Weekly TOP Startup / VC news of December 18, 2025

Now through the end of the year is prime streaming time on Roku, with viewers spending 3.5 hours each day streaming content and shopping online. Roku Ads Manager simplifies campaign setup, lets you segment audiences, and provides real-time reporting. And, you can test creative variants and run shoppable ads to drive purchases directly on-screen.

Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.

Use code GET5K now

SpaceX plans a 2026 IPO. The offering aims to raise over $25 billion. This could value the company above $1 trillion. Starlink’s growth fuels this move. Space-based data centers are a key investment target. Elon Musk faces scrutiny regarding managing multiple large companies. A revived IPO market supports this decision. Political shifts may impact NASA’s role.

Houston drives innovation. Medical breakthroughs advance rare disease research, brain health initiatives, MRI clarity, and mobile diagnostics. Texas travel adapts with new luxury shuttles, yet airport passenger traffic sees declines. Aerospace leadership evolves, and NASA appoints a new chief. A Houston tech giant secures a massive defense contract. Texas remains a hub for future-forward progress.

Mirelo AI secures $41M in seed funding led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. The Berlin-based startup revolutionizes video production with advanced AI models. It generates perfectly synchronized sound effects, eliminating manual audio work. Mirelo's SFX v1.5 model offers real-time, high-quality audio for any video. The funds fuel tech development, team growth, and market expansion. Mirelo aims to become the definitive audio layer for all visual content, from gaming to film, democratizing sound creation and empowering professionals. This investment underscores the critical importance of AI-driven audio in generative media's next wave.

PolyAI, the London-based AI leader, secured $86 million in Series D funding. This pushes its valuation to $750 million. The company specializes in advanced voice AI agents. They automate complex enterprise customer service. PolyAI uses unique, proprietary large language models. This creates highly realistic, human-like interactions. Over 100 global clients, including utility and financial giants, leverage PolyAI's technology. It drives significant cost savings and revenue growth. Total capital raised now exceeds $200 million. The firm plans major investment in its Agent Studio platform. It aims for aggressive expansion into the US market, tripling sales. PolyAI is defining the "agentic enterprise" future, competing strongly in a crowded AI landscape with its distinctive tech approach.

Soverli, an ETH Zurich spin-off, secured $2.6M pre-seed funding to revolutionize mobile security. Its patent-pending platform allows multiple isolated operating systems to run simultaneously on commercial smartphones. This "sovereign layer" operates alongside Android or iOS, providing fully auditable, highly available environments. It ensures critical communication and operations continue, even if the primary OS is compromised. The solution targets governments, enterprises, and individuals, addressing systemic fragility in current mobile infrastructure. Soverli aims to bring digital sovereignty to everyday devices without hardware modifications, planning significant team and compatibility expansion.

AI biotech firm Chai Discovery secured $130M in new funding. This pushes its valuation to $1.3 billion. Its AI model, Chai-2, is a game-changer. It rapidly designs novel molecules and full-length antibodies. The model targets previously "undruggable" diseases. Chai-2 compresses drug development from years to mere weeks. Investors like OpenAI recognize its transformative potential. This capital injection will fuel research and commercialization. The era of empirical drug discovery is ending. A new age of programmable biology is dawning. This promises faster, more precise medicines. It signals a major shift in pharmaceutical innovation. This cements AI's critical role in healthcare's future.

Assaia, a Swiss aviation tech firm, secured $26.6 million in Series B funding. Armira Growth led the round. The investment fuels global expansion. It also supports new product development. Airports face rising traffic and staffing issues. Assaia’s AI platform offers a solution. It optimizes aircraft turnaround times. Key airports already utilize the technology. These include JFK, Heathrow, and Dubai International. The platform delivers real-time visibility. It automates apron operations. This reduces delays and improves gate usage.

US banks anticipate AI-driven productivity gains. Job displacement is likely. Experts emphasize “soft skills” – critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and communication – as vital for future employment. The shift demands adaptability and continuous learning. AI’s impact extends beyond banking, affecting numerous industries. Leaders stress the importance of understanding a changing world. The future favors those who can analyze, connect, and learn. This article synthesizes recent statements from banking CEOs and industry experts, outlining the coming changes and necessary skills for navigating the AI revolution in the American workforce.

Databricks raised over $4 billion in Series L funding. Its valuation now stands at $134 billion. This significant increase highlights strong revenue growth and market confidence. The company plans extensive investments. Key areas include advancing AI-driven application development. Products like Lakebase, Agent Bricks, and Databricks Apps will see major enhancements. These offerings facilitate building high-performance AI agent systems. Funds also back employee liquidity, cutting-edge AI research, and strategic acquisitions. Databricks solidifies its leadership in data and AI solutions, signaling robust future expansion.

Trendtracker, a Ghent-based AI strategic intelligence platform, secured $7 million in Series A funding. This capital fuels aggressive global expansion, targeting crucial US and Middle East markets. It also accelerates cutting-edge AI and product development. The platform offers autonomous, data-driven foresight, empowering enterprises and governments. It monitors global signals, detects emerging trends, and provides predictive, actionable insights. Leaders gain a critical strategic partner, sharpening judgment in an era of constant change and data overload. This investment solidifies its position in the competitive AI landscape.

“When I first opened Attio, I instantly got the feeling this was the next generation of CRM.”
— Margaret Shen, Head of GTM at Modal

Attio is the AI-native CRM for modern teams. With automatic enrichment, call intelligence, AI agents, flexible workflows and more, Attio works for any business and only takes minutes to set up.

Join industry leaders like Granola, Taskrabbit, Flatfile and more.

👉Start for free today

Your fast-track to Asia’s hottest trends. asiabits delivers sharp insights on tech, business & culture. What the world talks about tomorrow, you read today.

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.

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