Weekly TOP Startup / VC news of September 25, 2025

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Nvidia pledges $100 billion to OpenAI, a landmark investment. The goal: expand AI computing power, building 10 gigawatts of data centers by 2026. This deepens Nvidia's chip dominance. Yet, the deal sparks questions: OpenAI's huge funding gaps persist. Its unique corporate structure faces scrutiny. Regulatory concerns about AI safety intensify. Chip supply and competition challenges arise. This partnership redefines the AI industry's future, highlighting rapid growth and complex dilemmas.

Groq secured $750 million, boosting its valuation to $6.9 billion. This surge reflects robust investor confidence in its AI inference chips, crucial for high-speed, low-cost AI compute. The funding solidifies Groq's role in the "American AI Stack" and fuels global expansion. Its LPU technology addresses the critical shift towards inference in AI hardware, challenging industry giants. This marks a pivotal moment for AI infrastructure development. Investors bet big on Groq's disruptive approach to artificial intelligence processing.

UK fintech leader Tide secures a monumental $120 million investment. Global asset manager TPG led the strategic funding round. This elevates Tide's valuation to a staggering $1.5 billion, firmly establishing its unicorn status. The capital infusion targets aggressive international expansion. Key markets include India, Germany, and France. It also accelerates product innovation and deepens investment in agentic Artificial Intelligence. Tide stands as a premier business management platform. It empowers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with integrated financial tools. This funding marks a pivotal growth phase for Tide, enhancing its robust offerings worldwide. It reinforces its position in the rapidly evolving digital finance landscape. The investment also provides critical liquidity for early investors and employees. This signals strong confidence in Tide's global trajectory and its mission to revolutionize SME business operations.

Humanoid robotics innovator Figure AI completed a monumental Series C funding round. The company secured over $1 billion. This investment propelled its valuation to an astounding $39 billion. Parkway Venture Capital spearheaded the round, with significant participation from tech heavyweights like Nvidia, Intel Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures. The capital infusion targets several key growth areas. Figure plans to dramatically scale robot production at its advanced BotQ factory. It will deploy its Figure 03 humanoids in industrial and commercial settings, and eventually homes. A major focus is expanding the Helix AI platform. This involves building new Nvidia GPU-powered training infrastructure. Enhanced AI will improve robot perception, reasoning, and task collaboration. Figure aims to address global labor shortages with intelligent, versatile autonomous systems, transforming manufacturing, logistics, and daily life. This investment signifies strong market confidence in the future of general-purpose humanoid robots.

Ventech, a prominent European VC firm, just closed its €175 million Fund VI. This marks its largest fund yet, exceeding previous vintages by 15%. The capital aims to back approximately 35 European tech startups at Seed and Series A stages. A significant 50% of the fund focuses on AI-native vertical applications. Other key investment areas include Digital Health, Industrial Software, Cyber Security, and Sovereignty. This strategic move strengthens Ventech's 26-year mission: propelling European innovation. The firm commits to supporting founders building category-defining companies. Its broad network and deep expertise guide these ventures from early growth to successful exit.

Upscale AI secured over $100 million in seed funding. This Silicon Valley startup revolutionizes AI networking. It builds high-performance, open-standard infrastructure. The company targets the $20+ billion AI networking market. Current networks struggle with AI's demands. Upscale AI offers a full-stack redesign. Its product suite features ultra-low latency AI Network Fabrics. A unified Network Operating System (NOS) based on SONiC and SAI also stands out. Disruptive AI networking rack platforms provide vendor choice. These innovations maximize xPU performance. They reduce data center total cost of ownership. The company champions open standards. It fosters interoperability and scalability across all AI deployments. This includes generative AI, training, and edge computing. Led by seasoned entrepreneurs, Upscale AI aims to democratize access to advanced AI infrastructure. Its mission is to break free from proprietary systems. It will enable widespread AI innovation.

Colossal Biosciences, a leading de-extinction biotech firm, recently secured an additional $120 million. This significant investment boosts their Series C funding to $320 million, bringing total capital raised to an impressive $555 million. The company's valuation now stands at a staggering $10.3 billion. Their audacious mission focuses on reviving extinct species. The dodo bird is a primary target, slated for return within five to seven years. Scientists are pioneering genetic engineering techniques, specifically creating primary germ cells (PGCs) from the dodo's closest living relative, the Nicobar pigeon. This breakthrough avoids traditional cloning for birds. Colossal also pursues the return of woolly mammoths and dire wolves. The new funds will establish a dedicated bird research center in Texas. The company aims to restore critical ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, and protect endangered species globally. This ambitious endeavor promises a revolution in conservation efforts.

CodeRabbit, a San Francisco AI code review pioneer, recently closed a $60 million Series B funding round. This significant investment, led by Scale Venture Partners, brings total funding to $88 million. CodeRabbit addresses the critical need for quality control in the age of rapid AI-generated code. Its platform provides context-aware, automated reviews. The capital will fuel global hiring, accelerated product development, and platform expansion, cementing CodeRabbit's leadership in developer tools.

Sunhat secured €9.2M Series A funding, led by CommerzVentures. The Cologne-based AI firm addresses the "Proof Gap" for enterprises. Businesses struggle to verify and share crucial ESG and non-financial data for compliance. Sunhat's Proof AI platform automates evidence validation. It cuts documentation search times, boosts efficiency, and ensures instant, verifiable records. This offers a significant commercial advantage in a demanding regulatory landscape. The investment fuels team expansion, AI advancement, and strategic partnerships, transforming complex compliance into streamlined, trustworthy operations for global businesses.

Veezoo, the Swiss Agentic Analytics firm, raises $6 million in Series A funding. ACE Ventures led the round. The capital fuels global expansion. It targets European and US markets. Veezoo empowers businesses. Its AI-native platform ensures trusted data decisions. Fortune Global 500 companies already leverage its power. This investment accelerates a proven, profitable model. It promises enhanced data clarity for all users. The future of data-driven strategy is here.

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