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16 Jan 2026

ClickHouse secures $400M at $15B valuation as AI infrastructure demand surges

Database provider ClickHouse raised $400 million in a Series D funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group, reaching a $15 billion valuation—more than double its $6.35 billion valuation from May 2024. The company also acquired Langfuse, an AI observability startup, to strengthen its position in the competitive AI infrastructure market against Snowflake and Databricks.

5 Sources

Sam Altman's Merge Labs raises $252 million to develop non-invasive brain-computer interfaces

Sam Altman's brain-tech startup Merge Labs emerged from stealth with $252 million in seed funding at an $850 million valuation, with OpenAI writing the largest check. The company aims to connect human brains to computers using ultrasound and molecules instead of invasive electrodes, intensifying competition with Elon Musk's Neuralink in the race to enhance human capabilities through AI-powered neural interfaces.

11 Sources

Mytra raises $120 million Series C to scale supply chain robotics amid labor shortage crisis

Warehouse automation startup Mytra has closed a $120 million Series C funding round led by Avenir Growth to expand its AI-powered robotics system. Founded by ex-Tesla engineer Chris Walti, the company addresses acute industrial pain points with automated storage solutions that maximize warehouse efficiency while tackling the U.S.'s 400,000 unfilled industrial jobs.

2 Sources

Nvidia backs Harmonic's $120M Series C as AI math startup reaches $1.45 billion valuation

Nvidia's venture arm has invested in Harmonic, an AI math startup developing Aristotle, a mathematical reasoning engine that formally verifies accuracy. The $120 million Series C round valued Harmonic at $1.45 billion. The company is expanding beyond mathematics into coding and chip design, achieving 96.8% on verifiable code generation benchmarks.

2 Sources

Higgsfield secures $80M, hits $1.3B valuation as AI video generation explodes for marketers

Founded by ex-Snap executive Alex Mashrabov, Higgsfield has raised $80 million in Series A extension funding, pushing its valuation to $1.3 billion. The AI video generation startup now serves 15 million users and claims a $200 million annual revenue run rate, with 85% of usage coming from social media marketers creating commercial content.

3 Sources

15 Jan 2026

Parloa Triples Valuation to $3B in 8 Months as AI Customer Service Competition Intensifies

Berlin-based Parloa raised $350 million in Series D funding led by General Catalyst, pushing its valuation to $3 billion just eight months after reaching unicorn status. The German AI startup builds enterprise platforms for AI agents that automate customer service across voice and digital channels, competing with Sierra and Decagon in a market targeting 17 million contact center agents worldwide.

5 Sources

Depthfirst Raises $40M Series A to Scale AI Security Platform Against Evolving Cyber Threats

AI security startup depthfirst announced $40 million in Series A funding led by Accel Partners to expand its General Security Intelligence platform. Founded in October 2024, the company uses AI agents to detect vulnerabilities eight times more effectively than traditional tools while reducing false positives by 85%. The funding will accelerate hiring and development as both attackers and defenders increasingly rely on AI.

2 Sources

14 Jan 2026

Skild AI triples valuation to $14 billion as SoftBank leads $1.4 billion robotics software bet

Pittsburgh-based Skild AI secured $1.4 billion in a Series C round led by SoftBank, with backing from Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and others. The robotics startup, which builds general-purpose AI software that can control any robot without extensive retraining, has tripled its valuation to over $14 billion in just seven months. The company grew from zero to $30 million in revenue within months in 2025.

5 Sources

VoiceRun raises $5.5M to build voice agent factory giving developers control over AI voice agents

VoiceRun has secured $5.5 million in seed funding led by Flybridge Capital to transform how enterprises build AI voice agents. The startup offers a code-first platform that gives developers full control over voice applications, positioning itself between no-code tools and complex frameworks to help companies deploy production-ready voice automation at scale.

2 Sources

Etched Secures $500 Million to Challenge Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance with Sohu Processor

AI chip startup Etched raised $500 million in a funding round led by Stripes, with backing from Peter Thiel, reaching a $5 billion valuation. The company's Sohu chip targets Transformer models and promises to deliver performance gains over Nvidia's GPUs. Meanwhile, rival Cerebras Systems is reportedly pursuing $1 billion in funding as competition intensifies in the artificial intelligence chip market.

2 Sources

AstraZeneca acquires Modella AI to accelerate oncology drug development with foundation models

AstraZeneca has completed the first acquisition of an AI company by a major pharmaceutical firm, buying Boston-based Modella AI. The deal integrates foundation models and AI agents into oncology research to enhance biomarker discovery and patient selection for drug trials, aiming to reduce development costs and accelerate the development of new cancer treatments.

2 Sources

13 Jan 2026

Deepgram raises $130 million at $1.3 billion valuation, acquires YC-backed startup for voice AI

Voice AI startup Deepgram has secured $130 million in Series C funding at a $1.3 billion valuation, led by AVP. The company also acquired Y Combinator-backed OfOne to expand into quick-service restaurants. Deepgram's CEO says the company was cashflow positive and wasn't seeking capital, but strategic investors approached them as voice AI adoption accelerates across enterprises.

7 Sources

12 Jan 2026

Harmattan AI raises $200M from Dassault Aviation, becomes defense unicorn at $1.4B valuation

French defense tech company Harmattan AI reached unicorn status with a $200 million Series B round led by Rafale fighter jet maker Dassault Aviation. Founded just two years ago, the startup now valued at $1.4 billion will develop embedded AI capabilities for next-generation combat aircraft and scale production of autonomous drones for NATO forces.

4 Sources

Torq Secures $140 Million Funding at $1.2 Billion Valuation for AI-Driven Security Platform

Israeli cybersecurity startup Torq has closed a $140 million Series D funding round, achieving a $1.2 billion valuation and unicorn status. The company's AI-driven security operations platform uses autonomous AI agents to automate security tasks, allowing analysts to focus on complex threats. Led by Merlin Ventures, the funding will accelerate expansion into commercial and federal markets.

5 Sources

09 Jan 2026

Elon Musk's xAI Reports $1.46 Billion Quarterly Loss While Racing to Power Optimus Robots

Elon Musk's AI startup xAI burned through $1.46 billion in the September quarter, up from $1 billion earlier in 2025, as it pours resources into data centers, talent, and software development. Despite mounting losses, the company nearly doubled its revenue to $107 million and raised $20 billion in fresh funding to fuel its ambitious plan to build self-sufficient AI that will eventually power Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots.

7 Sources

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