News/Fundraising
AI accounting startup Rillet raises $70M at $500M valuation
Rillet, an AI-powered accounting software startup founded by former N26 executive Nicolas Kopp, has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ. The funding values the company at approximately $500 million and comes just two months after its previous $25 million raise, bringing total funding to over $100 million as the startup targets legacy accounting systems from Oracle and Microsoft. Why this matters: Rillet's platform addresses a critical pain point in enterprise finance by automating accounting tasks that traditionally take weeks to complete, leveraging AI to transform what Kopp calls "dumb databases" into...
read Jul 28, 2025Micro1 raises $500M valuation as Scale AI loses customers to Meta
Micro1, a Scale AI competitor providing data labeling services to AI labs, is finalizing a Series A funding round at a $500 million valuation, according to sources familiar with the matter. The startup has capitalized on growing demand for high-quality human-generated datasets by building an AI-powered recruitment engine that connects AI companies with specialized experts rather than relying on large pools of low-wage workers. What you should know: Micro1 has experienced explosive revenue growth, reporting significant milestones that demonstrate the company's rapid scaling in the competitive data labeling market. The company has crossed $50 million in annualized revenue, up from...
read Jul 28, 2025E2B raises $21M as 88% of Fortune 100 companies adopt its AI agent platform
E2B, a startup building cloud infrastructure specifically for artificial intelligence agents, has raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Insight Partners, a global software investor managing over $90 billion in assets. The round included participation from existing investors Decibel, Sunflower Capital, and Kaya, along with Scott Johnston, former CEO of Docker. The funding comes as E2B reports that 88% of Fortune 100 companies have signed up to use its platform—a remarkable adoption rate that highlights how quickly large enterprises are embracing AI automation tools. The company has also added seven figures in new business just in the past...
read Jul 28, 2025Swedish startup Lovable hits $100M revenue in record 8 months
Lovable, a Swedish "vibe coding" startup, has achieved $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launch, marking one of the fastest revenue growths in software company history. The company also recently secured unicorn status with a $200 million Series A funding round that valued it at $1.8 billion, demonstrating explosive investor enthusiasm for AI-powered coding tools that allow users to build software using natural language instead of traditional programming languages. What you should know: Vibe coding represents a fundamental shift in software development, making programming accessible to non-technical users through AI-powered natural language interfaces. CEO Anton Osika...
read Jul 25, 2025Navy veterans raise $2.3M to build AI for submarine warfare
Spear AI, a startup founded by U.S. Navy veterans, has raised $2.3 million in its first round of outside funding to develop AI tools for analyzing submarine acoustic data. The Washington-based company specializes in processing passive acoustic data from underwater listening devices, aiming to help submarine operators distinguish between threats like enemy vessels and benign objects such as whales or weather patterns. What you should know: Spear AI addresses a critical gap in military AI capabilities by focusing on underwater acoustic data, which is fundamentally different from the labeled text and image datasets that train most existing AI systems. The...
read Jul 24, 2025Cognition raises $300M at $10B valuation after acquiring Windsurf
Cognition, the AI coding startup behind the Devin assistant, is in talks to raise over $300 million at a $10 billion valuation, according to five sources familiar with the deal. The funding round, backed by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures, would more than double the company's $4 billion valuation from March and comes as Cognition announced its acquisition of rival AI coding startup Windsurf. What you should know: The potential funding represents one of the largest AI startup valuations in the competitive coding assistant market. The deal would value Cognition at $10 billion, up from its $4 billion March valuation...
read Jul 23, 2025Ex-Anthropic executive raises $15M to insure enterprise AI deployments
Former Anthropic executive Rune Kvist has launched The Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC) with $15 million in seed funding to provide insurance coverage for AI agent deployments in enterprises. The startup addresses a critical trust gap preventing companies from adopting AI systems due to fears of catastrophic failures, offering both insurance policies and rigorous safety standards that could accelerate enterprise AI adoption while maintaining accountability. The big picture: AIUC combines insurance coverage with independent safety audits to give enterprises confidence in deploying AI agents for tasks like customer service, coding, and data analysis—creating a market-based solution that moves faster than...
read Jul 22, 2025Open Philanthropy shifts university AI safety funding to Kairos
Open Philanthropy has ended its university AI safety group funding program and transferred financial support for most university AI safety groups to Kairos, an AI safety field-building organization. The move reflects Open Philanthropy's broader strategy of transitioning small grants programs to specialized organizations better positioned to provide active support and guidance. What you should know: Open Philanthropy's GCR Capacity Building team announced the immediate closure of their university group funding program as of the publication date. Kairos will now handle monetary support for most university AI safety groups, leveraging what Open Philanthropy describes as "a strong team and a substantive...
read Jul 22, 2025xAI seeks $12B to buy Nvidia chips for Grok mecha-expansion
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI is working to raise up to $12 billion in new funding through investment firm Valor Equity Partners, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The massive capital raise would fuel xAI's expansion plans, specifically to purchase advanced Nvidia chips for a new data center designed to train and power its AI chatbot Grok. Key details: Valor Equity Partners, an investment firm led by founder Antonio Gracias who maintains close ties to Musk, is negotiating with lenders to secure the funding. The $12 billion would be used to acquire a substantial supply of advanced Nvidia...
read Jul 21, 2025Emerald AI raises $24.5M to cut data center power use by 25%
Emerald AI has raised $24.5 million in funding from high-profile investors including Nvidia, former climate envoy John Kerry, and Kleiner Perkins chair John Doerr to develop technology that makes data centers more flexible power consumers. The startup's platform allows grid managers to remotely reduce AI data center power consumption by up to 25% during peak demand periods without affecting AI performance, potentially transforming data centers from grid burdens into "grid allies." The big picture: Energy demand has emerged as the primary constraint limiting AI growth, with the Department of Energy predicting that U.S. data center electricity consumption could nearly triple...
read Jul 14, 2025Moonvalley brings Disney, TikTok alum as it raises $84M for ethical AI video generation
Moonvalley, an AI research company focused on "ethical" video generation, has secured $84 million in additional funding led by General Catalyst, with strategic investments from CAA and Comcast Ventures. The startup claims to differentiate itself by training its AI models exclusively on licensed content, positioning itself as a responsible alternative to competitors who use unlicensed material for training data. What you should know: Moonvalley recently launched Marey, which it describes as the industry's "first production-grade AI generative videography platform built for professional filmmakers and visionary brands." The company works through its filmmaking arm, Asteria, led by Bryn Mooser, to develop...
read Jul 10, 2025Human-friendly startup Kartel.ai raises $2M to blend AI workflows with embodied creativity
Kartel.ai, a Beverly Hills-based startup, has emerged from stealth with $2 million in early funding and a human-centric AI production platform that promises to streamline creative media production. The company's approach combines AI-enhanced workflow orchestration with vetted human talent, targeting the growing demand for faster, cost-effective content creation across brands, studios, and agencies. How it works: Kartel operates as a full-stack production platform that matches projects with curated artists through an AI-powered intake system. Clients can call a dedicated number (1-838-NEW-IDEA) to discuss projects, with AI generating creative briefs in real-time and matching jobs to appropriate artists. The platform manages...
read Jul 10, 2025Groq seeks $500M at $6B valuation for Saudi AI chip deal
U.S. semiconductor startup Groq is in talks with investors to raise between $300 million and $500 million at a $6 billion post-investment valuation, according to The Information. The funding round would more than double the company's previous $2.8 billion valuation from August 2024 and help fulfill a major contract with Saudi Arabia that could generate $500 million in revenue this year. What you should know: Groq specializes in AI inference chips designed to optimize speed and execute commands from pre-trained AI models, positioning itself as a key player in the AI hardware race. The company secured a $1.5 billion commitment...
read Jul 9, 2025Polimorphic raises $18.6M to bring AI chatbots to local governments
New York-based startup Polimorphic has raised $18.6 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-powered chatbots and support services for local governments. The round, led by General Catalyst with participation from M13 and Shine, brings the company's total funding to $28 million as it targets a market that Silicon Valley has historically overlooked despite its critical need for technological modernization. Why this matters: Local governments face a severe staffing crisis and work overload, with administrative employees bogged down in routine tasks that could be automated while more impactful community work falls through the cracks. "Folks underestimate how critical a...
read Jun 30, 2025Catio raises $7M to transform tech diagrams with 31 AI agents
Catio, a Palo Alto-based AI architecture platform, won the "Coolest Technology" award at VentureBeat Transform 2025 on Wednesday. The startup, which has raised $7 million since its 2023 founding, offers an AI copilot that transforms static tech architecture diagrams into living, continuously updated systems managed by 31 specialized AI agents. What you should know: Catio replaces traditional whiteboard planning and spreadsheet-based architecture management with a dynamic, AI-driven platform that creates digital twins of entire tech stacks. The platform integrates with existing infrastructure services like AWS (Amazon's cloud computing service), Kubernetes (container management software), and Prometheus (monitoring tools) to build comprehensive,...
read Jun 25, 2025Motorica raises $5.4M to make game animation 200x faster with AI
Motorica has emerged from stealth with €5 million ($5.4 million) in seed funding to replace traditional motion capture with generative AI for character animation in video games. The Stockholm-based startup's technology promises to reduce animation costs by over 90% while accelerating workflows up to 200 times faster than conventional mocap pipelines, potentially transforming how studios approach one of game development's most expensive bottlenecks. The big picture: Motion capture represents a massive production challenge for AAA game studios, with animation alone accounting for 10-30% of total budgets and requiring millions of dollars for single projects like Red Dead Redemption 2, which...
read Jun 23, 2025Snowcap raises $23M for superconducting AI chips promising 25x efficiency gains
Snowcap Compute has raised $23 million to develop superconducting AI chips that could dramatically outperform current systems while consuming far less electricity. The startup claims its technology will be 25 times more efficient than today's best chips in performance per watt, even after accounting for the energy needed to keep the superconducting materials at extremely cold temperatures. The big picture: As AI systems demand increasingly massive amounts of power—with Nvidia's upcoming "Rubin Ultra" server expected to consume 600 kilowatts—the industry is desperately seeking alternatives to conventional silicon chips that are hitting physical limits. How it works: Superconductors are materials that...
read Jun 12, 2025AI startup Moments Lab bypasses data wranglers and interns, raises $24M to automate film editing
Moments Lab, a French AI video startup, has raised $24 million in Series B funding to develop AI tools that automate film editing and production workflows. The company's technology threatens to eliminate entry-level creative jobs while prioritizing revenue generation over artistic integrity, reflecting broader concerns about AI's impact on the entertainment industry. What you should know: Moments Lab's core product, MXT-2, functions as an AI film librarian that automatically categorizes footage by subject, actor, and location—tasks traditionally performed by data wranglers and assistant editors. The company has raised over $37 million total, with the latest funding aimed at developing an...
read Jun 11, 2025Outset raises $17M to automate market research with AI interviews
Outset, a San Francisco startup using AI to conduct market research interviews, has raised $17 million in Series A funding led by 8VC to accelerate adoption among Fortune 500 enterprises. The two-year-old company promises to deliver research results that are 8 times faster, 81 percent less expensive, and provide 10 times more reach than traditional human-led research, with major customers including Nestlé, Microsoft, and WeightWatchers already replacing decades-old market research methods. What you should know: Outset has developed the first AI-moderated research platform that conducts video interviews with participants at unprecedented scale and speed. AI moderators use computer-generated voice, text,...
read Jun 11, 2025“Which movie had the talking peanuts?” AI streaming app Ecco raises $7M to solve content discovery chaos
Ecco, an AI-powered streaming content discovery startup, has raised $7 million in seed funding from high-profile investors including Ben Silverman, Shaquille O'Neal, and former Match Group CEO Bernard Kim. The company promises to solve the fragmented search problem across streaming platforms by using advanced AI to understand complex, descriptive queries that go far beyond basic title or actor searches. What you should know: Ecco has built a proprietary AI platform that indexes over 21 million pieces of content across major streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Tubi. Users can enter highly...
read Jun 9, 2025What’s not to love about vibe coding? Swedish AI startup Lovable seeks $100M at $1.5B valuation
Lovable, a Swedish AI startup that enables non-programmers to build apps and websites, is in early-stage discussions to raise at least $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The funding round would position the company as one of Europe's largest AI newcomers, reflecting growing investor appetite for AI tools that democratize software development. What you should know: The startup has been holding talks with US investors for a significant funding round that could value the company at $1.5 billion or higher. The discussions are still in early stages and terms could change, according to people familiar with the matter who...
read Jun 4, 2025AI startup Cohere races to raise $500M in OpenAI, Anthropic catch-up attempt
Artificial intelligence company Cohere is seeking to raise $500 million in new funding as it attempts to narrow the gap with industry leaders OpenAI and Anthropic. This potential fundraising effort highlights the intensifying competition in the generative AI market, where capital has become a critical factor in developing increasingly sophisticated models while simultaneously attracting top talent and enterprise clients. The big picture: Cohere's fundraising effort would value the company at approximately $5 billion, marking a significant step in its quest to compete with better-funded rivals in the large language model space. Competitive landscape: While Cohere trails the funding of market...
read May 23, 2025European defense tech fund receives €40m boost from EIF
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is strengthening Europe's defense technology sector with a significant €40 million commitment to Keen Venture Partners' defense tech fund. This investment underscores growing recognition of the strategic importance of homegrown defense capabilities across Europe, particularly as geopolitical tensions rise and technological sovereignty becomes increasingly vital to national security interests. The big picture: The European Investment Fund has committed €40 million to Keen Venture Partners' defense technology fund, which aims to raise a total of €125 million. The fund will focus on early-stage startups operating across Europe in critical defense and dual-use technology sectors. Target investment...
read May 20, 2025European fintech rebounds as VC funding recovers from 4-year slump
European venture capital investment in fintech is surging back to life after a three-year slump, with 2025 already reaching €6.3 billion—more than 70% of last year's total—according to PitchBook data. This resurgence reflects a fundamental shift in the European fintech landscape, where companies are now being built with resilience as a priority, operating in a more stable environment with normalized valuations and clearer regulatory frameworks. The revival signals not just recovery but transformation, as artificial intelligence and crypto regulation reshape the future of financial technology across the continent. The big picture: Europe's fintech sector is experiencing its strongest investment momentum...
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