Startups

Today’s best in startups, explore the ventures and innovations making waves now.

Autoscience raises $14 million to build AI models using AI, signaling automation of research itself

AI Security Startup Xbow Hits $1 Billion Valuation After $120M Funding Round

Ex-Datadog President's AI Startup Standard Template Labs Raises $49M to Transform IT Automation

Oasis Security raises $120 million to tackle security risks from AI agents and machine identities

Autoscience raises $14 million to build AI models using AI, signaling automation of research itself

Autoscience has emerged with $14 million in seed funding to develop an autonomous AI research lab where nonhuman AI scientists create specialized machine learning models. The startup's AI agent Carl already produced a peer-reviewed research paper with minimal human involvement, accepted to ICLR 2025. This development suggests AI research itself may soon be automated, potentially disrupting even AI engineers' roles.

2 Sources

AI Security Startup Xbow Hits $1 Billion Valuation After $120M Funding Round

Xbow, an AI security startup that automates penetration testing, has raised $120 million in Series C funding at a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Led by DFJ Growth and Northzone, the investment signals strong investor confidence in using AI to combat cybersecurity threats as malicious actors increasingly leverage the same technology to scale attacks.

2 Sources

Ex-Datadog President's AI Startup Standard Template Labs Raises $49M to Transform IT Automation

Oasis Security raises $120 million to tackle security risks from AI agents and machine identities

Multiply Raises $9.5M to Build AI Agents That Solve B2B Advertising's Decay Problem

RunSybil raises $40M to automate penetration testing with AI agents that hack like humans

Explore Stories by Date

Follow fresh ideas and insights sorted by the date they surfaced.

20 Mar 2026

Unitree Robotics seeks $610M in Shanghai IPO as humanoid robots capture 32% global market share

Chinese startup Unitree Robotics filed for a $610 million IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, marking one of China's biggest onshore tech listings in years. The company shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots last year, capturing 32.4% of the global humanoid market, while its operating income surged 335% year-on-year to reach 1.708 billion yuan in 2025.

2 Sources

Autoscience raises $14 million to build AI models using AI, signaling automation of research itself

Autoscience has emerged with $14 million in seed funding to develop an autonomous AI research lab where nonhuman AI scientists create specialized machine learning models. The startup's AI agent Carl already produced a peer-reviewed research paper with minimal human involvement, accepted to ICLR 2025. This development suggests AI research itself may soon be automated, potentially disrupting even AI engineers' roles.

2 Sources

Oasis Security raises $120 million to tackle security risks from AI agents and machine identities

Oasis Security raised $120 million in Series B funding led by Craft Ventures, with Sequoia Capital, Accel, and Cyberstarts participating. The cybersecurity startup helps Fortune 500 companies manage security risks from non-human identities like AI agents and bots that have access to enterprise systems. CEO Danny Brickman says financial firms are adopting agentic AI faster than expected, creating new pressures for security officers.

2 Sources

19 Mar 2026

AI Security Startup Xbow Hits $1 Billion Valuation After $120M Funding Round

Xbow, an AI security startup that automates penetration testing, has raised $120 million in Series C funding at a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Led by DFJ Growth and Northzone, the investment signals strong investor confidence in using AI to combat cybersecurity threats as malicious actors increasingly leverage the same technology to scale attacks.

2 Sources

RunSybil raises $40M to automate penetration testing with AI agents that hack like humans

RunSybil, an AI cybersecurity startup founded by OpenAI's first security hire, has raised $40 million in funding led by Khosla Ventures. The company's AI agent continuously tests live applications by probing systems like a hacker would, finding software vulnerabilities that traditional security tools miss. This approach aims to transform security testing from a scheduled event into a permanent capability embedded in how companies build software.

2 Sources

18 Mar 2026

Multiply Raises $9.5M to Build AI Agents That Solve B2B Advertising's Decay Problem

San Francisco startup Multiply emerged from stealth with $9.5 million in Mayfield-led funding to tackle what it calls "decaying ads" in B2B advertising. The company uses AI agents to analyze sales calls, CRM data, and closed deals to continuously optimize ad campaigns on Google Search and LinkedIn, with plans to expand into ChatGPT's emerging ad platform.

2 Sources

CometChat secures $6.5M venture funding to accelerate AI agent platform and communication tools

Denver and Mumbai-based CometChat has raised $6.5 million from Run Ventures, bringing total funding to $21.1 million. The communications platform-as-a-service firm will use the capital to build AI-led communication experiences, including proactive AI agents and multi-agent orchestration capabilities for enterprise customers.

2 Sources

Ex-Datadog President's AI Startup Standard Template Labs Raises $49M to Transform IT Automation

Standard Template Labs, founded by former Datadog President Amit Agarwal, has raised $49 million in seed funding to build AI-powered software that automates IT management for large enterprises. The startup, valued at $300 million, emerged from Iconiq's first-ever incubation and aims to challenge industry giants like ServiceNow by resolving 80% of IT support tickets automatically.

2 Sources

16 Mar 2026

Frore Systems reaches $1.64B valuation as chip cooling becomes critical for AI infrastructure

Eight-year-old Frore Systems has secured $143 million in Series D funding at a $1.64 billion valuation, achieving unicorn status with its liquid cooling technology for AI chips. Founded by former Qualcomm engineers, the company pivoted from air-cooling phones to liquid cooling systems after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suggested they tackle data center thermal challenges. The startup's LiquidJet Nexus technology promises to unlock higher compute density and efficiency across AI infrastructure.

3 Sources

14 Mar 2026

Gumloop raises $50M to help non-technical workers build AI agents for workplace automation

Gumloop has secured $50 million in Series B funding led by Benchmark to expand its AI automation platform. The startup enables non-technical workers to build autonomous AI agents through a drag-and-drop interface, attracting customers like Shopify, Ramp, and Instacart. The funding brings total capital raised to $70 million as enterprises accelerate adoption of AI-powered workflow automation.

2 Sources

13 Mar 2026

Sunday reaches $1.15 billion valuation to deploy Memo household robot across real homes

Robotics company Sunday has achieved unicorn status with a $165 million Series B funding round at a $1.15 billion valuation. The startup, founded by Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi, is preparing to deploy Memo, a household humanoid robot designed to handle everyday tasks like laundry and dishwashing. With beta deliveries starting in months, Sunday aims to solve robotics' biggest challenge: turning real-world home complexity into autonomous intelligence.

2 Sources

Replit raises $400M at $9B valuation, tripling its worth in six months with new Agent 4 launch

Replit, the vibe-coding startup, has secured $400 million in Series D funding at a $9 billion valuation—three times its value from just six months ago. Led by Georgian Partners with participation from Databricks Ventures, Okta Ventures, and even Shaquille O'Neal, the investment will fuel global expansion across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The company also launched Agent 4, its most advanced AI engine yet, designed to accelerate app development through enhanced design capabilities.

2 Sources

12 Mar 2026

Wonderful raises $150M Series B at $2B valuation to scale AI agents across 30 countries

Israeli AI agent startup Wonderful has raised $150 million in Series B funding at a $2 billion valuation, just four months after its $100 million Series A. The company deploys local teams to help enterprises integrate AI agents into complex workflows across telecom, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors in over 30 countries.

4 Sources

Cursor pursues $50 billion valuation as AI coding tools reshape software development

Cursor, a leading AI coding startup, is negotiating a funding round that would nearly double its valuation to $50 billion. The company's AI assistant helps programmers write and debug code, positioning it at the center of the vibe coding movement. With annualized revenue exceeding $2 billion and backing from Google, Nvidia, and top venture capital firms, Cursor faces intensifying competition from Anthropic, OpenAI, and emerging AI coding startups.

2 Sources

11 Mar 2026

Rivian spin-out Mind Robotics raises $500M to build AI-powered industrial robots, not cartwheelers

Mind Robotics, spun out of electric vehicle maker Rivian, has raised $500 million in Series A funding co-led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, reaching a $2 billion valuation. Founded by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, the startup is building AI-powered industrial robots with human-like dexterity for complex manufacturing tasks, deliberately avoiding the humanoid robot hype.

5 Sources

Get all updates into your inbox 💌, Stay Up-to-date for Free 🥳

Your Daily Dose of Curated AI News

Don’t drown in AI news. We cut through the noise - filtering, ranking and summarizing the most important AI news, breakthroughs and research daily. Spend less time searching for the latest in AI and get straight to action.

The Outpost

News

About