snorkel ai Stanford Spinoff Snorkel AI Reaches Unicorn Status With $85M Raise Snorkel AI reaches a $1 billion valuation after securing $85 million in new funding to expand its automated data labeling platform. The startup faces stiff competition from larger tech firms and well-funded rivals in the growing machine learning sector.
agentsync Insurtech Startup AgentSync Raises Three Times in Eight Months AgentSync demonstrates the blazing speed of today's venture market by closing three funding rounds in under a year, catapulting its valuation from $22 million to $220 million on the back of explosive revenue growth.
unacademy Unacademy Reaches Unicorn Status After $150 Million SoftBank Investment Indian online learning platform Unacademy raises $150 million in a Series F round led by SoftBank, reaching a $1.45 billion valuation. The startup now boasts 30 million registered users and over 350,000 paying subscribers.
varden Billionaire Backs Sugarcane Waste Packaging Alternative to Plastics Australian startup Varden converts sugarcane waste into a plastic-like packaging material, securing $2.2 million from billionaire Li Ka-shing's Horizons Ventures to meet growing sustainable packaging demands.
softbank Softbank's Second Vision Fund Falls Short of $108 Billion Goal Softbank faces significant hurdles in raising capital for its second Vision Fund, with projections indicating the total will likely reach less than half of the original $108 billion target.
bosch Bosch Lowers Self-Driving Costs While Trifo Raises Millions for AI Vacuum German automotive supplier Bosch introduces a new LIDAR sensor designed to make self-driving technology more affordable for the mass market. Meanwhile, AI robotics startup Trifo launches its smart vacuum robot Lucy and closes a $15 million Series B funding round.
magic leap Magic Leap Sells Only 6,000 Headsets Despite Billions in Funding A new report reveals that Magic Leap sells just 6,000 units of its pricey augmented reality headset in its first six months. This disappointing figure falls drastically short of internal expectations and raises serious doubts about the company's future.
amazon Amazon Expands in India While Spendesk and Informatica Back AI Startups Amazon opens a massive new campus in Hyderabad to compete with Walmart in India's growing e-commerce market. Meanwhile, Spendesk raises $38 million for spend management and Informatica invests in AI startup GreenBay Technologies.
bear robotics Bear Robotics Secures Millions to Deploy Robot Servers in Restaurants Bear Robotics raises over $10 million toward a $35.8 million round to fund its food-delivering robot, Penny, aiming to solve labor challenges in the restaurant industry.
meesho Meesho Secures $125M to Empower Millions of Indian Social Sellers Bangalore-based social commerce startup Meesho raises $125 million in a Series D round led by Naspers to expand its reseller network across India. The platform aims to onboard millions of new sellers, primarily empowering homemakers to build online businesses.
jawbone Jawbone Founder Raises $65 Million for New Health Data Startup Despite the spectacular billion-dollar failure of his previous company, Hosain Rahman successfully raises $65.4 million for Jawbone Health, a subscription service focused on preventative healthcare using continuous health data.
openai Openai Shifts From Nonprofit To Capped Profit To Attract Capital OpenAI transitions from a nonprofit to a capped-profit model, allowing investors to earn up to 100 times their initial investment before profits redirect to the parent nonprofit.
flexciton London AI Startup Flexciton Raises 2.5M Pounds to Optimize Factory Production Flexciton secures £2.5 million in funding led by Backed VC to expand its AI solution that automatically finds the most efficient production plans for complex manufacturers. The technology replaces manual planning methods to deliver significant cost savings and double-digit performance gains.
mary meeker Mary Meeker Targets $1.25B for Debut Fund Called Bond Famed venture capitalist Mary Meeker launches her new independent firm called Bond and targets $1.25 billion for a debut growth fund.
artificial intelligence Alibaba Leads $600 Million Investment in AI Startup SenseTime Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime raises $600 million in a Series C round led by Alibaba, pushing its valuation past $3 billion. The company plans to use the funds to expand into autonomous driving and build massive supercomputers for its facial recognition systems.