Tags: Series B

Qodo, a New York‑based startup that builds AI agents for code review, testing, and governance, announced a $70 million Series B round led by Qumra Capital. The funding brings the company’s total capital to $120 million and positions it to address the growing need for verification of AI‑generated code. Qodo’s platform evaluates how code changes affect entire systems, incorporates organizational standards, and learns each company’s definition of quality. The startup already works with major enterprises and has topped a leading code‑review benchmark, highlighting its ability to catch complex bugs without overwhelming developers. Weiterlesen

Facing intense competition, AI‑focused startups are adopting a dual‑valuation funding structure that lets lead investors buy shares at a lower price while other investors pay a higher, headline‑making price. The approach lets companies brand themselves as unicorns even though a sizable portion of equity was purchased at a lower valuation. Recent rounds at Aaru and Serval illustrate the tactic, which analysts say can attract talent and customers but also raises the risk of future down rounds and investor disappointment. Weiterlesen

Modal Labs, an AI inference infrastructure startup, is in early discussions with venture capital firms about a new financing round that could value the company at roughly $2.5 billion. If completed, the round would more than double the $1.1 billion valuation reported less than five months earlier. The company’s annualized revenue run rate is about $50 million. Co‑founder and CEO Erik Bernhardsson said the conversations are general and not an active fundraising effort. Existing backers include Lux Capital and Redpoint Ventures, while General Catalyst is reportedly considering leading the round. Weiterlesen

Outtake, an AI‑driven cybersecurity startup that automates the detection and takedown of digital identity fraud, has closed a $40 million Series B round. The round was led by Iconiq’s Murali Joshi and featured angels including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Anduril co‑founder Trae Stephens, former OpenAI VP Bob McGrew, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, and former AT&T CEO John Donovan. Founded in 2023 by former Palantir engineer Alex Dhillon, Outtake counts OpenAI, Pershing Square, AppLovin and federal agencies among its customers and reports rapid revenue and customer growth. Weiterlesen

Chai Discovery, an AI‑driven biotech startup backed by OpenAI, announced a $130 million Series B financing round that lifts its valuation to $1.3 billion. The round was led by General Catalyst and Oak HC/FT, with participation from Menlo Ventures, OpenAI, Dimension, Thrive Capital, Neo, Yosemite venture fund, Lachy Groom, SV Angel, Glade Brook and Emerson Collective. The new capital brings the company’s total funding to over $225 million. Chai’s platform, now in its second generation (Chai 2), aims to accelerate drug discovery by using foundation models to design molecules and de‑novo antibodies, positioning the firm as a leading player in AI‑enabled biotech. Weiterlesen

Tokyo‑based Sakana AI announced a ¥20 billion (approximately $135 million) Series B financing round that values the startup at $2.65 billion. Led by a mix of Japanese financial institutions and global venture firms, the round will fund further research and development of generative AI models optimized for the Japanese language, expand engineering and sales teams, and broaden the company’s enterprise reach beyond finance into industrial, manufacturing, government, defense and intelligence sectors. Founder‑CEO David Ha highlighted plans to pursue strategic partnerships, investments and acquisitions to sustain long‑term growth. Weiterlesen

Gamma, the AI‑powered platform that creates presentations, websites and social media posts, announced a $68 million Series B round that lifts its valuation to $2.1 billion. Led by Andreessen Horowitz, the round also includes participation from Accel, Uncork Capital and other existing investors. Co‑founder and CEO Grant Lee said the company has reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue on a profitable basis and now serves roughly 70 million users. The funding will support further product development and global expansion. Weiterlesen

Sesame, a conversational AI and smart‑glasses startup founded by former Oculus executives, announced a $250 million Series B financing round. The company is now opening an early beta of its iOS app, giving select users hands‑on experience with its voice‑driven AI agent. Sesame’s leadership team includes Brendan Iribe, Ankit Kumar, Nate Mitchell, Hans Hartmann and other former Meta engineers. The funding will support development of lightweight eyewear that integrates the AI companion, which has already generated millions of minutes of conversation in early demos. Weiterlesen

Simple, an AI‑powered health‑coaching platform founded by Mike Prytkov, closed a $35 million Series B round led by Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures. The funding will support the expansion of its AI coach Avo, new GLP‑1 companion features, and specialized programs for women’s health and midlife users. Simple’s approach combines personalized AI guidance with real‑time meal feedback, positioning it as a differentiated alternative to traditional diet apps. The company aims to become the “Duolingo of health,” offering a fun, daily health companion beyond weight loss. Weiterlesen

Numeral, a sales‑tax compliance startup founded by Sam Ross, announced a $35 million Series B financing round led by Mayfield, with participation from Benchmark, Uncork Capital, Y Combinator and Mantis. The funding values the two‑year‑old company at $350 million and will accelerate its AI‑driven platform that automates tax collection, filing and payment for e‑commerce and SaaS businesses across thousands of jurisdictions. Numeral’s growth includes a 3.5‑times revenue increase over the past year and a client base exceeding 2,000 firms, positioning it against incumbents such as Avalara. Weiterlesen

Human Behavior, founded by 20‑year‑old Amogh Chaturvedi and his 22‑year‑old co‑founders Skyler Ji and Chirag Kawediya, has closed a $5 million seed round backed by General Catalyst, Paul Graham, Vercel Ventures and Y Combinator. The startup leverages vision AI to watch user session replays, automatically generating insights that replace manual event tracking used by tools like Mixpanel and PostHog. Its early customers—fast‑moving Series A and B startups—receive daily summary emails on feature usage, bugs and churn. The founders aim to become the “Datadog of session replay,” expanding the platform into multiple products. Weiterlesen

Japanese AI SaaS startup LayerX secured a $100 million Series B round led by Technology Cross Ventures, marking the U.S. fund’s first investment in a Japanese startup. The financing, which also included MUFG Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners and other investors, will fuel growth of LayerX’s AI‑powered platforms that automate expense management, invoice processing and corporate card operations for thousands of companies. Founder Yoshinori Fukushima, a former machine‑learning researcher and serial entrepreneur, aims to broaden the company’s AI‑agent business and accelerate its path toward multi‑billion‑dollar annual recurring revenue. Weiterlesen