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21 Jan 2026

Nvidia invests $150 million in Baseten as AI industry shifts from training to inference

Nvidia has invested $150 million in AI inference startup Baseten, which raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation—more than double its previous worth. The deal signals a strategic pivot as the AI industry shifts focus from model training to large-scale deployment, with Baseten helping companies like Cursor and Notion run AI models efficiently in production.

4 Sources

20 Jan 2026

Ethernovia raises $90M as investors rush to fund physical AI infrastructure

San Jose-based Ethernovia secured $90 million in Series B funding to advance its Ethernet-based processors for autonomous vehicles and robotics. The round was led by Maverick Silicon, an AI-focused fund launched by hedge fund Maverick Capital in 2024. The investment signals growing investor interest in physical AI infrastructure as billions flow toward companies enabling real-world AI applications beyond software.

2 Sources

Legato secures $7M to bring vibe coding AI builder directly to business users within SaaS platforms

Israeli AI startup Legato raised $7 million in seed funding led by S Capital VC to expand its platform that embeds AI builders directly into SaaS products. Founded by Dana Rochman and Shlomit Tennenbaum in 2025, the company enables non-technical business users to create custom applications through plain language prompts, compressing customizations from months into hours.

2 Sources

Humans& Raises $480M to Build AI Models Designed for Coordination, Not Just Chat

A three-month-old AI startup founded by alumni from Anthropic, xAI, and Google DeepMind just raised one of the largest seed rounds ever. Humans& secured $480 million at a $4.48 billion valuation to build foundation models designed for social intelligence and collaboration. The company argues that coordination between people and AI systems is the next frontier, moving beyond chatbots that serve one user at a time.

9 Sources

FuriosaAI targets $500M funding round as RNGD chip production begins, eyes 2027 IPO

Seoul-based AI chip developer FuriosaAI is raising $300 million to $500 million in a Series D funding round to challenge Nvidia. The startup, valued at $735 million in July, will receive its first mass-produced RNGD chips from TSMC this month. The company plans an initial public offering as early as 2027 while scaling production of its tensor contraction-based processors.

2 Sources

Moonshot AI valuation surges to $4.8 billion as Chinese AI startup closes fresh funding round

Alibaba-backed AI startup Moonshot AI is closing a funding round valuing it at $4.8 billion, up $500 million from December. The surge follows successful Hong Kong IPOs by rival Chinese AI firms MiniMax and Zhipu, which raised over $1 billion combined and sparked investor interest in China's AI Tigers.

2 Sources

18 Jan 2026

Sequoia Capital Joins Anthropic's $25B Funding Round, Breaking Traditional VC Rules

Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is preparing a significant investment in Anthropic alongside GIC and Coatue, each contributing $1.5 billion. The funding round aims to raise at least $25 billion at a $350 billion valuation. This marks a shift in venture capital strategy, as Sequoia already backs rival AI startups OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI, signaling the end of the traditional 'one winner' model in AI investing.

11 Sources

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

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