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🇮🇳💰 Makr Microsystems | $1.08M (Seed) Founder: Ashwin Lal HQ: Bengaluru Sector: DeepTech / Semiconductor Metrology What they do → Builds nanoscale 3D subsurface metrology tech for semiconductor manufacturing → Combines Acoustic Atomic Force Microscopy (AAFM), optical tomography, and 3D data analytics → Measures hidden structures and defects beneath chip surfaces without damaging them → Targets advanced packaging, hybrid bonding, buried interfaces, and chiplet interconnects 💰 The Funding → Raised $1.08M (₹10.2 Cr) → Seed round led by Bluehill.VC → Participation from Artha Venture Fund 🚀 Why it matters → Founder Ashwin Lal holds an M.Sc. in Physics (IIT Kanpur) and Ph.D. in Microtechnology (EPFL), previously founded Shilps Sciences and worked at Applied Materials → Chip architectures are moving into 3D, making subsurface defects harder to catch with existing tools → Aligns with India Semiconductor Mission 2.0's push into equipment, materials and R&D not just fabs → Bet on building globally competitive semiconductor equipment out of India 💬 Can India leapfrog straight into semiconductor equipment, or does it need fabs first? #DeepTech #Semiconductors #SeedFunding #IndianStartups

DRONE VOLT announces the completion of a EUR 2.35 million capital increase intended to support its growth trajectory: Not to be published, distributed, or disseminated, directly or indirectly, in the United States, Canada, Australia, or Japan. This press release is issued for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction. * Capital increase totaling €2.35 million gross, through the issuance of a total of 6,724,178 new shares, accompanied by stock subscription warrants * Settlement and delivery scheduled for September 8, 2026 * The funds raised will finance and reinforce the Company's positive momentum in high-margin activities, help strengthen its R&D activities, and provide it with the necessary resources to carry out targeted acquisitions, if appropriate. Villepinte, September4, 2026 DRONE VOLT (the “Company”) , a French manufacturer of professional drones and a leading technology player in the field of aerial robotics, announces a capital increase through the issuance of new shares, each accompanied by a stock option, with the preemptive subscription rights of the Company's existing shareholders waived in favor of the categories of investors defined by the General Meeting, for a total gross amount of 2.35 million euros (the “Offering”). This capital increase was subscribed to by a limited number of investors. DRONE VOLT is thus seizing the opportunity to strengthen its financial structure and support the growth of its business model, which is now primarily focused on high-margin activities. These activities experienced solid growth in the first half of the current fiscal year (+24%), with a notable acceleration in the Services segment, which now accounts for nearly 40% of half-year revenue. This strong performance demonstrates the industry's recognition of the high-value-added services provided by DRONE VOLT, particularly in the monitoring of power lines and critical infrastructure. DRONE VOLT has just announced a record order for the Sol.One for a total minimum amount of 50 million euros over 5 years, this transaction will enable the company to strengthen its financial structure to fund its operating cycle, consolidate its growth trajectory, and expand its R&D activities to enhance its expertise, while providing it with the necessary flexibility to pursue targeted acquisition opportunities as they arise. Marc COURCELLE, CEO of DRONE VOLT, stated: “DRONE VOLT has been experiencing sustained business activity for several months, both in terms of revenue growth (+19% in the firsthalfof theyear) and the momentum of its commercial operations, notably with the record order from Sol.One that we have just announced. In this context, we are pleased to strengthen our financial foundation in order to confidently fund our operating needs and our growth trajectory, which will…

🇮🇳✈️ Alteon | $2.5M (Pre-Seed) Founders: Samay Sanghvi Founded: 2025 HQ: Bengaluru Sector: Aerospace / Autonomous Aircraft What they do → Building autonomous fixed-wing aircraft designed to stay airborne for months using dynamic soaring → Harvests energy from ocean wind gradients, a technique inspired by albatrosses → ~3-metre wingspan aircraft, flying close to the water to access usable wind shear → Targets maritime surveillance, weather monitoring, ocean mapping, ship tracking, and infrastructure security 💰 The Funding → Raised $2.5M in a pre-seed round → Led by Lachy Groom (solo investor, former early Stripe employee) → Participation from Together Fund → Previously backed at an earlier stage by Emergent Ventures and 1517 Fund 🚀 Why it matters → Founder Samay Sanghvi, 20, started building the concept straight out of high school in 2023, with no formal engineering degree → Recently completed 7 autonomous O-shaped loops over the Bay of Bengal, one metre above the water at 62+ mph → Aims for "energy-neutral dynamic soaring" flight with propulsion fully switched off → Could offer persistent ocean coverage at a fraction of the cost of ships or satellites 💬 Can a 20-year-old founder actually crack a problem aerospace giants haven't solved? #Aerospace #DeepTech #AutonomousAircraft #StartupFunding

AHL Venture Partners has announced the second close of its AHL Africa Credit Fund I. The fund has raised $45.5 million from family offices and family foundations, towards a $70 million target. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gckDJAtv Rosanne Whalley, CEO of AHL Venture Partners, said: “Having spent years now working to mobilise capital into African impact investing, I’ve come to see the core problem differently. There are brilliant, high-growth businesses across the continent solving real problems. And there is genuine capital sitting with family offices, local asset managers and global allocators who want exposure to African private markets. But, there is a matching problem in finding a structure that works for both. Our aim at AHL is to partner with capital allocators to get more capital consistently flowing into African private markets." -- Want to know who is investing, exiting and raising in Africa? Get Africa Private Equity News’ monthly Dealmaker’s Log – a database of reported investment deals, exits, and fundraising closes. Check out the latest edition: https://lnkd.in/e6uPUBF6 Also make sure to get your copy of our editor-in-chief's new book How we made it in Africa II: https://lnkd.in/eucgYyHZ

#100DaysWithRA | #100DaysWithTVS | Day 24 🚀 Catalyst Breakdown: Why Persistent Systems is Raising ₹11,800 Crore 🇮🇳 On Day 24 of my #100DaysWithRA practice challenge, I analyzed Persistent Systems Ltd.’s massive ₹11,800 Crore ($1.25 Billion) fund raise approval. Here is why a cash-rich IT company is raising capital: ❓ Core Purpose of the Fund Raise • Nagarro SE Acquisition: Funding the ~$1.27 Billion (~₹14,000 Cr) global acquisition of Nagarro SE. • Capital Structure: ~₹2,200 Cr funded via cash reserves, while ₹11,800 Cr is raised externally. • Funding Mix: Long-term debt combined with up to $450 million (~₹3,800 Cr) via Equity/QIP dilution. 🚀 Strategic Rationale • European Footprint: Instant expansion into Germany, DACH, and European markets. • GenAI & Digital Engineering: Synergies in agile enterprise modernisations and AI platform execution. • Tier-1 Revenue Scale: Instantly propels Persistent toward the $2 Billion+ annual revenue milestone. ⚖️ Key Risks & Analytical Takeaway • Short-Term Pressures: Equity dilution ($450M) and debt addition will temporarily weigh on EPS and EBIT margins. • Analytical Insight: Beyond quarterly concalls, tracking M&A funding structures and capital allocation is essential to evaluate management's growth appetite. Disclaimer: Published strictly for educational purposes under #100DaysWithRA. Not a SEBI-registered research analyst; no investment advice intended. #100DaysWithRA #PersistentSystems #Nagarro #FundRaise #EquityResearch #MidCapIT #StockMarketIndia

We know that we’ve gone quiet lately, but that’s for good reason.   Over the last few months, Strathbogie Disaster Relief Fund has been securing additional funding to support our strategic investment priorities – taking the total of the funds raised to $1,030,000!!   We have been working with the Strathbogie and Mitchell Shire Community Recovery Committees to understand the priorities across the two shires and have been able to narrow our focus to a series of meaningful investments.   The 'Housing Rebuild Permit Support Program' is our latest investment program, designed to provide funding assistance for ratepayers in the Strathbogie and Mitchell Shires who are rebuilding houses lost in the Longwood-Berry’s Lane January 2026 bushfire.   The support program is offering up to $500 to cover permits for rebuilding residences and up to $300 for septic tank replacement for those burnt in the January fires. Applications are now live!   To apply, and for all T&Cs, click the link in our bio or visit https://lnkd.in/gsumtH5f

Berlin-based Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund raised €33.3 million (USD$38.2 million) for its fund aimed at backing female co-founded early-stage startups and also announced the launch of its Founder Matchmaking Platform designed to connect founders with potential co-founders. https://ow.ly/fvEt50ZIowG

🇺🇸 $19.2 billion raised, over $9 billion already committed, for KKR's Global Infrastructure Fund. KKR closed its fifth global infrastructure fund on August 3rd at $19.2 billion, its largest to date, buying core-plus assets primarily in North America and Western Europe. More than $9 billion is already committed. The list runs to EDF's North American renewables arm, data centre platforms Global Technical Realty in Europe and Gulf Data Hub in the UAE, fibre operators Metronet and FiberCop, plus Sempra Infrastructure, Enilive, Altitude III and The Parking Spot. 🔎 The breakdown • $19.2 billion in a single fund. KKR has raised about $45 billion across its latest infrastructure vehicle vintages globally. • Over $9 billion committed before the fund even held its final close. • KKR now runs around $120 billion of infrastructure equity. In 2019 it was $13 billion. • More than $70 billion of equity committed to date across the strategy in North America and Europe. • Backers include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurers, asset managers and private wealth platforms. 📈 The read Core-plus is the label that matters. It means contracted or regulated cash flow with some growth attached, which is the exact risk band that renewables, grid and data centre power sit in. This is not opportunistic money hunting development risk. It is patient money hunting a contract. Nine billion committed before the final close says the constraint is not deal flow. Sellers are active and everyone is bidding for the same contracted energy and digital platforms. A jump from $13 billion to $120 billion in seven years does something to pricing. More capital chasing contracted power compresses entry yields, and the response is familiar: take more construction risk, move earlier in the project life, or go where the contract is harder to win. ⏭️ Fund six is the test. If returns hold at this size, infrastructure keeps taking allocation from private equity. If they slip, the discipline will show up in the next raise. KKR

📣 KKR Closes $19.2 Billion Infrastructure Fund - KKR has closed its fifth global infrastructure fund, KKR Global Infrastructure Investors V (Fund V), with $19.2 billion in commitments. - Fund V is a Core+ infrastructure strategy focused primarily on critical infrastructure assets and businesses in North America and Western Europe. - It is KKR’s largest infrastructure fund raised to date, bringing approximately $45 billion raised across KKR’s latest global infrastructure fund vintages. - KKR’s infrastructure platform, launched in 2008, now manages approximately $120 billion in infrastructure equity, up from $13 billion in 2019. - The platform has completed 100+ infrastructure investments and has approximately 160 dedicated infrastructure professionals and value-creation executives globally. - Fund V has already committed more than $9 billion across investments including Altitude III, EDF power solutions North America, Enilive, FiberCop, Global Technical Realty, Gulf Data Hub, Metronet, Sempra Infrastructure and The Parking Spot. - KKR has committed more than $70 billion of equity across its global infrastructure strategy investments in North America and Europe to date. - The fund targets diversified infrastructure opportunities offering critical services, high barriers to entry and resilient long-term cash flows. - Raj Agrawal, Global Head of Real Assets at KKR: “Nearly two decades later, Fund V marks an important milestone in that journey. It reflects the trust our investors have placed in our team, the strength of the global platform we’ve built together, and our conviction that the opportunity in infrastructure has never been greater.” - Brandon Freiman, Head of North American Infrastructure at KKR: “Demand for infrastructure investment across North America continues to accelerate as digitalization, electrification and industrial growth reshape the economy.” - Vincent Policard, Co-Head of European Infrastructure at KKR: “Europe is entering a period where investment in critical infrastructure will play an increasingly important role in supporting competitiveness, energy security and economic resilience.” - Brandon Donnenfeld, Managing Director and Chief Development Officer for KKR’s infrastructure business:“We believe this result speaks to our differentiated investment approach and the growing recognition of infrastructure as an essential long-term allocation.” - Fund V attracted a broad international investor base, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurers, asset managers, private wealth platforms and family offices. #privateequity #infrastructure

The largest fundraise in Ares' real estate history was its most recent Japan fund's closing. It raised a total ¥612 billion — 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 $𝟯.𝟴 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟱𝟬% 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿 (per Bloomberg, citing the Ares statement). CPPIB anchored with ¥150 billion, alongside sovereign wealth funds and insurers from four regions. The increasingly crowded US direct lending, where spread has tightened to record levels on high-grade BDC paper (Morgan Stanley's BDC priced at just 220bps over Treasuries just this summer) and the marginal dollar into US middle-market lending is buying less compensation for the same risk. In Asia, it appears pricing is more attractive - and not just in Japan. Regional platforms like Helicap put the financing gap across Southeast Asia and India at 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 $𝟳𝟯𝟬 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻, spread across 45,000+ non-bank financial institutions serving MSMEs that banks don't reach. Geographic, sector and product diversification are happening in the private credit space, it seems. Just an additional reminder that private credit is, in fact, just credit, and thus not a specific product but an investment universe that is broadly diversified. (This is not investment advice.)

CPP Investments Commits ₹2,070 Crore to NIIF Infrastructure Fund II Canada Pension Plan Investment Board just made a major move by putting more than ₹2,000 crore into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. This huge commitment shows that global investors trust India for long term growth and see massive potential in the country's economic future. The money will flow directly into the second infrastructure fund, which is set to build better projects across India with a strong focus on clean energy, digital technology, and city growth. When large international funds invest this kind of money into our infrastructure, it creates a solid foundation that helps every industry grow faster and run more smoothly. This is not a random partnership because both organizations already worked together on the first fund, building a strong track record of successful investments. The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund recently announced that this new fund raised about ₹19,000 crore in its first round alone. That massive number proves that big investors have complete confidence in the direction the market is taking. Good infrastructure is the real backbone of any economy, and having steady funding means we get better power systems, stronger digital networks, and improved transport links that make daily business operations much easier. For business owners and working professionals across India, this influx of capital brings real, practical benefits. Better infrastructure directly lowers operating costs, improves supply chains, and opens up fresh opportunities in clean energy and digital spaces. When large projects get proper backing, they create a steady demand for local materials, services, and skilled people. Paying attention to where these massive funds go lets smart business owners plan ahead and align their own growth strategies with the sectors that are receiving the most support and attention right now.

Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund closes €33.3M fund II to back female founders across Europe Berlin based #VC #Auxxo has closed its Female Catalyst Fund II at €33.3 million after a three year fundraising process, 75% above its €19 million first fund raised in 2021. Founded by Dr. Gesa Miczaikaa and Bettine Schmitz, Auxxo invests in European startups with at least one female founder holding at least 20% equity. The European Investment Fund remains the principal investor, joined by EnBW New Ventures, Aurum Impact, Cherry Ventures, Speedinvest, family offices and angel investors. More than half of its LPs are women. Auxxo typically invests around €500,000 for a 3% to 8% stake and targets 25 to 30 companies. Fund II has already made 11 investments. Female only founding teams still receive about 2% of global VC funding, versus around 5% for mixed teams. The article on Tech Funding News in the first comment.

India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has raised $2 billion in the first close of its second infrastructure fund, which has a target corpus of $3.2 billion. The fund is backed by global and domestic institutional investors and will focus on infrastructure opportunities across established and emerging sectors. NIIF plans to build on the capabilities developed through its first infrastructure fund while selectively deploying capital across sectors and creating platforms at scale. “Our second infrastructure fund builds on the strong performance and operating capabilities established through our first fund. We will continue to create infrastructure platforms at scale, take a hands-on approach to value creation and invest selectively across both established and emerging infrastructure sectors. With a strong pipeline already in place, we see significant opportunities to deploy capital where NIIF can bring sector expertise, operating capability and execution at scale,” said Vinod Giri, Managing Partner, Infrastructure, NIIF. NIIF will also seek to mobilise around $950 million in co-investment opportunities, enabling investors to make direct equity investments in selected companies.

Wild concept: a wealth manager built their OWN private equity fund. For their own clients. Let me explain why this matters. There's this awkward middle zone in wealth: $10-50 million in assets. Too big to just buy index funds and call it a day. Too small to get into top-tier PE and VC funds, which usually want $1-5M minimum checks. Mercer Advisors (they manage $115 BILLION) looked at that gap and said we'll just become the institution ourselves. They built Aspen Partners, Ltd., their own in-house fund-of-funds. $100M raised in year one. Launching round two now. Here's the part that made me actually sit up: Most fund-of-funds stack ANOTHER fee on top of what you're already paying. Like, 1% management + 10-15% carry, on top of your advisory fee. Fee on fee on fee. Mercer's CIO said, and I'm paraphrasing here: nah, we already charge you for advice; we're not double-dipping. No extra management fee. No carry. Just straight sourcing and managing 6-8 fund positions for clients who'd otherwise never get in the door. A few things that stuck with me: They grill potential fund managers with an 80-question RFP and demand full data-room access. Their CIO literally said some GPs are "used to wealth management being easy money." Not with these guys apparently 😅 They don't even brag about fund size. They track how much of their $3B client base stayed instead of walking to a competitor. That's the real scoreboard. And for the funds they invest in? One call from Mercer beats fielding 300 calls from individual investors. One tax form instead of 300. That's real value, not just a check. Honestly, this is the quiet story behind all the "private markets are opening up to everyone" headlines. It's not really opening up. It's that the big players are cutting out the middleman (bye iCapital, bye CAIS) because they finally have the scale to build it themselves. Question for you: do you think mid-size firms eventually catch up and do this too? Or does this stay a rich-getting-richer thing reserved for the $100B+ club?

StepStone just closed its first infra secondaries fund. $1.7B raised, and 26 deals done already... StepStone Group closed its first infrastructure secondaries fund in August after raising $1.7 billion across the vehicle and related separate accounts. - Infra secondaries market valued at $20B - Buys LP interests in existing infra funds - Commits into GP-led continuation vehicles - Ticket sizes are not yet published - Targets funds run by experienced GPs - Already 50% deployed across 26 deals - Renewables, telecom, power, utilities, transport - North America heavy with UK/EU/AU exposure They weren't sitting on the cash while they raised it. Before the fund closed, they already closed 26 deals and put roughly half the money to work. Most debut funds wait until they've actually got dry powder in hand before they start writing checks. StepStone Group didn't wait. StepStone deploys $13B a year across primaries, secondaries and co-investments, and uses that flow to see deals before they hit the open market. Infrastructure assets tend to outlive the funds that own them. That mismatch is exactly why secondaries stopped being a niche exit ramp and turned into a real market of its own. Are infrastructure secondaries the next big thing?

Fasset has reached unicorn status after securing $68 million in Series C funding led by Japan’s SBI Group, taking its valuation to $1 billion. The latest funding follows a $51 million Series B earlier in 2026, bringing Fasset’s total funding raised this year to $119 million. The fintech company, founded in 2019 by Mohammad Raafi Hossain and Daniel Ahmed, now operates across 125 countries and has built a global financial platform focused on improving access to financial services in emerging markets. The milestone is particularly significant for Pakistan’s venture capital sector as Fatima Gobi Ventures (FGV) was among the early investors, co-leading Fasset’s $22 million Series A in 2022. Fasset becoming a $1 billion company makes it the first unicorn in FGV’s portfolio and the first unicorn backed by a Pakistan-based venture capital fund. The achievement highlights the potential of Pakistani startups and investors to build and support businesses capable of achieving global scale.

📈 Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund has now raised €33.3 million for its second fund after three years of fundraising, 75% more than its first fund. The Berlin-based VC will invest in European startups with at least one female founder. Read the full story 👉 https://lnkd.in/gqb7pxkR Marjut Falkstedt Dr. Gesa Miczaika Anke Gratz Bettine Schmitz #deeptech #eutech #vcfunding #funding #investment #innovation #womenintech #femalefounders #technology

NIIF Raises ₹19,000 Crore for Second Infra Fund. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has raised ₹19,000 crore for its second infrastructure fund. The fund will focus on infrastructure investments across India. Why does this matter? More long-term capital can support infrastructure development and help finance large projects. The bigger question is: Can NIIF’s new fund accelerate India’s infrastructure growth? What do you think? #NIIF #Infrastructure #Investment #InfrastructureDevelopment #IndianEconomy #BusinessNews #India

🚀 $17.5M in funding was raised this week by 3 African startups! Here’s a breakdown of each deal: ◻ Swvl, an Egyptian mobility startup, raised $13M in strategic investment from Coefficient LP. (Aug 26). ◻ ThriveAgric, a Nigerian agritech startup, raised $3.93M in a debut commercial paper sale from institutional investors. (Aug 25). ◻ Verascient, a South African AI infrastructure company, raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding from Founder Collective, Andrena Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise, and Summit Ventures. (Aug 24). ◻ Flowt, a Kenyan fintech startup, also raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding from Delta40 Fund I, Impacc, and Argidius Foundation. (Aug 25). 👉 That’s all for this week. Follow us for more funding news #TCInsights #DealTracker #StartupFunding #AfricanTechEcosystem

Software is eating the world.” That was Marc Andreessen’s famous 2011 thesis. Fifteen years later, a16z has just raised $1.1 billion to invest in something strikingly physical: the infrastructure underneath AI. The irony is hard to miss. AI may be accelerating software’s reach while making the technology behind it dramatically more physical – and pulling capital with it, from traditional venture investing toward infrastructure finance. a16z has just launched Machine Age Fund, which will back chips, memory, networking, storage, data centers and robotics. According to a16z, over the last couple of years, hardware startups have grown from a small part of its deal flow to more than 20%. The firm is now making hardware a dedicated investment focus. a16z says rack power (the power drawn by a single server rack) has moved from roughly 5–10 kW to 100–250 kW, and could reach 1 MW within three years. Data-center campuses are moving from tens of megawatts toward hundreds, and in some cases GIGAwatts. My recent look at the 2026 VC market showed where capital is concentrating https://lnkd.in/p/eTk2xM8W. PitchBook/NVCA put AI at about 86% of U.S. VC deal value in H1; by my calculation, OpenAI, Anthropic and XAI alone accounted for roughly 57%. The Machine Age Fund raises the next question: where within AI will that capital go? Increasingly, one answer may be: into the physical infrastructure underneath it. And the deeper down the stack you go, the less the classic asset-light SaaS financing model may fit. Data centers, power and other capex-heavy businesses need physical capacity to grow – which means more capital, often from more than one source. We should expect more layered capital structures: venture and growth equity, strategic investment, private credit and asset finance, project finance, and long-term customer commitments. This also connects to my recent post asking whether AI compute is becoming an infrastructure asset class https://lnkd.in/p/eFHt5hcJ. NVIDIA’s proposed compute-financing platforms with major institutional capital providers are intended to mobilize more than $500 billion of third-party capital over time. Different instruments, same direction: AI is pulling technology finance toward infrastructure finance. AI may be changing how the technology itself is financed – from the asset-light software model that defined much of the last two decades toward a continuum of VC, growth equity, credit, asset finance and infrastructure capital. Software may still be eating the world. But feeding it is becoming a very physical – and very capital-intensive – business. #VentureCapital #VC #AIInfrastructure #PrivateEquity #ArtificialIntelligence