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25 Feb 2026

Wayve Secures $1.5B From Nvidia, Uber, and Automakers to Scale Self-Driving AI Globally

UK-based Wayve has raised $1.5 billion in its latest funding round, reaching an $8.6 billion valuation with backing from Nvidia, Uber, Microsoft, and three major automakers. The startup's end-to-end AI approach offers an alternative to traditional autonomous driving methods, with commercial robotaxi trials launching in London this year and expansion to over 10 markets planned for 2026.

10 Sources

MatX AI chip startup raises $500 million to challenge Nvidia's dominance in LLM processing

MatX, an AI chip startup founded by former Google engineers, has secured $500 million in Series B funding led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness. The company aims to deliver processors 10 times better at training and running large language models than Nvidia's GPUs, with plans to begin shipping in 2027.

4 Sources

Axelera AI Secures $250 Million to Scale Energy-Efficient Chips for Edge Computing

Dutch chipmaker Axelera AI raised more than $250 million in a funding round led by Innovation Industries with participation from BlackRock and Samsung Catalyst. The company designs power-efficient semiconductors for AI inference at the edge, aiming to reduce reliance on energy-intensive data centers. With over $450 million raised since 2021, Axelera AI plans to launch its next-generation Europa chip before June 2026.

3 Sources

24 Feb 2026

AI Accounting Startup Basis Hits $1.15 Billion Valuation as Firms Deploy Autonomous Agents

Basis, an AI accounting startup founded in 2023, has achieved unicorn status with a $100 million Series B funding round led by Accel and GV. The company's autonomous AI agents automate complex accounting workflows including tax returns and audit procedures, addressing a critical talent shortage as major accounting firms rapidly adopt agent-based workflows.

4 Sources

Canva acquires Cavalry and MangoAI to challenge Adobe with motion design and AI video tools

Canva announced the acquisition of Cavalry and MangoAI to strengthen its animation and marketing capabilities as software stocks face pressure from artificial intelligence concerns. The deals mark Canva's fourth and fifth acquisitions in two years, expanding its professional creative suite with 2D animation tools and AI-powered video advertising optimization to compete directly with Adobe.

4 Sources

23 Feb 2026

Humand Raises $66M Series A to Build AI-Powered Operating System for Deskless Workers

San Francisco-based Humand closed a $66 million Series A funding round led by Goodwater Capital and Kaszek Ventures to expand its mobile-first platform serving deskless workers. The startup targets 2.7 billion employees in manufacturing, retail, healthcare and construction who lack access to traditional enterprise software, serving over 1.5 million workers across companies like Siemens, Home Depot and Domino's Pizza.

2 Sources

20 Feb 2026

Nvidia Deepens Early-Stage Push Into India's AI Startup Ecosystem With New Partnerships

Nvidia is accelerating its engagement with India's AI startup ecosystem through a multi-year partnership with Activate venture firm's $75 million fund. The collaboration targets 25-30 early-stage AI startups, providing them direct access to Nvidia's technical teams, proprietary models, and computing infrastructure even before companies are formally established.

2 Sources

19 Feb 2026

Adronite Raises $5M to Help Enterprises Decode Complex Codebases With AI Platform

Seattle startup Adronite secured $5 million in Series A funding led by Gatemore Capital Management to expand its AI-powered software intelligence platform. Unlike typical AI coding tools that work on individual files, Adronite ingests complete codebases—including legacy systems—to provide project-level intelligence across millions of lines of code. The platform addresses a critical challenge for large organizations struggling with sprawling, complex software systems.

2 Sources

Cogent Security raises $42 million as AI agents tackle vulnerability remediation bottleneck

Cogent Security secured $42 million in Series A funding led by Bain Capital to scale its AI agents that automate vulnerability remediation. The platform reduces high-risk bug resolution time by 97% on average, addressing a critical bottleneck as software vulnerabilities jumped 162% in five years. Dozens of Fortune 1000 companies already deploy the system.

2 Sources

18 Feb 2026

David Silver's Ineffable Intelligence raises $1 billion in Europe's largest seed round for AI

Former Google DeepMind scientist David Silver is raising $1 billion for his startup Ineffable Intelligence, led by Sequoia Capital at a $4 billion valuation. The London-based company aims to build superhuman intelligence using advanced reinforcement learning techniques, with potential backing from Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft despite having no product yet.

2 Sources

Fei-Fei Li's World Labs raises $1 billion to advance spatial intelligence and world models

World Labs, founded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, has closed a $1 billion funding round backed by Nvidia, AMD, and Autodesk. The startup is advancing spatial intelligence through generative AI world models that create interactive 3D virtual environments. Autodesk's $200 million investment signals a strategic partnership to integrate world models into 3D workflows for entertainment, robotics, and design.

7 Sources

Saudi Arabia's Humain Invests $3 Billion in Elon Musk's xAI Ahead of SpaceX Merger

Saudi Arabia's AI company Humain invested $3 billion in Elon Musk's xAI during its Series E funding round, just before xAI merged with SpaceX. The investment made Humain a significant minority shareholder, with holdings converted into SpaceX shares. The move deepens Saudi Arabia's AI ambitions and its strategic ties with Musk as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil.

6 Sources

SpaceX vets raise $50M to mass-produce American-made optical transceivers for AI data centers

Three SpaceX engineers who developed optical communications for Starlink satellites have raised $50 million in Series A funding for Mesh Optical Technologies. The Los Angeles startup aims to mass-produce American-made optical transceivers, addressing supply chain vulnerabilities as the devices dominated by Chinese manufacturers become critical for AI training clusters.

2 Sources

17 Feb 2026

Eric Trump Backs Israeli Drone Maker XTEND's $1.5B Merger to Bring AI Defense Robotics to Nasdaq

Eric Trump is investing in a $1.5 billion merger between Israeli drone maker XTEND and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings. The deal aims to take XTEND public on Nasdaq under the ticker XTND, providing investors exposure to autonomous defense systems. The merger positions AI defense robotics as Wall Street's next major investment frontier.

2 Sources

Temporal raises $300M at $5B valuation as AI agents demand durable execution infrastructure

Temporal secured $300 million in Series D funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, doubling its valuation to $5 billion. The infrastructure startup addresses reliability challenges as AI agents move from generating responses to executing real-world tasks. With customers including OpenAI and Netflix, Temporal's platform has processed 9.1 trillion lifetime action executions.

3 Sources

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