In partnership with

Bloomberg: "No reliable safe havens." Billionaires have been investing elsewhere. Here's how to get in.

Bloomberg's Marcus Ashworth wrote plainly recently: "No more reliable safe havens."

After all, the S&P fell over 7% from the February peak. Bonds, even with less risk, are barely keeping pace with inflation.

So-called "diversified" portfolios have gotten hit from multiple directions.

Meanwhile, the world’s wealthiest have been setting records in another asset class.

Circumstances are always unique, but after the dot-com bust, it grew roughly 24% annually for a decade. After 2008, roughly 11% annually for 12 years.

Blue-chip art.

Why? It trades globally in multiple currencies, has scarce supply, and has shown near-zero correlation to equities since 1995.*

With Masterworks, 70,000+ investors allocated $1.3B fractionally across 500+ artworks featuring Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso.

Accredited? You can invest in a diversified portfolio of postwar and contemporary art alongside two other real assets. From 2017-2025, the mix would’ve beat the S&P 500 by 3.1x.

See if you can improve your portfolio performance all in one diversified strategy.

*According to Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd

Last week’s funding activity surged to 98 rounds with $19.5 billion raised, marking a +42% increase in deal count and +22% in capital versus the prior week . This follows a volatile three-week pattern: the week of May 19 saw 69 rounds and $15.91 billion (driven by mega-deals), while May 12 dropped sharply to 39 rounds and $4.53 billion . The market is clearly sensitive to the timing of a few outsized transactions.

Key Patterns Identified

Dimension

Observation

Capital Concentration

A handful of mega-rounds (Cerebras $5.55B IPO, CoreWeave $3.1B, Hark $700M, Decart/Amca/Armada $230–300M each) dominate total dollars, while early-stage AI/health rounds remain active but smaller

Sector Focus

AI infrastructure & agentic systems lead (Decart, CoreWeave, Modal Labs, Hark), followed by defense/aerospace (Amca, Arkeus, Perpetua), healthcare/Biotech (Commure, Cagent Vascular, Nourish), and energy/data-center power (GridCARE, Voltagrid, MidOcean)

Geographic Skew

U.S. captured 50 of 98 rounds and $16.32B (~84% of capital); U.K. had 10 rounds ($678M); India 5 rounds ($317M); France only 3 rounds

Stage Distribution

Mix of late-stage mega-deals (IPOs, Series D–H) and clustered seed/Series A AI-health startups, indicating LP appetite for scale-ups plus active early-stage flow

Investor Mix

Top-tier VCs (a16z, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Lux Capital) plus strategic corporates (Nvidia, Adobe, Qualcomm, BlackRock) and large asset managers (Bain Capital Crypto, Morgan Stanley) signal institutional confidence in capital-intensive plays

  1. AI has shifted from "standalone product" to "infrastructure picks-and-shovels" – investors favor AI-native compute, inference infrastructure, agentic workflows, and vertical AI (healthcare, defense, energy) over consumer AI apps .

  2. Defense & energy are re-emerging as de-risked assets – large rounds in aerospace/defense (Amca, Arkeus, Anduril-like momentum) and power/data-center energy (GridCARE, CoreWeave, VoltaGrid) reflect capital seeking tangible, long-duration assets .

  3. Week-to-week volatility is driven by mega-deal timing, not broad market weakness – the underlying momentum in AI/health remains intact, but totals swing dramatically when 2–3 outsized rounds land .

  4. Geographic concentration persists – the U.S. continues to dominate both volume and capital; U.K. and India show selective activity but remain niche in aggregate .

  5. Market is bifurcating – capital-intensive winners attract outsized allocations while many early-stage ventures raise smaller rounds, signaling cycle maturity and a shift from speculation to operational upgrades .

Previous reports (May 5, April 28, April 21) showed broader consumer SaaS, fintech, and climate deals; now the focus is distinctly top-heavy and infrastructure-oriented.

Conclusion

Last week’s spike reflects capital concentration into several megadeals amid sustained early-stage AI and health activity; the market is maturing toward infrastructure, defense, and energy while weekly totals remain volatile based on mega-round timing.

Last week's funding rounds

98 funding rounds, +42% from last week.

Number of funding rounds - May 25, 2026 by Parsers VC

Total raised $19.5 billion, +22% since last week

Total raised $, bln - May 25, 2026 by Parsers VC

Funding rounds in United States

50 funding rounds, total raised $16.32B

Variational (A P2P protocol for on-chain perpetuals and derivatives trading with aggregated market liquidity) Raises $50M Series A Round from Bain Capital Crypto, Dragonfly, Coinbase #RWA #Blockchain #DeFi #Derivatives #Fintech

Decart (Developer of real-time video models, world models, and ultra-optimized AI infrastructure) Raises $300M from Zeev Ventures, Benchmark (San Francisco), Valor Equity Partners, Adobe Systems, Sequoia Capital, Atreides Management, Nvidia, Radical Ventures #SaaS #Software #AI #DeepTech #Infrastructure

Amca (Modernizes aerospace and defense manufacturing through integrated AI-powered production platforms) Raises $300M Series B Round from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Construct Capital, a16z, Lux Capital Management #Defense #AI #Aerospace #SupplyChain #Manufacturing

Arkeus (Builds AI-powered sensing systems for autonomous platforms in defense and security applications) Raises $18M Series A Round from QIC Ltd #Sensing #AI #Autonomous #DefenseTech #Hardware

Armada Systems (Provider of modular, sovereign AI infrastructure for remote and mission-critical environments) Raises $230M Series B Round from Lux Capital Management, 8090 Industries, Felicis Ventures, BlackRock, Founders Fund, Johnson Controls, NightDragon Security, Singtel Innov8, Shield Capital #EdgeComputing #Infrastructure #Manufacturing #AI #B2B

benefitbay™ Raises $18M Series A Round from Ten Coves Capital #Platform #HealthTech #InsurTech #Employee #Broker  #Platform #HealthTech #InsurTech #Employee #Broker

BIG Fiber (Provides underground metro dark fiber networks for data centers and enterprise customers) Raises $250M from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Stonepeak #B2B #Connectivity #Fiber #Infrastructure #Telecom

BlankBio (An applied AI lab training foundation models to analyze RNA for clinical and pharmaceutical insights) Raises $7.2M Seed Round from Y Combinator, SignalFire, Ripple Ventures, Leonis Capital, Leonis Investissement #AI #Biotech #Genomics #Healthcare #SaaS

BRAMI (Produces high-protein, fiber-rich pasta using Italian durum wheat and lupini bean flour) Raises $33M Series B Round from Lerer Hippeau, VMG Partners #FoodTech #CPG #Retail #Nutrition #Health

Cagent Vascular (Medical device company developing advanced IVL technology for treating calcified arterial disease) Raises $41M Series D Round from US Venture Partners #Cardiology #Biotech #MedTech #MedicalDevices #Healthcare

CellChorus (Uses AI to analyze immune cell behavior for predicting cancer treatment efficacy) Raises $400K Seed Round #Oncology #AI #Biotech #Diagnostics #HealthTech

Century Health (An AI platform that automates the extraction of structured data from unstructured clinical records) Raises $5M Seed Round from 2048 Ventures, Alumni Ventures, 25Madison, Origin Ventures, Next Play Ventures #B2B #AI #LifeSciences #HealthTech #BigData

Cerebras Systems (Designs specialized AI processors and systems for high-performance computing) Raises $5.55B IPO Round #Semiconductors #AI #Computing #DeepTech #Hardware

Checker (A network enabling financial institutions to integrate stablecoins and digital asset liquidity) Raises $8M from Framework Ventures, Al Mada Ventures #Infrastructure #Fintech #Blockchain #Stablecoins #Payments

CircuitHub (Automates electronics manufacturing to accelerate PCB assembly from months to days) Raises $28M from Plural #Hardware #Automation #SaaS #Robotics #Manufacturing

Clouted (A distribution marketing platform that automates content transformation for brands) Raises $7M Seed Round from a16z, AppWorks, Gold House Ventures, Iterative VC, Z Venture Capital, Weekend Fund, Slow Ventures, Peak XV Partners #Marketing #Media #SaaS #Automation #Content

Commure (Provides an AI-powered platform that automates healthcare administrative and clinical workflows) Raises $70M from Morgan Stanley, General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital at $7B Valuation #SaaS #AI #Automation #B2B #HealthTech

CoreWeave (Provides specialized cloud infrastructure for AI and compute-intensive workloads) Raises $3.1B #Cloud #AI #Infrastructure #DataCenters #Compute

Credibly Raises $260M #Platform #Analytics #Data #HealthTech #IT  #Platform #Analytics #Data #HealthTech #IT

Funding rounds in United Kingdom

10 funding rounds, total raised $678M

Blink - The Frontline App (A mobile-first employee experience platform designed to connect and engage frontline workforces) Raises $17M from Enlightened Hospitality Investments #SaaS #Communication #EmployeeEngagement #Frontline #HRTech

Fresha (An AI-powered marketplace and management platform for the beauty and wellness industry) Raises $80M from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts at $1B Valuation #SaaS #AI #Beauty #Fintech #Marketplace

Gaia Raises $100M #InsurTech #FinTech #Family #Fertility #Data  #InsurTech #FinTech #Family #Fertility #Data

ICEOTOPE (Developer of precision liquid cooling technology for data centers and edge infrastructure) Raises $26M Series B Round from Northern Gritstone, ABC Impact #Sustainability #AI #Cleantech #DataCenter #Hardware

Imperagen (Uses AI and quantum physics to engineer enzymes for pharma and sustainable chemical production) Raises $6.71M Seed Round from IQ Capital Partners #AI #Biotech #Quantum #Sustainability #TechBio

Infrawatch (A cybersecurity platform providing real-time visibility into infrastructure powering cyberattacks) Raises $3M Pre-Seed Round from Outward VC #Intelligence #SaaS #B2B #Cybersecurity #Infrastructure

InstaVolt Raises $335M #Vehicles #Car #FinTech #E-commerce #Service  #Vehicles #Car #FinTech #E-commerce #Service

Primer (Unified payment infrastructure platform providing AI-powered insights for global merchants) Raises $100M Series C Round from Sofina, Tencent, Balderton Capital, Speedinvest, ICONIQ, Accel Partners, Peak XV Partners #FinTech #Payments #SaaS #AI #B2B

Resurrect Bio (Uses AI-driven protein analysis to help crops defend against diseases through gene editing) Raises $10.3M Series A Round from Calculus Capital, Future Planet Capital, AgFunder, Pymwymic #Sustainability #Agtech #AI #Biotech #Genomics

Volvo Car (Designs and manufactures premium electric vehicles, focusing on safety and sustainability) Raises $58.4K #Innovation #Automotive #CommercialVehicles #ElectricVehicles #Fleet

Funding rounds in India

5 funding rounds, total raised $317M

Anscer Robotics (Builds AI-native automation platforms and autonomous robots for factories and warehouses) Raises $5.4M Series A Round #Automation #AI #Robotics #Manufacturing #Logistics

Mythik (Media tech firm leveraging AI and virtual production to globalize Eastern mythology) Raises $5M from Blume Ventures #Entertainment #Content #AI #Tech #Media

Rapido (A ride-hailing platform providing bike and auto-rickshaw taxi services in India) Raises $240M from Prosus, Accel Partners, WestBridge Capital Partners #Mobility #OnDemand #Transportation #Consumer #Hyperlocal

Scapia (An integrated travel-fintech platform offering co-branded credit cards for travel-focused users) Raises $63M Series C Round from Peak XV Partners, General Catalyst #Travel #AI #Consumer #Credit #FinTech

Trackk (An investment platform tailored for Gen Z users to manage and grow their personal finances) Raises $3.7M from Lightspeed Venture Partners #Finance #Fintech #GenZ #Investment #SaaS

Funding rounds in France

3 funding rounds, total raised $27.8M

Follow new funding rounds every day on Twitter and Telegram

Your ads ran overnight. Nobody was watching. Except Viktor.

One brand built 30+ landing pages through Viktor without a single developer.

Each page mapped to a specific ad group. All deployed within hours. Viktor wrote the code and shipped every one from a Slack message.

That same team has Viktor monitoring ad accounts across the portfolio and posting performance briefs before the day starts. One colleague. Always on. Across every account.

Advertise with us! Reach venture capitalists, investors, and startup founders - primarily in the US, as well as Europe and other countries - over 100 companies like Intercom, Hubspot, and Notion have chosen to advertise in our newsletter.

Other awesome newsletters

TLDR is the free daily newsletter with links and TLDRs of the most interesting stories in startups 🚀, tech 📱, and programming 💻!

Investing Newsletter for people (45-65) who are looking for a faster retirement. The goal is to make a better return investing in blue chip companies.

Startup Pulse

Startup Pulse

Weekly newsletter with startup ecosystem news, trends, and learnings + handpicked list of London startup events and webinars for founders and investors. Join 8,000+ weekly readers!

The Startup Eye

The Startup Eye

Tu informe diario sobre Tecnología y Startups

Clicking our affiliate links may earn us a small commission, which helps us keep this newsletter running and improve it for you.

Reply

Avatar

or to participate

Keep Reading