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FUNDING$25M Fund II
Solo GP Ashley Smith Closes $25M Second Fund
Solo GP Ashley Smith closed a $25 million second fund for Vermilion Cliffs Ventures, nearly doubling her debut fund to back technical founders in AI infrastructure, security and dev tools.
EdVisorly Raises $13.3M to Fix College Transfers With AI
FUNDING$13.3M Series A
EdVisorly Raises $13.3M to Fix College Transfers With AI
EdVisorly raised a $13.3 million Series A led by Breachway Capital to scale EddyAI, a platform that automates the transcript-reading and enrollment work behind college transfer admissions.
General Catalyst, YC, a16z Top Active US Investor Ranks
FUNDING39 deals (General Catalyst, Q2)
General Catalyst, YC, a16z Top Active US Investor Ranks
General Catalyst, Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz were Q2 2026's most active US investors, with over two-thirds of their deals going into AI startups, according to Crunchbase data.
Ant Group Backs Companion Robot Maker Zeroth
FUNDING$73.6M pre-Series A
Ant Group Backs Companion Robot Maker Zeroth
China's Ant Group led a $73.6 million pre-Series A round in companion-robot maker Zeroth, its 12th humanoid-robotics investment since 2025, as the startup reports 30,000 unit orders and 600% revenue growth.
Monogram Raises $40M Seed for Visual AI Interface
FUNDING$40M seed
Monogram Raises $40M Seed for Visual AI Interface
Coursera co-founder Eren Bali's new startup Monogram raised a $40 million seed led by DST Global and Lux Capital to build an AI app that generates full visual interfaces instead of just text.
Arkenstone Defense Emerges With $35M Seed Round
FUNDING$35M seed
Arkenstone Defense Emerges With $35M Seed Round
Arkenstone Defense launched with $35 million led by J2 Ventures to strip out the compliance and back-office burden that keeps commercial tech companies from selling to the Pentagon.
Norm AI Hits $1.2B Valuation With $120M Series C
FUNDING$120M Series C, $1.2B valuation
Norm AI Hits $1.2B Valuation With $120M Series C
Norm AI raised $120 million led by Khosla Ventures at a $1.2 billion valuation, as its AI-native "Norm Law" agents take on document drafting and compliance work under attorney supervision.
EDX Markets Raises $76M, Files for Its Own OCC Trust Bank
FUNDING$76M Series C
EDX Markets Raises $76M, Files for Its Own OCC Trust Bank
Institutional crypto venue EDX Markets closed a $76 million Series C led by SBI Holdings and filed to establish EDX Trust, a national trust bank -- its first disclosed funding-round size since 2023.
Chemistry Ventures Raising $500M for Second Fund
FUNDING$500M target (Fund II)
Chemistry Ventures Raising $500M for Second Fund
Chemistry Ventures, the AI-focused firm founded by Bessemer, Index and a16z alumni, is raising $500 million for its second fund -- already oversubscribed just two years after its $350 million debut.
FORE Biotherapeutics Raises $67.4M to Push BRAF Cancer Drug
FUNDING$67.4M (Series D-2 extension)
FORE Biotherapeutics Raises $67.4M to Push BRAF Cancer Drug
FORE Biotherapeutics closed an upsized $67.4 million Series D-2 extension, bringing its total Series D-2 to $110 million, to fund late-stage development of plixorafenib toward a targeted 2027 FDA submission for BRAF-mutated tumors.
Super.com Raises $65M Series D at $1.2B Valuation
FUNDING$65M Series D, $1.2B valuation
Super.com Raises $65M Series D at $1.2B Valuation
Super.com raised $65 million led by TPG at a $1.2 billion valuation, positioning its savings "super app" as an Amazon Prime-style membership for everyday Americans' spending.
Quaise Energy Lands $134M to Drill for Geothermal
FUNDING$134M Series B (1st close)
Quaise Energy Lands $134M to Drill for Geothermal
Quaise Energy closed the first tranche of a $134 million Series B led by Prelude Ventures to scale drilling technology that could tap superhot geothermal energy anywhere on Earth.
Proxima Fusion Raises $468M, Hits $2.7B Valuation
FUNDING€411M (~$468M), €2.4B valuation
Proxima Fusion Raises $468M, Hits $2.7B Valuation
Munich-based Proxima Fusion raised €411 million from Google and RWE at a €2.4 billion valuation, becoming Europe's best-funded fusion company as it targets a net-energy demonstrator in the early 2030s.
Cyllene Therapeutics Raises €33M for Gene Therapy
FUNDING€33M (~$36M) Series C
Cyllene Therapeutics Raises €33M for Gene Therapy
Cyllene Therapeutics, formerly EG 427, raised €33 million co-led by Merck Ventures to advance its HSV-1 gene-therapy platform toward treating neurogenic bladder conditions.
NA Startup Funding Shatters Records in H1 2026
FUNDING$392B H1 2026, ~80% to AI
NA Startup Funding Shatters Records in H1 2026
North American startups raised $392 billion in the first half of 2026, an all-time record, with roughly 80% of Q2 investment dollars flowing to AI-focused companies as capital concentrates in an ever-smaller set of megadeals.
Defense Tech's Funding Smashes Records Again in 2026
FUNDING$14.6B+ into defense tech in 2026
Defense Tech's Funding Smashes Records Again in 2026
Defense tech startups have already pulled in more than $14.6 billion in venture funding in 2026, surpassing all of 2025's record $9.6 billion, led by Anduril, Shield AI and Saronic megarounds.
Robotics Funding Blows Past Its Own 2026 Record
FUNDING$18.8B into robotics in 2026 vs. $15B in 2025
Robotics Funding Blows Past Its Own 2026 Record
Robotics startups have already raised $18.8 billion globally in 2026, eclipsing the $15 billion raised in all of 2025, as humanoid and industrial-automation rounds keep getting larger.
Founders Fund's One-Year Sprint From $4.6B to $6B
FUNDING$4.6B to $6B in about a year
Founders Fund's One-Year Sprint From $4.6B to $6B
Founders Fund closed a record $6 billion fourth growth fund in May 2026, barely a year after its $4.6 billion third growth fund, as mega-managers keep out-raising and out-deploying everyone else.
AI Infrastructure Capex Keeps Concentrating in Fewer Hands
FUNDING$870B+ combined 2026 AI capex commitments
AI Infrastructure Capex Keeps Concentrating in Fewer Hands
Oracle, Amazon, Microsoft and Google are together committing more than $870 billion to AI infrastructure this year, a concentration of capital the Bank for International Settlements has warned carries systemic financial risk.
Tokenization's Capital Infrastructure Moment Arrives
FUNDING$3B+ BUIDL TVL, new SEC and MiCA clarity
Tokenization's Capital Infrastructure Moment Arrives
Tokenized real-world assets are moving from pilot projects to real capital infrastructure, with BlackRock's tokenized fund on Securitize's rails topping $3 billion and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic providing new legal clarity.
US FinTech Just Had Its Best Quarter in Years
FUNDING$16B across 445 deals, Q2 2026
US FinTech Just Had Its Best Quarter in Years
US fintech startups raised $16 billion across 445 deals in Q2 2026, the strongest quarter in five quarters, as investor interest concentrates around payments, compliance and agent-based financial tooling.
Why $150M Rounds Are the New $50M Series A
FUNDING$150M-$620M rounds on modest revenue bases
Why $150M Rounds Are the New $50M Series A
Even Realities' $150M round and Agility Robotics' $620M SPAC raise show late-stage checks climbing sharply even for companies with modest revenue, continuing 2026's round-size inflation trend.
Growth Capital's New Pecking Order: Power, Chips, Everything Else
FUNDING$3B+ infra rounds vs. flat Series A medians
Growth Capital's New Pecking Order: Power, Chips, Everything Else
This year's largest checks -- Crusoe, National Grid-Joulent, a16z crypto -- keep going to physical infrastructure and scarce capacity, leaving application-layer software further down the pecking order.
Smart Glasses Maker Even Realities Hits $1B Valuation
FUNDING$150M at $1B valuation
Smart Glasses Maker Even Realities Hits $1B Valuation
Shenzhen-based Even Realities raised $150 million led by Meituan and Tencent at a $1 billion valuation, becoming the first camera-free smart-glasses maker to sell more than 10,000 pairs.
US Investors Get Direct Access to Memory Maker SK Hynix
FUNDINGNew US access to top HBM supplier
US Investors Get Direct Access to Memory Maker SK Hynix
US investors will soon gain direct access to South Korea's SK Hynix, the world's largest HBM memory supplier for AI accelerators, as it pursues a US listing vehicle to ride the same AI memory boom lifting Samsung and Micron.
Ornn Wants Investors to Trade GPU Compute Like a Commodity
FUNDINGNew GPU-compute trading model
Ornn Wants Investors to Trade GPU Compute Like a Commodity
A new startup called Ornn is pitching investors on trading GPU compute capacity the way commodities like oil or wheat are traded, betting that AI compute scarcity has become predictable enough to price as a financial instrument.
Recast Capital: Megafund 'Safety' Is an Illusion for LPs
FUNDING80% of US VC into 29 companies
Recast Capital: Megafund 'Safety' Is an Illusion for LPs
Recast Capital's Sara Zulkosky argues LPs chasing megafund safety are missing that 80% of US venture capital now goes to rounds of $500 million or more spread across just 29 companies, while emerging managers keep finding resilient founders.
Bespoke Labs Raises $40M to Train AI Agents
FUNDING$40M Series A
Bespoke Labs Raises $40M to Train AI Agents
Bespoke Labs raised $40 million led by Wing VC to build realistic, company-like environments -- codebases, tickets, Slack, logs -- that let frontier labs and enterprises train and evaluate long-horizon AI agents.
Startup Bets Investors Want to Trade GPU Compute Like Oil
FUNDINGCompute-as-commodity marketplace pitch
Startup Bets Investors Want to Trade GPU Compute Like Oil
Startup Ornn is building a marketplace to trade GPU compute capacity as a commodity, betting AI infrastructure scarcity can support futures and hedging instruments the way oil markets do.
Cleantech Startup Funding Is Quietly Stabilizing
FUNDINGCleantech funding stabilizing, Q2 2026
Cleantech Startup Funding Is Quietly Stabilizing
Crunchbase data shows cleantech venture funding stabilizing in Q2 2026 as growing AI-driven energy demand creates real commercial pull for grid, storage and generation startups after several volatile years.
Why It's Time for LPs to Leave the Megafund Crowd
FUNDINGLP allocation debate, 2026
Why It's Time for LPs to Leave the Megafund Crowd
New Crunchbase analysis argues 2026's flight to megafund safety has been a year of misplaced fear, making the case that emerging managers now offer better risk-adjusted returns than the largest, most crowded funds.
A Quiet Wave of Small-Cap S-1 Filings Builds Behind the Headlines
FUNDING7+ S-1/S-1A filings this week
A Quiet Wave of Small-Cap S-1 Filings Builds Behind the Headlines
A cluster of SEC S-1 and S-1/A filings this week -- spanning cybersecurity, healthtech and biotech -- shows a steady small-cap IPO pipeline building beneath the headline megadeals like Agility Robotics and SK Hynix.
Crunchbase: It's Time for LPs to Leave the Megafund Crowd
FUNDINGLP capital concentration analysis
Crunchbase: It's Time for LPs to Leave the Megafund Crowd
A new Crunchbase analysis argues that a year of LP capital rushing toward megafunds out of misplaced fear has left emerging managers underfunded, even as smaller funds have historically outperformed on a vintage-adjusted basis.
Nearly 90 New Unicorns Minted So Far in 2026
FUNDING~90 new unicorns in 2026
Nearly 90 New Unicorns Minted So Far in 2026
Almost 90 startups have crossed the $1 billion valuation mark in 2026 through early July, with most AI-related, led by Jeff Bezos-backed Prometheus at a $41 billion valuation.
Almost 90 New Unicorns Have Been Minted So Far in 2026
FUNDING~90 new unicorns, 2026 YTD
Almost 90 New Unicorns Have Been Minted So Far in 2026
TechCrunch's running tally shows nearly 90 new billion-dollar startups created in 2026 already, a pace that shows fresh mega-valuation creation continuing even as bubble warnings about AI infrastructure capex intensify.
Why the Same Five Neoclouds Keep Landing Megarounds
FUNDING$5.3B+ combined across 3 repeat raises
Why the Same Five Neoclouds Keep Landing Megarounds
Baseten, Together AI and Crusoe have each raised nine- or ten-figure rounds within the past year, showing AI infrastructure capital increasingly recycling into a small, familiar set of 'neocloud' names rather than funding new entrants.
Vertical AI Series A Rounds Are Quietly Getting Bigger
FUNDING$650M+ combined across 4 vertical rounds
Vertical AI Series A Rounds Are Quietly Getting Bigger
A cluster of recent Series A and C rounds -- General Intuition's $320M, RunPod's $100M and Assort Health's $120M among them -- shows vertical AI applications commanding round sizes once reserved for infrastructure megadeals.
Biotech VCs Are Betting Big on Single Clinical Trials
FUNDING$391M+ combined across 3 single-trial bets
Biotech VCs Are Betting Big on Single Clinical Trials
Celea Therapeutics' $180M round, Beeline Medicine's $126.3M raise and Flare Therapeutics' $85M financing show late-stage biotech investors concentrating capital into single, high-conviction trial bets rather than diversified platform plays.
The Real Picks-and-Shovels Trade: Chips, Coolant and Power
FUNDING$66M combined (Oxmiq + Omen AI)
The Real Picks-and-Shovels Trade: Chips, Coolant and Power
Smaller raises for Oxmiq's unified chip architecture and Omen AI's datacenter-coolant sensors show venture capital funding the unglamorous physical layer beneath AI compute, not just the headline gigawatt-scale megadeals.
Defense Tech Rounds Are Catching Up to AI's Round Sizes
FUNDING~$3.5B combined across 2 deals
Defense Tech Rounds Are Catching Up to AI's Round Sizes
Quantum Systems' $1.2B Series D for drone autonomy and Safran's $2.19B acquisition of Exail Technologies show European defense and autonomy deals now matching the scale of headline AI infrastructure rounds.
Why AI Infrastructure Megarounds Are Swallowing the Series B Market
FUNDING$6.75B+ in infra rounds in one week
Why AI Infrastructure Megarounds Are Swallowing the Series B Market
A string of multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure raises this year -- Crusoe, Together AI, Quantum Systems, National Grid's Joulent bet -- shows venture capital concentrating in physical AI infrastructure at the expense of traditional Series B-sized rounds.
The Return of the $100M+ Vertical AI Round
FUNDING$100M-$180M vertical AI rounds
The Return of the $100M+ Vertical AI Round
TwelveLabs' $100M video-AI raise and Celea Therapeutics' $180M biotech round show growth-stage investors writing nine-figure checks into narrow, vertical AI applications again, not just horizontal infrastructure plays.
Crypto VCs Are Quietly Out-Raising AI VCs on Fund Size
FUNDING$3.2B combined new fund capital
Crypto VCs Are Quietly Out-Raising AI VCs on Fund Size
a16z crypto's $2.2B fifth fund and Haun Ventures' $1B second fund show crypto-focused venture firms raising fund sizes that rival or exceed many AI-focused funds, even as broader blockchain market sentiment stays subdued.
H1 2026's $510B Funding Record Hides a Concentration Problem
FUNDING$217B of $510B to 2 companies
H1 2026's $510B Funding Record Hides a Concentration Problem
Global venture funding hit a record $510B in H1 2026, but OpenAI and Anthropic alone accounted for 43% of it -- a concentration level that raises questions about how broad-based the AI funding boom really is.
Bitcoin's Next Big Rally May Need $1 Trillion
FUNDING>$1 trillion needed for next rally
Bitcoin's Next Big Rally May Need $1 Trillion
CryptoQuant data shows Bitcoin's capital efficiency has fallen so far that another parabolic rally may require over $1 trillion in fresh institutional capital, just as spot ETFs post their worst outflow month on record.
Kuaishou Spins Off Kling AI in Record $2.8B Round, Setting Up Hong Kong IPO
FUNDING~$2.8B spinoff round
Kuaishou Spins Off Kling AI in Record $2.8B Round, Setting Up Hong Kong IPO
Kuaishou Technology's video-generation subsidiary Kling AI closed roughly $2.8 billion in spinoff financing at an $18 billion post-money valuation, with rivals Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu all buying into the round ahead of a planned Hong Kong listing.
Crusoe in Talks to Raise $3B, Tripling Valuation to ~$30B
FUNDING$3B raise / ~$30B valuation
Crusoe in Talks to Raise $3B, Tripling Valuation to ~$30B
AI data-center builder Crusoe is reportedly in talks to raise about $3 billion in a round that would roughly triple its valuation to around $30 billion, as demand for specialized AI compute keeps outpacing supply.
Quantum Systems Raises $1.2B Series D as Europe Bets Big on Sovereign Drone
FUNDING$1.2B Series D
Quantum Systems Raises $1.2B Series D as Europe Bets Big on Sovereign Drone
Quantum Systems, a German maker of autonomous drones and multi-domain uncrewed systems, closed a $1.2 billion Series D co-led by Blackstone, Airbus Defence and Space and Advent International, more than doubling its valuation to roughly $8 billion.
Aligned Closes $60M Series B to Become the 'System of Action' for B2B Sales
FUNDING$60M Series B
Aligned Closes $60M Series B to Become the 'System of Action' for B2B Sales
Aligned, an Israeli-founded startup building an AI-powered deal workspace for B2B sales teams, raised $60 million in Series B funding led by PeakSpan Capital after tripling ARR and reaching 70,000 sellers and a million buyers a month.
Nobel Laureate's Qolab Raises $54.2M Series B to Scale Superconducting
FUNDING$54.2M Series B
Nobel Laureate's Qolab Raises $54.2M Series B to Scale Superconducting
Qolab, a Santa Barbara superconducting-quantum-processor startup co-founded by 2025 Nobel physics laureate John Martinis, closed a $54.2 million Series B led by UC Investments on July 2, with WARF, Octave Ventures and Phoenix Venture Partners also.
Celea Therapeutics Raises $180M Series B for Pulmonary Fibrosis Drug
FUNDING$180M Series B
Celea Therapeutics Raises $180M Series B for Pulmonary Fibrosis Drug
Celea Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech spun out of PureTech developing deupirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, announced a $180 million Series B on July 2, led by RA Capital and Leaps by Bayer, with PureTech and additional unnamed.
Thiel Capital's Jack Selby Nabs Stakes in Etched Through Arizona Ties
FUNDINGEtched now valued at ~$5B
Thiel Capital's Jack Selby Nabs Stakes in Etched Through Arizona Ties
Jack Selby, a longtime Thiel Capital managing director who founded Phoenix-based Copper Sky in 2021, used a promise to help reshore chip fabrication to Arizona to secure an allocation in AI chip startup Etched's Series A -- now valued at $5B with its first.
Thiel Capital's Jack Selby Nabs Stakes in Hot Startups Like Etched Through Arizona Connections
FUNDING$300M Fund II (raising)
Thiel Capital's Jack Selby Nabs Stakes in Hot Startups Like Etched Through Arizona Connections
Jack Selby, a former PayPal executive and longtime managing director at Peter Thiel's family office, has been using his Phoenix-based venture firm Copper Sky Capital — and his seat on the Arizona Commerce Authority board — to secure allocations into hot AI startups like Etched, TechCrunch reported July 2. Copper Sky invested in Etched's $120 million Series A roughly two years ago partly by pledging to help the Nvidia competitor eventually move chip fabrication to Arizona's TSMC GIGAFAB, and is now raising a $300 million second fund built around the same regional-manufacturing thesis.
Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures Backs Magnify Ventures' $46.6M Fund II
FUNDING$46.6M Fund II
Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures Backs Magnify Ventures' $46.6M Fund II
Magnify Ventures, the care-economy-focused firm founded by Joanna Drake and Julie Wroblewski, closed a $46.6 million Fund II with Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures as an anchor LP, following Pivotal's similar anchor role in the firm's $52 million Fund I.
Global Startup Funding Hit a Record $510B in H1 2026 as AI Concentration
FUNDING$510B H1 2026 (record)
Global Startup Funding Hit a Record $510B in H1 2026 as AI Concentration
Global venture funding hit $510 billion in the first half of 2026, Crunchbase News reported July 2 -- surpassing all of 2025's $440 billion total in just six months -- with OpenAI and Anthropic alone accounting for $217 billion (43%) of the total, and.
Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures Backs Magnify Ventures' $46.6M Fund II for the Care Economy
FUNDING$46.6M Fund II
Melinda Gates' Pivotal Ventures Backs Magnify Ventures' $46.6M Fund II for the Care Economy
Pivotal Ventures, Melinda French Gates' investment firm, anchored Magnify Ventures' second fund, which closed at $46.6 million on July 2 to back AI tools for households, health and home systems, and fintech infrastructure for families. Magnify, founded by Joanna Drake and Julie Wroblewski in 2021, previously raised a $52 million Fund I in 2022 also anchored by Pivotal Ventures, and counts childcare platform Kinside and children's expense app Till Financial among its portfolio.
Crunchbase: Global Startup Funding Hit a Record $510B in H1 2026 as AI Swallows the Market
FUNDING$510B H1 2026
Crunchbase: Global Startup Funding Hit a Record $510B in H1 2026 as AI Swallows the Market
Crunchbase News reported July 2 that global startup investment hit a record $510 billion in H1 2026, already exceeding the $440 billion invested in all of 2025 combined, as AI-focused companies captured more than 70% of Q2 global funding. OpenAI and Anthropic alone raised a combined $217 billion in H1 — 43% of every venture dollar deployed worldwide — while exit activity kept pace, led by SpaceX's record $75 billion IPO and its $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Cursor.
Celea Therapeutics Raises $180M to Push Lung Drug Into Phase 3
FUNDING$180 million
Celea Therapeutics Raises $180M to Push Lung Drug Into Phase 3
PureTech-founded Celea Therapeutics raised $180 million to fund a head-to-head Phase 3 trial testing its drug deupirfenidone against the current standard of care for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Crunchbase: The Week's 10 Biggest Funding Rounds, Led by Joulent's $1.75B Energy Raise
FUNDING$1.75B lead deal (Joulent)
Crunchbase: The Week's 10 Biggest Funding Rounds, Led by Joulent's $1.75B Energy Raise
Crunchbase News' roundup of the week's 10 biggest funding rounds (June 27-July 2) was led by Houston-based energy infrastructure provider Joulent's $1.75 billion raise from National Grid Ventures, aimed squarely at AI and compute-intensive industries' power needs. Together AI's $800M Series C and Venice AI's $65M unicorn round both placed inside the top 10, alongside biotech, legal-tech, sports and video-AI rounds spanning a genuinely broad set of categories beyond pure frontier-model AI.
Ex-Intel Chip Architect Raja Koduri Raises $35M for Licensable GPU/AI Chiplet
FUNDING$35M Series A
Ex-Intel Chip Architect Raja Koduri Raises $35M for Licensable GPU/AI Chiplet
OXMIQ Labs, led by former Intel and AMD chip architect Raja Koduri, raised a $35 million Series A co-led by Fundomo and Samsung Catalyst Fund, with MediaTek returning as an investor alongside AM Intelligence Labs, Pegatron Venture Capital, CDIB-TEN, Darwin.