WHAT’S INSIDE

Top Signals: OpenAI in talks for $100B+ round at $850B+ valuation, Tech stocks decline with Microsoft down 17% ($613B loss) and Amazon down 13.85% ($343B loss)

Big Movers: World Labs raises $1B at ~$5B valuation, xAI secures $3B from Saudi Arabia's Humain, Reliance and Adani commit $210B to AI infrastructure

Open Deals: Anduril Industries seeks $8B at $60B+ valuation, Fluidstack in talks for $100M from Google at $7.5B valuation, Moonshot targets $10B valuation

Massive Deals: Inertia Enterprises $450M Series A, Vestwell $385M Series E at $2B valuation

Exit Watching: OpenAI developing AI-powered smart speaker launching 2027, Qutwo launched by Silo AI founder Peter Sarlin

The Funding Buzz: Peak XV raises $1.3B for AI and fintech in India and Asia, Dragonfly Capital, DBA crypto fund

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🔴 SIGNALPULSE

The Key Signals We are watching this Monday that will shape the week ahead

OpenAI In Talks for $100B+ Round at $850B+ valuation, close to finalizing first phase that would exceed initial $830B target. Major backers include Amazon ($50B), SoftBank, Nvidia, and Microsoft. Pre-money value remains $730B. CEO Sam Altman anticipates future spending in the trillions.

↳ Why it matters: Would surpass Anthropic's recent $30B round as the largest private tech financing ever, cementing OpenAI as most valuable private company. Scale signals AI's transition from software story to industrial buildout requiring unprecedented energy and compute infrastructure.

Tech Stocks Decline — Microsoft shares dropped 17% (losing $613B), Amazon fell 13.85% (erasing $343B).

↳ Why it matters: AI spending concerns are signaling a shift in investor sentiment toward immediate earnings visibility.

Big Movers

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

World Labs — Fei-Fei Li's spatial AI startup raised $1B with $200M investment and advisory from Autodesk. Valued at ~$5B. Developing foundational models to generate and interact with 3D worlds for AR, VR, and robotics. AMD & Nvidia backed.

xAI — Saudi Arabia's Humain invested $3B in Elon Musk's AI venture during Series E, becoming significant minority shareholder. Partnership includes AI data center development.

Reliance and Adani — Indian giants set to invest combined $210B in AI and data infrastructure. Reliance commits $110B to AI-ready data centers using renewable energy, Adani invests $100B.

SB Energy — SoftBank's subsidiary plans $33B investment to build 9.2 GW natural gas power plant on Ohio-Kentucky border. Set to become largest in U.S., powering 7.5M homes.

Emergent — Indian vibe-coding startup reached $100M ARR within eight months, serving over 6 million users with AI tools for app creation without coding.

Figma — AI-powered design tool saw 16% stock surge post-Q4 earnings, showcasing successful monetization of Figma Make without impacting gross margins.

OPEN DEALS

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

Open Deal: The Wyoming Exchange Building the "New York Stock Exchange for Nonprofits." Watch an investor talk by co-founders on WYDE’s mission & news.

Anduril Industries — Defense-tech startup in talks to raise $8B, targeting valuation of at least $60B. Funding will support weapons-manufacturing facility and autonomous fighter jet. Previously valued at $30.5B.

Fluidstack — Cloud computing startup reportedly in talks for $100M investment from Google, valuing it at $7.5B. Move aims to challenge Nvidia in AI chip market.

Moonshot — Chinese AI company founded by Yang Zhilin seeks $10B valuation in latest funding round, backed by Alibaba and Tencent, after $500M investment at $4.3B. Known for Kimi K2.5 model.

IN THE MONEY

Companies that raised money in the past week and why they matter

Massive Deals

World Labs — Fei-Fei Li's spatial AI startup raised $1B with $200M investment and advisory from Autodesk. Valued at ~$5B. Developing foundational models to generate and interact with 3D worlds for AR, VR, and robotics. AMD & Nvidia backed.

Inertia Enterprises — Fusion power startup raised $450M Series A (one of largest in fusion history) led by Bessemer with GV joining. Building world's most powerful clean-energy laser system called Thunderwall for grid-scale fusion plant.

Vestwell — Digital savings platform raised $385M Series E, doubling valuation to $2B. Over 2M active savers and $50B in assets. Funds will enhance AI capabilities and expand distribution.

Temporal — Seattle-based platform for enhancing agentic AI raised $300M Series D at $5B valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Boasts over 380% revenue growth. Used by OpenAI, Netflix and thousands of developers.

Kavak — Mexico-based used-car marketplace secured $300M Series F led by Andreessen Horowitz, marking largest single-company investment in Latin America. Funding will bolster fintech services and technological advancements.

Korsana Biosciences — Emerged from stealth with $175M ($25M seed + $150M Series A) led by Wellington Management and TCGX to develop KRSA-028, brain-penetrating Alzheimer's antibody. Targets 2027 clinical debut.

Heron Power — Ex-Tesla exec Drew Baglino's solid-state transformer startup raised $140M Series B co-led by a16z American Dynamism Fund and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Building 40GW U.S. manufacturing facility. 40GW+ early customer interest. Pilot production starts 2027.

Code Metal — Boston-based software company raised $125M Series B at $1.25B valuation, led by Salesforce Ventures. Enhances AI-generated code security in critical sectors like defense and aerospace.

Render — San Francisco cloud computing startup raised $100M at $1.5B valuation. Serves over 4.5 million developers. Testing own servers to cut costs, gaining traction as alternative to Heroku.

Utility Global — Clean hydrogen producer raised $100M Series D to advance H2Gen technology for decarbonizing industrial sectors. Ara Partners led the round, highlighting cost-effectiveness and reliability in energy transition.

Large Deals

Jump — AI operating system for financial advisors secured $80M Series B led by Insight Partners. Supports over 27,000 advisors (1-in-10 U.S. advisors). Total funding: $105M.

Braintrust — San Francisco AI observability company secured $80M Series B, led by ICONIQ. Funds will enhance AI infrastructure and expand teams to manage complex engineering workflows.

Altesa BioSciences — Atlanta biotech secured $75M Series B led by Forbion and Sanofi Ventures for vapendavir inhaled antiviral targeting rhinovirus in asthma/COPD patients. Phase 2 trial upcoming.

Freeform — 3D-printing startup for metal components founded by ex-SpaceX engineers raised $67M Series B. Emphasizes AI integration, plans to expand facility and workforce with new Skyfall platform.

DG Matrix — Solid-state transformer startup raised $60M Series A led by Engine Ventures with ABB, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries participating. Total raised over $100M. Partnering with Exowatt (backed by a16z, Altman) for AI data center power.

Efficient Computer Co. — Raised $60M Series A to advance Electron E1 processor. Utilizes unique "spatial dataflow" architecture to reduce energy use in AI computing, enhancing data privacy and low-latency responses.

ChipAgents — Santa Clara-based AI platform for semiconductor design secured $50M Series A1 led by Matter Venture Partners. Bessemer, Micron, MediaTek, and Ericsson participating.

Smaller Deals

Avantos — AI startup for financial institutions raised $25M Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Clients include Mercer Advisors and Vanguard.

Kombo — Workforce interoperability startup raised $25M Series A led by Volition Capital, totaling $30M in funding. Streamlines HR, payroll, and IT system integration.

VulnCheck — Cybersecurity company raised $25M led by Sorenson Capital, bringing total to $45M. Platform aids organizations in predicting attack vectors. 557% growth in ARR.

Seasats — San Diego-based company specializing in small uncrewed surface vehicles raised $20M Series A led by Konvoy Ventures. Contracts from U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy.

Flinn.ai — Vienna medtech compliance AI raised $20M Series A led by HV Capital. Automates post-market surveillance and quality audits for medical device manufacturers navigating EU/U.S. regulations.

Badge — Wallet enhancement company raised $17.1M to improve Apple and Google Wallets as key customer interfaces. Enables businesses to issue and manage wallet cards dynamically for over 4.3B global users.

Moab — Modern operating system for equipment rental and dealership businesses raised $16M in Seed and Series A. Manages over $2.5B in annual transaction volume across North America.investors.

EXIT WATCHING

Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

OpenAI — Developing AI-powered devices, with smart speaker launching in 2027. Features include camera for recognition and facial authentication. Priced $200-$300, with over 200 employees and designer Jony Ive's startup leading development.

Qutwo — Peter Sarlin, founder of Silo AI, launched Qutwo, startup in AI-driven software for businesses transitioning to quantum computing. Backed by industry leaders.

OpenClaw Creator Joins OpenAI: Peter Steinberger, Austrian dev behind viral AI agent OpenClaw, joins OpenAI per Sam Altman to lead next-gen personal agents; OpenClaw goes to a foundation, stays open source.

IPO Watch

Open or upcoming IPOs to watch:

Kraken — The U.S. crypto exchange dismissed its’ CFO as it transitions to a product-focused finance strategy ahead of a U.S. IPO. $800M in funding at a $20B valuation.

U.S. IPO Market — U.S. IPO proceeds are forecasted to reach a record $160B in 2026, with major players like SpaceX and OpenAI leading the surge.

THE FUNDING BUZZ

VC & PE Activity To Watch

[Open Fund] Yosemite — Founded by Reed Jobs, the vc firm has raised over $200M with a goal of $350M to invest in cancer prevention and treatment.

Peak XV — India and Asia-focused VC firm raised $1.3B to invest primarily in AI and fintech. Managing over $10B in assets, aims to deploy capital in India over next few years while expanding in U.S.

Dragonfly Capital — VC firm focusing on crypto and blockchain launched $650M fourth fund. Despite regulatory challenges and leadership changes, aims to bridge traditional finance with blockchain. Backed Polymarket and Ethena.

DBA — New York-based crypto investment firm raised $68M for second venture fund, following $50M Fund I in 2023. Co-founded by Michael Jordan and Jon Charbonneau, focuses on early-stage base layer infrastructure and stablecoin apps.

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Open Deals
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