funding: $53M Series B brings total raised to ~$93M
• Expansion: Funds will support new product lines and global geographic expansion
🛸 Founder-led by a diaspora native
• Founder: Parth Garg, Stanford dropout and second-time founder, started Aspora to solve the pain points he faced as an immigrant
• Strategy: Corridor-first approach, building products tailored to local compliance, culture, and customer needs
• Vision: To be the all-in-one financial platform for immigrants—going far beyond remittances
Aspora is aiming to own the global diaspora wallet by combining speed, trust, and a deep understanding of immigrant financial lives.
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🤖 Clay Expands AI Sales Platform to Take on Legacy CRMs
Clay, the fast-growing AI sales automation startup, has raised a new Series C round that doubles its valuation to $3 billion, according to sources. The round is led by CapitalG, signaling strong conviction in Clay’s AI-first approach to relationship management.
⚙️ One Workspace for Smarter Sales
• Clay combines contact data, outreach, reminders, and tracking into a single AI-powered interface.
• Automates routine sales tasks while personalizing outreach based on live web and email activity.
• Built for modern sales teams looking to move faster than legacy CRMs allow.
📈 New Funding Fuels Enterprise Push
• Series C nearly doubles Clay’s valuation; round led by CapitalG (Alphabet’s growth fund).
• Capital will support expansion into larger enterprise accounts and deeper AI tooling.
• Part of a broader shift as GTM teams seek lighter, smarter sales stacks.
🛸 Strategic Edge in a Crowded Field
• Clay stands out with its real-time enrichment, AI suggestions, and intuitive UI.
• Positioned as a next-gen layer atop or replacing traditional CRMs.
• The company is betting that software replacing repetitive sales work will define the next decade.
Clay isn’t just another CRM — it’s rethinking how modern teams build pipelines, using AI as the engine.
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🚁 Archer to Bring Flying Taxis to U.S. Skies
Archer Aviation has secured $850 million to scale its electric air taxi platform, just days after Trump signed executive orders supporting eVTOL deployment. With nearly $2B in liquidity, Archer is now the most capitalized U.S. air mobility startup aiming to launch by the 2028 Olympics.
⚙️ Short-Hop Aircraft for Urban Commutes
• “Midnight” is a four-seat, piloted eVTOL built for 20–50 mile city trips.
• ~100-mile range, 150 mph top speed, optimized for fast turnaround and frequent use.
• Backed by tech partners Palantir (AI flight ops) and Anduril (defense autonomy).
📈 Big Capital Meets Big Policy
• The raise follows Trump’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program order.
• Funds will go to FAA certification, infrastructure, and scaling production.
• Archer targets 2026 certification and operations in time for LA 2028.
🛫 Launch Strategy with Major Partners
• Working with United Airlines on air taxi routes in NYC and Chicago.
• Official air mobility partner for the 2028 Olympic Games.
• Backed by Stellantis, ARK, Palantir, and BlackRock for both capital and manufacturing.
With $2B in the bank and federal momentum, Archer leads the U.S. eVTOL race — but certification and urban adoption remain the final hurdles.
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🔘 Proxima Fusion on road to Build the First Stellarator Power Plant
Munich-based Proxima Fusion has closed a €130M Series A to develop the world’s first commercial stellarator-based fusion power plant, offering a radically stable path to net-energy fusion in the 2030s.
🔩 Fusion That Runs Steady, Not Scary
• Uses stellarators, which confine plasma with external magnets — unlike Tokamaks, no internal currents = better stability.
• Combines quasi-isodynamic designs with AI and high-temperature superconductors (HTS) for compact, scalable machines.
• Based on research from the Max Planck Institute’s Wendelstein 7-X, the world’s most advanced stellarator.
📈 From Coil to Commercial Power
• 2027: Targeting “Model Coil” milestone — a full-scale magnet testbed.
• 2031: Net-energy prototype named Alpha to be operational.
• 2030s: Launch of Stellaris, the first grid-ready fusion power plant.
💳 Europe’s Biggest Fusion Bet
• €130M Series A led by Redalpine, UVC Partners, Atlantic Labs, and Earlybird.
• Europe’s largest private fusion round to date; brings total raised to €185M+.
• German government support signals rising momentum behind deeptech energy bets.
⚠️ Still a Long Road to the Grid
• Technical hurdles: precision magnet manufacturing, tritium breeding, and power conversion.
• Fusion remains a long game — capital-intensive with multi-decade ROI timelines.
• But stellarators may offer a more commercially viable and steady-state alternative.
Proxima isn’t chasing the next fusion breakthrough — it’s engineering the one we already have into reality.
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🪙 Meliuz Becomes Brazil’s First “Bitcoin Treasury” Fintech
Brazilian fintech Meliuz has raised R$180M (~$32.4M) through a follow-on share offering to buy bitcoin, becoming the first public company in the country to formally adopt bitcoin as a treasury asset.
🪙 Bitcoin on the Balance Sheet
• Funds will be used entirely to purchase bitcoin for long-term holding.
• Marks a bold pivot from cashback and financial services into crypto-native treasury strategy.
• Positions Meliuz as Brazil’s first public “bitcoin treasury” fintech.
📉 Public Offering to Fuel Crypto Strategy
• Raised R$180M via primary offering priced at R$7.06/share (~5% discount).
• BTG Pactual acted as sole bookrunner on the offering.
• Shareholder vote in April enabled bitcoin to become a formal reserve asset.
📈 Institutionalizing Crypto in Brazil
• Move echoes MicroStrategy-style bitcoin accumulation — but in LatAm fintech context.
• Demonstrates growing institutional confidence in bitcoin amid high inflation and currency volatility.
• Could inspire other public firms in Brazil to explore crypto as an alternative asset class.
🚀 Fintech Meets Bitcoin Maximalism
• Founded in 2011, Meliuz started with cashback and digital finance tools.
• This marks a strategic shift toward crypto-forward treasury and brand positioning.
• Aims to lead in bridging fintech utility with decentralized asset adoption.
Meliuz is betting that bitcoin isn’t just a store of value — it’s a new financial identity for the next generation of LatAm fintech.
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🛸 Multiverse Brings Quantum-Inspired Compression to LLMs
Spain’s Multiverse Computing has raised €189M (~$217M) in a Series B round led by Bullhound Capital, with backing from HP, Toshiba, and the Spanish government. The company is tackling one of AI’s biggest pain points: cost and scalability of large models.
🔘 Shrink Models, Keep the Power
• Uses tensor networks from quantum physics to compress models by up to 95%.
• Cuts inference costs by 50–80%, with minimal accuracy drop.
• Supports LLaMA, Mistral, and DeepSeek — deployable on phones, PCs, even Raspberry Pi.
🚀 From Spain’s Quantum Labs to Global Edge AI
• Live on AWS Marketplace, targeting telcos, defense, and AI-at-the-edge use cases.
• Founded in 2019; now Spain’s leading AI scaleup with strong public-private backing.
• €59M of latest round came from the Spanish state, backing sovereign AI infrastructure.
📉 A New Layer in the AI Stack
• Compresses open-source models without retraining, saving energy and hardware costs.
• Competes with quantization/pruning — but uses a quantum-inspired framework with better scalability.
• Makes AI more accessible for enterprises outside Big Tech.
Multiverse is betting that compression isn’t a tool—it’s the foundation for the next era of affordable, decentralized AI.
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🤖 Outset Launches AI-Driven Interview Platform for Enterprise Insights
Boston-based startup Outset is transforming customer research with its AI agent-led interview solution, helping companies scale and accelerate insights through automated, interactive conversations.
🎤 AI Agents for Customer Conversations
• Deploys AI-powered agents to conduct interviews at scale
• Automatically captures verbal feedback and generates rich, structured insights
• Enables enterprises to gather research without manual moderation
📈 Research, Reinvention, and Real-Time Results
• Integrates with CRM tools to trigger interviews post-event or interaction
• AI handles scheduling, follow-ups, and transcription in a unified portal
• Promises faster turnaround and deeper analysis for product and CX teams
💰 $17M Series A Fuels Product Growth
• Raised $17 million in Series A funding to support infrastructure, R&D, and go-to-market expansion
• Founded by seasoned researchers and enterprise SaaS veterans
• Targets mid-to-large enterprises looking to modernize qualitative research
🌍 Scaling Across Industries
• Ideal for sectors where customer sentiment and qualitative nuance matter—think fintech, health tech, and B2B SaaS
• Positioned to challenge manual interview workflows and traditional tools
Outset is automating the qualitative voice-of-customer layer with AI agents that both talk and listen—getting remote, scalable, and fast feedback without sacrificing nuance. With Series A backing, it’s ready to bring enterprise research into the AI era.
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🔓 Cyera Expands AI-Native Platform to Secure Enterprise Data
Israeli-American startup Cyera is doubling down on AI-powered data security, scaling its platform to meet the rising need for DSPM, DLP, and identity protection in the generative AI era—with a fresh $540M raise and a $6B valuation boost in just seven months.
🧠 Built for the AI Data Explosion
• Unified platform combines DSPM, DLP, and identity intelligence
• Automatically discovers, classifies, and secures sensitive enterprise data
• Tailored for AI-heavy environments like copilots and foundation models
📊 Enterprise Growth at Scale
• 353% YoY growth in Fortune 500 adoption
• Doubled headcount to ~800 across 10+ global hubs
• Tripled overall footprint in under 18 months
⚙️ Product-Led Expansion Strategy
• Acquired Trail Security for $162M to boost cloud threat detection
• Building toward end-to-end data visibility and compliance automation
• New capital supports global scale, M&A, and rapid product development
🎯 Backing from Tier-1 Investors
• Series E co-led by Georgian, Greenoaks, and Lightspeed
• Continued support from Accel, Sequoia, Cyberstarts, and others
• Valuation doubled from $3B to $6B since late 2024
🚫 No Rush to IPO
• CEO Yotam Segev says Cyera is “just getting started”
• Focused on long-term infrastructure building, not short-term exits
Cyera is becoming the security layer for the AI-first enterprise—automating what humans can’t as data and models scale out of control. Is it quietly building the next cybersecurity giant?
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