Startup Watch
Modal raises $750M at $15.75B as its revenue run rate tops $1B
AI compute startup Modal raised a $750 million Series D led by Accel at a $15.75 billion valuation, after its annualized revenue run rate passed $1 billion.
Startup Watch - Page 2
New startups, launches, and funding - the companies building what's next.
Startup Watch
Salience Labs raises $125M for all-optical AI data center switches
Salience Labs raised a $125 million Series B led by Bullhound Capital, with Intel Capital and AMD Ventures, to scale optical switches that link GPUs.
Startup Watch
Freshworks to buy Torii to track SaaS and AI spending
Freshworks agreed to acquire Torii, a startup that tracks the software and AI tools a company uses and what they cost, down to the AI token.
Startup Watch
Zetwerk IPO opens October 15 at Rs 143-151 a share
Indian manufacturing startup Zetwerk set a price band of Rs 143-151 for its Rs 5,012 crore IPO, which runs from October 15 to 19.
Startup Watch
Character.AI files for bankruptcy, Disney bids $20 million
Character.AI filed for Chapter 11 on October 12 and plans to sell its assets by early December. Disney has bid $20 million for a license to some of its IP.
Startup Watch
Workday to buy C1.ai as Sana heads to Claude and Slack
Workday agreed on October 13 to buy C1.ai, which governs access for people and AI agents, and said its Sana assistant will run inside Claude and Slack.
Startup Watch
TypeSafe raises $870M Series A at $7.5B for Jev
TypeSafe AI raised $870 million at a $7.5 billion valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz, 24 days after its $40 million seed round and the Jev launch.
Startup Watch
Nous Research raises $90M Series B for Hermes Agent
Nous Research raised $90 million on October 7 to build a business version of Hermes Agent, its open-source AI agent cloned over 24 million times.
Startup Watch
Apple licenses Huxe's AI podcast tech, may hire its team
An EU filing shows Apple gets a non-exclusive license to Huxe's AI audio technology and the right to offer jobs to staff of the shut-down startup.
Startup Watch
Rein Security raises $25M to guard enterprise AI agents
Rein Security raised $25M, co-led by Glilot and Sienna, for software that watches and limits what enterprise AI agents do. Revenue is up 8x since January.
Startup Watch
Xona Pulsar satellites set to launch a GPS alternative
Xona will launch six Pulsar satellites on a SpaceX rocket this month. The startup says its GPS alternative reaches centimeter accuracy and resists jamming.
Startup Watch
Arena, the AI leaderboard, raises $200M at $3.1B
Arena raised $200M at a $3.1B valuation, nearly double January's price, and previewed an index that ranks AI models on unsafe and deceptive behavior.
Startup Watch
Manus raises over $500M after its Meta sale is unwound
Manus's parent raised more than $500 million, led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital. It is the first round since China ordered Meta's $2 billion deal unwound.
Startup Watch
Atomic Machines emerges with $250M to build micro-machines
Atomic Machines left stealth on October 7 with $250 million raised and PrimeSwitch, a relay for 800-volt AI data centers that opens in 50 microseconds.
Startup Watch
Universal Quantum raises $100M to link quantum chips
UK startup Universal Quantum raised a Series A of more than $100 million, co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures, to scale its modular trapped-ion chips.
Startup Watch
Mecka AI raises $60M from Sequoia for robot training data
Mecka AI raised a $60M Series B led by Sequoia, with Nvidia and M12. The startup pays people to record everyday tasks with body sensors to train robots.
Startup Watch
Parallel Systems raises $100M for driverless freight rail
Parallel Systems, founded by ex-SpaceX engineers, raised a $100M Series C led by AVP to build battery-powered rail vehicles that run without drivers.
Startup Watch
Healthleap raises $38M to flag at-risk hospital patients
Healthleap raised $38M for AI that reads hospital records overnight and flags patients at risk of missed conditions such as malnutrition. It runs in 50+ hospitals.
Startup Watch
Lambda is raising up to $4B ahead of a 2027 IPO
GPU cloud Lambda is raising up to $4B at a $14.5B pre-money valuation, led by Blackstone and Coatue. Its backlog jumped from $15B to $50B in three months.
Startup Watch
Claude Startups now adds a free year of Claude Team
Anthropic's expanded Claude Startups program gives founders a free year of Claude Team, $1,000 in API credits and up to $45,000 in partner offers.
Startup Watch
Vinci raises $250M to speed up chip physics simulation
Vinci raised a $250M Series B at a $1.5B valuation for AI physics simulation it says runs up to 1,000 times faster than conventional chip design tools.
Startup Watch
Hadrian raises $40M for AI agents that test your defenses
Hadrian raised $40 million, bringing its total to $65 million, for AI agents that map attack surfaces and run penetration tests for firms like McKesson.
Startup Watch
RobCo hits $1B valuation as employees sell $40M in shares
RobCo passed a $1 billion valuation, double its level nine months ago, as employees sold $40 million in shares. Its two-armed Alfie robot ships in 2027.
Startup Watch
SignSplit gets $400M seed at $1B to license human data
SignSplit left stealth with a $400 million seed deal from W Group at a $1 billion valuation. It pays people to license their data and likeness to AI firms.
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