Spinny Plans $160 Million Raise to Acquire GoMechanic, Expand Used-Car Services
Spinny is raising $160–165M to acquire GoMechanic, integrating full-service vehicle maintenance to strengthen its footprint in India’s used-car market.
Startups
Boston-based Pryzm raises $12.2 Mn for to help small businesses win federal contracts
The seed funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. Pryzm offer and AI-backed platform to help startups and small businesses track federal opportunities, funding priorities, and stakeholders, leveling the playing field in government procurement.
A Founder’s Guide to Stress Biology: Cortisol, Dopamine & Decision-Making
Understanding how cortisol and dopamine shape stress, focus, and decision-making is critical for founders. This guide explains the biology behind pressure and offers practical ways to stay clear-headed and resilient.
Fal raises $140 Mn from Sequoia and Nvidia, hits $4.5 Bn Valuation
Fal has secured $140 million in a Sequoia-led round that includes Nvidia’s Nventures, tripling its valuation to $4.5 billion. CEO Burkay Gur says enterprises are rapidly adopting its image, video, and audio AI tools.
New York’s Oboe Raises $16 Mn to Transform Personal Learning with AI
Oboe has raised $16 million in Series A funding led by a16z to expand its AI-driven course generation platform, adding new product features, pricing tiers and plans for mobile and multilingual expansion.
London’s Runware lands $50 Mn to push its unified API for all generative AI models
Runware aims to expand its unified API for generative image, video and audio applications. The company’s Sonic Inference Engine supports more than 400,000 models, giving developers faster and more reliable access to AI media generation.
AI startup Harness scores $240 Mn Series E funding, hits $5.5 Bn valuation
The fresh Series E round includes a $200 million primary investment led by Goldman Sachs and a planned $40 million tender offer with participation from IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures.
Unacademy’s valuation sinks below $500 million, explores possible acquisition
Unacademy’s valuation has dropped sharply from its pandemic-era peak, with the edtech player now exploring acquisition options as demand shifts back to offline learning and competition intensifies.
Unconventional AI secures $475 million seed funding at $4.5 billion valuation
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Lux Capital, DCVC, Jeff Bezos, Databricks and Rao himself - marking the biggest early stage fundraises in the AI hardware sector this year
Ronaldo Joins Perplexity AI as Investor and Global Brand Ambassador
Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo expands his empire into AI with an undisclosed investment in Perplexity, the ChatGPT rival valued at $20B. As global partner and ambassador, he launches an interactive CR7 Hub for fans to explore his career via AI-powered queries and rare content. The deal signals athletes' rising bet on tech for fan engagement and performance edges.
AI-Commerce Startup Onton Bags $7.5 Million to Challenge Retail Giants Worldwide
With rapid user growth and expansion plans into apparel and electronics, the startup is positioning itself to challenge retail giants.
Byju Raveendran to Appeal Delaware Court’s $1.07 Billion Default Judgment
Byju Raveendran will appeal a Delaware court’s default judgment holding him personally liable for over $1.07B, arguing the ruling was rushed and denied him a defence. The founders say lenders misled the court and plan federal racketeering and obstruction claims.