Funding News on LinkedIn

🚀 India's enterprise fintech ecosystem continues to attract strong institutional investor confidence. Investment asset servicing startup Dovetail Capital Private Limited has raised ₹100 crore (approximately $10.5 million) in its first institutional Series A funding round, led by Elev8 Venture Partners. The investment marks a significant milestone as the company prepares for its next phase of global expansion. 📊 Key Highlights • 💰 Funding Raised: ₹100 Crore (≈ $10.5 Million) • 🚀 Funding Round: Series A • 🤝 Lead Investor: Elev8 Venture Partners • 🌍 First Institutional Funding Round • 🔄 Mix of Primary & Secondary Transactions • 🏦 Focus: Investment Asset Servicing & Financial Infrastructure • 📈 Capital to Support Global Expansion & Technology Development The fresh capital will be deployed to expand Dovetail Capital Private Limited's international presence, strengthen its technology platform, enhance service capabilities, and grow its global client base across institutional investors and financial organizations. Why this matters: ✅ Strengthens India's enterprise fintech ecosystem ✅ Highlights growing demand for financial infrastructure solutions ✅ Supports global expansion of Indian technology startups ✅ Reinforces investor confidence in B2B fintech ✅ Benefits from increasing digitisation of global investment operations Unlike consumer-focused fintech companies, Dovetail Capital operates in the financial infrastructure layer, providing technology-enabled asset servicing solutions that help investment managers and financial institutions improve operational efficiency, compliance, and scalability. As global financial institutions modernize legacy systems and automate investment operations, enterprise fintech companies like Dovetail Capital are well positioned to benefit from long-term structural growth. 📖 Read the complete analysis to explore Dovetail Capital Private Limited's funding round, business model, expansion strategy, and what this investment means for India's growing fintech infrastructure ecosystem. Read Full Analysis Here: https://lnkd.in/d5vtwth6 📲 Follow welomoney for daily stock market, startup, business, economy, IPO, and market insights. Source: welomoney Research Desk (www.welomoney.com) #StartupFunding #Fintech #EnterpriseTech #SeriesA #Welomoney ( Dev Sampat Mahesh Shekdar Vivek Singhania Ameet Mane Mishakh Doshi Roshikesh Srivastava Subramanian Iyer Ritesh Jain Mansi Jain, CFA,CA Naman Shah Nehal Koolwal Bhat Paridhi Agnihotri Ashwini Parab Ojaswi Kumar Anandmohan Singh Jaikumar Ganapathy Arnav Dhaka Krittika Sampat Adit Gala Viral Thacker Vinay Dalvi Gourav Sen Abdullah Ubharay Vinit Khanna Shantanu Aditya Hardik Pandya Shivangi Upadhyay Chetan Gothwal Anjani Shukla )

👵 India's elder care sector is attracting significant investor attention as demand for professional senior healthcare continues to grow. Age Care Labs has raised ₹85 crore (approximately $9 million) in the first tranche of its Series B funding round, led by Rainmatter by Zerodha, with participation from Pegasus Finvest, The Shrem Group, and several family offices. 📊 Key Highlights • 💰 Funding Raised: ₹85 Crore (≈ $9 Million) • 🚀 Funding Round: Series B (First Tranche) • 🎯 Planned Total Raise: ₹250 Crore (≈ $30 Million) • 🤝 Lead Investor: Rainmatter • 🏥 Serves 60,000+ Senior Citizens • 🌍 Presence Across 120+ Cities • ❤️ Operates Through Emoha & Epoch Elder Care The fresh capital will be used to strengthen healthcare services, expand operations, invest in technology, and scale the company's nationwide presence through its integrated elder care ecosystem. Why this matters: ✅ Supports India's rapidly growing senior care market ✅ Strengthens home healthcare and assisted living infrastructure ✅ Accelerates technology-enabled healthcare services ✅ Expands access to organized elder care across India ✅ Highlights rising investor confidence in the silver economy Age Care Labs operates through two specialized platforms Emoha, which provides technology-enabled at-home healthcare services, and Epoch Elder Care, which focuses on assisted living and dementia care. Together, the platforms serve thousands of senior citizens through an asset-light expansion model. With India's ageing population increasing steadily, demand for organized elder care, telemedicine, assisted living, and preventive healthcare services is expected to grow significantly over the coming decade. 📖 Read the complete analysis to explore Age Care Labs' funding round, business model, growth strategy, investor participation, and what this means for India's evolving healthcare ecosystem. Read Full Analysis Here: https://lnkd.in/d5FYi-2z 📲 Follow welomoney for daily stock market, startup, business, economy, IPO, and market insights. Source: welomoney Research Desk (www.welomoney.com) #StartupFunding #Healthcare #ElderCare #HealthTech #Welomoney ( Neha Sinha Pranab Saxena Vibhor Mago Sourabh Khatri Nikhil Suryavanshi Dipankar Sharan Anju Bobin Neeraj Thakur Saju Thomas Vaibhav Bisht Amaan Ullah Karina Dhamija Pavishya Sridharan Paramita Bera Mehak Bhatia Harsh Kumar Singh Dr Manreet Kahlon Sirajudheen Nellur Adesh Singh Chadha Naveen Vashist Ritu Batra Jeetu Jitendra Jatin Dhankhar Nikita Verma Anwar Zafar Khan Rajendrakumar R VINEET A Priyanka Arya Shikha Duggal Dr. Vidhi Sisodia )

This week's news includes some major news in the real estate space, with Bridgepoint Group growing its AUM to over $98B with its $1.4B acquisition of Kayne Anderson's US Real Estate arm, Greystar closing on the largest pan-European value-add residential fund raised to date with €2.7B in commitments, and Starwood Capital Group raising $10.2B for its latest flagship fund. And much more in the latest Alt Goes Mainstream Weekly News Roundup ... Stay up to speed on the latest industry news across: 🏦 Wealth Management 🌲 Evergreen Funds 💸 Private Equity 💳 Private Credit 🛠️ Private Markets Infrastructure 🏠 Real Estate 🥈 Secondaries 🛠️ Infrastructure 🥩 GP Stakes 🔬 Private Markets Research https://lnkd.in/gJTCBfFW

This week's news includes some major news in the real estate space, with Bridgepoint Group growing its AUM to over $98B with its $1.4B acquisition of Kayne Anderson's US Real Estate arm, Greystar closing on the largest pan-European value-add residential fund raised to date with €2.7B in commitments, and Starwood Capital Group raising $10.2B for its latest flagship fund. And much more in the latest Alt Goes Mainstream Weekly News Roundup ... Stay up to speed on the latest industry news across: 🏦 Wealth Management 🌲 Evergreen Funds 💸 Private Equity 💳 Private Credit 🛠️ Private Markets Infrastructure 🏠 Real Estate 🥈 Secondaries 🛠️ Infrastructure 🥩 GP Stakes 🔬 Private Markets Research https://lnkd.in/grFjDAvz

🚀 India's agritech ecosystem is entering a new phase of sustainable growth. Fresh produce supply chain startup Ninjacart has raised $6 million (approximately ₹51 crore) in the first tranche of a multi-stage funding round from existing investors. The company has also announced that it has achieved EBITDA profitability and has begun preparations for an IPO within the next two years. 📊 Key Highlights • 💰 Funding Raised: $6 Million (≈₹51 Crore) • 🤝 Existing Investors: Accel, Tiger Global & Nandan Nilekani • 📈 Achieved EBITDA Profitability • 🏛️ IPO Preparation Underway (Target: Within 2 Years) • 🥬 Operates Across 40+ Cities • 📦 Portfolio of 150+ Fresh Produce Products • ⚡ Largest Supplier to India's Quick Commerce Industry The funding marks Ninjacart's first capital raise in over four and a half years and reflects continued investor confidence as the company shifts its focus from rapid expansion to sustainable profitability. Why this matters: ✅ Strengthens confidence in India's agritech sector ✅ Demonstrates the growing importance of profitable startup models ✅ Supports expansion of technology-driven agricultural supply chains ✅ Reinforces investor appetite for IPO-ready startups ✅ Highlights the rapid growth of India's quick commerce ecosystem Founded in 2015, Ninjacart connects farmers directly with retailers, quick commerce platforms, hotels, restaurants, exporters, and institutional buyers through a technology-enabled supply chain that reduces wastage and improves efficiency. As India's startup ecosystem increasingly rewards companies with strong unit economics and operational efficiency, Ninjacart's profitability milestone could position it well for a successful public market debut. 📖 Read the complete analysis to explore Ninjacart's funding details, financial performance, profitability journey, IPO roadmap, and what this means for India's agritech landscape. Read Full Analysis Here: https://lnkd.in/dYcH2rnm 📲 Follow welomoney for daily stock market, startup, business, economy, IPO, and market insights. Source: welomoney Research Desk (www.welomoney.com) #StartupFunding #Agritech #IPO #Ninjacart #Welomoney ( Vasudevan Chinnathambi Mohammed Aehthesham Vivek Venkatesan Rakshith A Sreekanth Mudavath Saravanan R Sumanth Mamidi Munna Kumar Singh Kavimukil Anandan Dennis John Anuja Singh Abheet Pandey Bhagavath Anbazhagan Ram Subhash P V Venkateshan D Divya S. Kaimal Vivek Nhattuvetty Ashish Garg Srinivas R Srinivasa C N Anto Clinton Hari Krishnan Rammohan Maartha Shubham Baranawal )

AI is changing the workplace and Brekfuz Inc. wants to become the brain behind it. Brekfuz Inc. has raised $525,000 at a $7.5 million valuation in a funding round backed by Pear VC, Pareto Holdings, Collective Global, and prominent angel investors. Founded by Arhan Singhal and Sarthak Ahuja the startup is building an AI-native enterprise knowledge platform that helps companies instantly access critical information spread across emails, Slack, documents, meeting notes, GitHub, and other workplace tools. $525K Funding Raised $7.5M Valuation Building AI-Powered Enterprise Knowledge Infrastructure Instead of manually searching through multiple platforms, employees can simply ask questions in natural language and receive accurate, context-aware answers backed by the original source. The fresh capital will be used to: Expand the AI-powered coordination platform Strengthen enterprise capabilities Accelerate product development Scale customer adoption As enterprises rapidly adopt AI, startups like Brekfuz are solving one of the biggest workplace challenges fragmented organizational knowledge. Rather than becoming another productivity tool, Brekfuz is positioning itself as the intelligence layer that connects people, workflows, and institutional knowledge into one searchable system. The future of work isn’t just AI-powered it’s AI-organized. Follow Startup Now for the latest startup funding, AI, business, and innovation updates. #StartupNow #Brekfuz #ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseAI #AIStartup #StartupFunding #FutureOfWork #EnterpriseTech #Productivity #KnowledgeManagement #Innovation

Patient Capital Is Only Patient When the Family Has Planned Its Liquidity Major private-equity firms continue to raise substantial Asia-focused funds. Blackstone raised US$13.1 billion for its latest Asia fund, while EQT raised US$15.6 billion for what it described as Asia’s largest private-equity fund. Family offices have a potential advantage over traditional funds: They may be able to invest with a longer time horizon. But capital is only patient when the family does not unexpectedly need it. Before making large illiquid commitments, the family should understand: What distributions will family members require? Are future estate and succession expenses funded? Could the operating business require emergency capital? Do different generations have different liquidity expectations? Can some family members exit without forcing the sale of long-term investments? The ability to invest for decades does not come merely from being wealthy. It comes from separating long-term investment capital from short- and medium-term family requirements. Private bankers, fund managers and family-office professionals advising families on private-market allocations are welcome to send me a LinkedIn message to arrange a discussion. Article: https://lnkd.in/guUtWyZ2 #PatientCapital #PrivateMarkets #FamilyOffice #PrivateEquity #LiquidityPlanning #WealthManagement #AssetAllocation #SuccessionPlanning

ABU DHABI'S MGX CLOSES $49B AI FUND, EXCEEDING TARGET Abu Dhabi's state-owned AI investment firm MGX has closed its debut fund, MGX Fund I, at $49 billion, surpassing its original $45 billion target and marking one of the largest AI-focused funds raised to date. ​“The firm launched Fund I to provide highly curated exposure to the AI thematic through disciplined investments in differentiated and restricted opportunities across the AI technology stack, including semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and AI and AI-enabling technologies and platforms,” it said in a statement. ​To date, MGX Fund I has invested in 14 companies, including SpaceX, Binance, OpenAI, Khazna, TikTok, and Vantage Data Centers (North America), among others. In May, it participated in Anthropic’s $65 billion Series H funding round, following its participation in the firm’s earlier Series G raise. Read more: https://lnkd.in/guxiPxJs

PlayBlue Raises $2.7 Mn to Build Omnichannel Sports Retail Network in India Every funding announcement in India's sports industry brings a smile to sports business analysts like us.Because every investment is another vote of confidence in India's sports economy.At SportsBizNet, we analyse developments across the sports ecosystem—not just to report the news, but to understand what they indicate about the future of the industry. ( Read details here - https://lnkd.in/d2AY9ahi ) The recent US$2.7 million seed funding raised by PlayBlue, co-led by Centre Court Capital and MIXI Global, is one such moment. -What makes this investment particularly significant is the combination behind it. Centre Court Capital understands the sports investment landscape and Satyam Trivedi and Jayam Vora understand the sports business in much great depth. -When experienced sports investors back experienced sports operators in one of India's most competitive retail categories, it sends a strong signal that they believe the market is only at the beginning of its growth journey. - And the numbers support that optimism.PlayBlue isn't trying to become just another retailer.Its ambition is to build an omnichannel sports ecosystem—bringing together more than 100 global and Indian brands through experiential flagship stores, digital commerce, expert guidance and community engagement. The company plans to build over 150 stores, serve more than 10 million users, and eventually target ₹5,000 crore in annual revenue, while first focusing on achieving ₹100 crore in revenue and operational profitability before its next funding round. - Sports retail in India remains highly fragmented. Unlike developed markets where organised sports retail has become an integral part of the consumer journey, Indian consumers still navigate a mix of standalone stores, brand outlets, marketplaces and local retailers.That gap presents one of the biggest opportunities in Indian sport. We'll be watching this journey with great interest. Because every successful sports business strengthens the foundation of India's sports industry. #indiasportsindustry #sportsbiz #sportsbiznet #sports #sportsretailing

Enlitic, (ASX:ENL) has announced plans for a capital raising and convertible note conversion to support ongoing growth and operations. The capital raising will consist of a conditional placement of new CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) to eligible institutional, sophisticated or professional investors, as well as a security purchase plan offered to eligible CDI holders. The funds raised will be used for continued commercialization, scale-up of sales and marketing, working capital, and balance sheet support. Also secured commitments for the conversion of $10 million in convertible notes into CDIs, further strengthening the financial position. The CEO, Michael Sistenich, has committed to participate in the conditional placement, demonstrating the management team's confidence in future prospects. The capital raising and convertible note conversion are subject to shareholder approval, with the transaction expected to be completed in the coming months. This healthcare technology company is focused on creating the governed trust infrastructure for autonomous imaging operations. The Ensight platform systematically elevates raw imaging data, cleansing, structuring and enriching it to become a high-trust asset that can be leveraged for workflow automation, analytics, AI model training, and research. With a growing network of signed OEM agreements and live integrations, it is well-positioned to continue its commercial momentum and drive long-term value for shareholders. Investair - Know the market before you raise. Capital markets intelligence for ASX-listed companies https://lnkd.in/gGisJZfD #ASX #CapitalRaising #HealthcareTech #AIinHealthcare #InvestorRelations

Enlitic, (ASX:ENL) has announced plans for a capital raising and convertible note conversion to support ongoing growth and operations. The capital raising will consist of a conditional placement of new CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) to eligible institutional, sophisticated or professional investors, as well as a security purchase plan offered to eligible CDI holders. The funds raised will be used for continued commercialization, scale-up of sales and marketing, working capital, and balance sheet support. Also secured commitments for the conversion of $10 million in convertible notes into CDIs, further strengthening the financial position. The CEO, Michael Sistenich, has committed to participate in the conditional placement, demonstrating the management team's confidence in future prospects. The capital raising and convertible note conversion are subject to shareholder approval, with the transaction expected to be completed in the coming months. This healthcare technology company is focused on creating the governed trust infrastructure for autonomous imaging operations. The Ensight platform systematically elevates raw imaging data, cleansing, structuring and enriching it to become a high-trust asset that can be leveraged for workflow automation, analytics, AI model training, and research. With a growing network of signed OEM agreements and live integrations, it is well-positioned to continue its commercial momentum and drive long-term value for shareholders. Investair - Know the market before you raise. Capital markets intelligence for ASX-listed companies https://lnkd.in/gGisJZfD #ASX #CapitalRaising #HealthcareTech #AIinHealthcare #InvestorRelations

Somewhere, a founder just refreshed their inbox...and became a millionaire 💰 While most people were ending their day, investors were backing the next generation of startups with millions in fresh capital. From AI-native consumer brands and sustainable materials to sports commerce and healthcare innovation, here's where the smart money is flowing today. 💱 Daily Startup Dose | Startup Funding Roundup PlayBlue raised $2.7M Seed, co-led by Centre Court Capital and MIXI Global Investments, with participation from WEH Ventures, to build India's omnichannel sports retail platform and launch experiential stores across the country. BCTVentures.co officially launched after raising ₹42 Cr Seed, led by 3one4 Capital, to build AI-native consumer brands using proprietary AI engines for product development, marketing, and growth. Heatronics secured ₹1.8 Cr Seed, led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), with participation from Nitin Agarwal and Shivam Mishra, to expand its preventive healthcare and heat therapy product portfolio. Tulon Materials Private Limited raised ₹10 Cr Seed, led by Karthik Sunder Iyer, with participation from Karan Goshar, Prakhar Pandey, and Agam Shah, to commercialize sustainable specialty chemicals using AI and plastic waste upcycling technology. Sparrow Capital announced the final close of its ₹475 Cr Fund III, which will back 25–30 early-stage startups over the next three years with larger seed investments across AI, FinTech, ConsumerTech, and SaaS. 🔘 Today's Startup Insights ▪️ AI is no longer just a product - it's becoming the operating system for entire businesses. ▪️ ClimateTech and sustainable manufacturing continue attracting investor confidence. ▪️ HealthTech and wellness remain resilient investment sectors. ▪️ India's sports and fitness economy is becoming an exciting startup opportunity. ▪️ Venture funds continue raising larger pools of capital, creating more opportunities for early-stage founders. 💡 If you were starting a company today, which sector would you choose? 🤖 AI 💰 FinTech 🌱 ClimateTech 🏥 HealthTech 🏆 SportsTech 🛍️ Consumer Brands 👇 Connect for more updates. #Startups #StartupFunding #StartupNews #VentureCapital #VC #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #GenerativeAI #MachineLearning #Innovation #Technology #Tech #TechNews #Business #BusinessNews #Entrepreneurship #Founder #Founders #BuildingInPublic #StartupLife #Scaleups #Unicorn #Investing #AngelInvesting #VentureCapitalist #SeedFunding #SeriesA #DeepTech #ClimateTech #FinTech #HealthTech #ConsumerTech #SportsTech #SaaS #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #IndiaStartups #GlobalStartups #StartupEcosystem #DailyStartupDose

July 2 | 51 venture funds closed fresh capital | $564.2M raised One close defined the day. Everything else was secondary. FRESH CAPITAL RAISED AI and Machine Learning ............ $3.9M | 2 funds Space and Aerospace ................ $1.7M | 1 fund Energy and Climate ................. $0.6M | 2 funds Biotech and Life Sciences .......... $0.1M | 1 fund Deal-by-deal SPV activity .......... $38.7M | 42 funds WHO RAISED IT Bruce Leak | Playground Ventures IV | $475.0M | Deep tech Brittany Heyd | Mana Up Capital Partners II | $23.4M | Generalist Patrick Flynn | IronArc Opportunities XXI | $20.8M | Generalist Sohila Zadran | Archangel SpaceX SPV | $1.7M | Space WHAT THIS TELLS US Bruce Leak closed Playground Ventures IV at $475M. That single raise accounts for 84% of every dollar filed on July 2. Playground Global focuses on deep tech, hardware, and frontier science- sectors that require patient capital and long conviction cycles. A $475M vehicle entering Q3 is a significant statement on where institutional LP money is moving. Leak himself is not a typical GP. He co-founded WebTV and was a key engineer on Apple QuickTime before moving into deep tech investing. The pedigree behind Playground IV is not generalist. 42 SPV funds closed on the same day. The conviction-based deal structure continues at scale.

India asset manager SBI Funds Management ($311 billion AUM) plans India IPO to raise $1.2 billion at $12.3 billion valuation.  SBI Funds Management was founded in 1992.  State Bank of India (SBI) currently owns 61.9% stake & Amundi owns 36.4% stake.  In 2026 March, SBI Funds Management India IPO existing shareholders were reported to be selling 10% existing shares for $1.5 billion at $15 billion valuation, with no funds to be raised in the IPO.  In 2025 November, the State Bank of India (SBI) & France asset manager Amundi ($2.6 trillion AUM) announced SBI Funds Management India IPO in 2026 & selling 10% stake. follow Caproasia | Driving $28 trillion assets in Asia. For top institutional investors, investment professionals, professional investors, financial advisors, private bankers, family offices, investment bankers, leaders & CEOs Get started at Caproasia - https://lnkd.in/gFkidu5D Subscription - https://lnkd.in/ggRPjyU3 All Events - https://lnkd.in/gXi5jvFi 2026 Investment Day: https://lnkd.in/gKXarEdK 2026 Family Office Summits: https://lnkd.in/gdBk_SPN Family Office Circle - https://lnkd.in/gdMPmeXM Find Family office Services - http://tfc.caproasia.com https://lnkd.in/g7nTfzq5

Private credit raised $262 billion in H1 2026 — up 30% year-over-year. So why are smaller funds struggling more than ever? Because the capital isn't spreading. It's concentrating. The top 10 funds captured 60% of all private credit capital raised this half. Average fund size among the top 5 grew from $10.6B (2024) to $14.3B (2026). Meanwhile, sub-$1B fundraises fell 40% year-on-year, and the capital those funds raised dropped 30%. This is the defining tension in private markets right now: The asset class is growing. But the spoils are going to a smaller and smaller group at the top. For emerging and lower-middle-market fund managers, this isn't a death sentence — it's a positioning challenge. The funds that will break through aren't trying to compete with Ares or Blackstone on scale. They're winning on: → Differentiated strategy (sector depth, geography, structure) → Institutional-quality operations that earn LP trust early → Access to the right allocator relationships before the big raises crowd the room At BGI, we built FundExecs and BGI Fund I around exactly this thesis. The infrastructure, relationships, and positioning that help disciplined emerging managers get into LP rooms — and close. The market is bifurcating. The question isn't whether your fund can raise capital. It's whether you're positioned on the right side of that divide. #BGIFundI #FundExecsOS #PrivateCredit #CapitalFormation #EmergingManagers #AlternativeAssets #PrivateMarkets

Hello everyone - Here are 10 VC Funds raised/closed this month and ready to deploy/invest: 1. Animal Capital (GP: Marshall Sandman) raised $33M for Fund III (https://lnkd.in/eka6W2yq Capital-Closes-%2433-Million-Fund-III-to-Double-Down-on-Early-Stage-Strategy) 2. Framework Ventures (Co-founder: Vance Spencer) raised $400M for Fund IV ("FVIV") (https://lnkd.in/eg69xtVQ) 3. Menlo Ventures (Partner: Shawn Carolan) raised $3B combined across Menlo Ventures XVII and Menlo Inflection IV (https://lnkd.in/eHE_3QDR) 4. Base10 Partners (MP: Adeyemi Ajao) raised $850M combined across Base10 Seed & Series A Fund IV and Base10 Series B Fund II (https://lnkd.in/eDYqTvGM) 5. Kindred Ventures (MP: Steve Jang) raised $355M combined across Kindred Ventures IV, L.P. and Kindred Selector II, L.P. (https://lnkd.in/eh8VYFAC) 6. Anti Fund (MP: Geoffrey Woo) raised $100M for Growth I (https://www.antifund.com/) 7. Anterra Capital (MP: Adam Anders) raised $100M for Fund III (https://lnkd.in/ecsJ3gQg) 8. Daybreak Ventures (MP: Rex Woodbury) raised $100M for Fund II ($75M core fund + $25M companion vehicle, Daybreak Meridian) (https://lnkd.in/ekCrs8Wy) 9. Seedcamp (MP: Carlos Eduardo Espinal MBE) raised $320M combined across Seedcamp VII ($220M) and Select ($100M) (https://lnkd.in/eaXpurKR) 10. Benchmark (GPs: Peter Fenton & Jack Altman) raised $2B across two vehicles: a $1.25B growth fund (its first-ever) and a $750M early-stage fund (https://lnkd.in/edV2SE4J)

8VC just closed its largest fund ever: $1.5B for Fund 7. Another billion-dollar fund raised with defense at the center, the defining VC theme of 2026, with defense startups already pulling in $14.6B+ this year. Here's what makes this one worth paying attention to 👇 The thesis: what Lonsdale calls the "American AI Industrial Revolution" - AI, defense, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and frontier infrastructure. Companies that rebuild American industrial and defense capability. 8VC also typically reserves 25–30% of its capital for the Build Program, its internal venture studio that co-founds companies from scratch instead of waiting for founders to walk through the door. Joe Lonsdale, Drew Oetting and Alex Kolicich collectively built / co-founded Palantir, Addepar, OpenGov, Epirus, and Saronic. Notable portfolio: Anduril Industries, Palantir Technologies, Flexport, Joby Aviation, Guardant Health, Oculus. PS: Join the EverythingStartups newsletter & get new VC funds announced straight to your inbox: https://lnkd.in/dyNtt9s4 Or track new VC fund announcements + FULL details here: https://lnkd.in/d7X8up9h

As most of you know, Invest2Innovate (i2i), the organization I founded in 2011, recently closed its doors. i2i Ventures, our VC fund, is still very much alive, and we're continuing Invest2Innovate's work of tracking and releasing data on Pakistan's startup ecosystem via our substack The Throughline, our platform that provides insights on Pakistan & the region via data graphics, interviews, and our podcast The Comparable (link below to subscribe!). We're now halfway through 2026, and we just released H1 2026 data on Pakistan startup funding. Our criteria for considering a startup part of our dataset includes: (1) startups in which Pakistan is their core market (2) startups in which Pakistan is one of their key markets of focus or (3) startups with Pakistani founders and a key team based in Pakistan. With that in mind, startups raised $59M in the first half of 2026. While the H1 2026 amount was raised by 5 companies, the majority of this funding was raised by Fasset, a stablecoin-powered neobank for emerging markets (Pakistan is one of their focus markets), which announced their $51M Series B in May 2026, from SBI Group, Arz Portföy and Investcorp. Other companies included in the dataset include Revora - formerly MyAlice, which raised a $2M seed round co-led by us at i2i Ventures & Oraseya Capital, Uplift AI, which builds AI voice-agents for regional languages, and announced a $3.5M seed round led by Indus Valley Capital and YCombinator in January 2026, BuyPass.ai, a live-commerce startup that raised (undisclosed) pre-seed funding from myco.io and Daman Investments & Neem, which also raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round led by Epic Angels. More on the data and other insights in our substack link & massive kudos to Tashfeen Khan on our team for putting this together: https://lnkd.in/eBnZcnP9 Misbah Naqvi Jawwadali Mundrawala Ailia Naeem

💡🇦🇪 MGX, Abu Dhabi’s investment fund, has raised $49 billion to accelerate the global race for artificial intelligence, significantly above its original target, The National News reported on July 1. The UAE aims to invest across the entire AI value chain, from semiconductors and chips to data centres and cloud infrastructure. The fund has already been active in major strategic deals, including data centre acquisitions alongside BlackRock, “AI factory” projects in Europe with Nvidia, Bpifrance and Mistral AI, as well as investments in OpenAI and Binance. 📍Follow for more insights on business, geopolitics, and developments across the Arab world. https://lnkd.in/eGppwZsZ

🚀 Startup Spotlight 🚀 Liqing Intelligence - Physical AI startup building full-stack world model systems for embodied intelligence, enabling robots to perceive, reason, and act across diverse physical environments 🔍 Company Overview - CEO: Li Yiming (李一鸣) - Year Founded: 2026 - Location: Beijing, China - Team Size: 101-500 - Webpage: https://lnkd.in/gQNnUBgX 🎯 What They Do - One-line Description: Physical AI startup building full-stack world model systems for embodied intelligence, enabling robots to perceive, reason, and act across diverse physical environments - Target Customers: B2B industrial clients in manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, commercial kitchens, retail services; eventually expanding to consumer (ToC) market - Industry Verticals: Robotics / Embodied AI 🚀 Achievements & Status - Current Stage/Status: Seed - Major Milestones: Seed - Key Investors: April 2026: Company founded,June 2026: Completed multiple rounds of seed financing totaling several hundred million RMB led by Shunwei Capital,Sequoia China,Hillhouse,2026 year-end target: Release cross-B2B-scenario world model,2028 target: Achieve规模化 (large-scale) solution deployment - Basic Growth Metrics: Founded April 2026; achieved several hundred million RMB seed round within 2 months of founding; 50+ team members assembled from top universities in under 3 months 💡 Competitive Edge - How They Differentiate: Unlike Spirit AI (uses 'dirty data' approach, VLA-based) and Galaxea (Fast-WAM architecture focused on inference speed), Liqing differentiates by building a fully integrated native world model system from data collection hardware to physics engine — they reject VLA and video-generation approaches, focusing on physical-constraint-compliant world models that can train policies with only 1% of competitors' real robot data - Key Technological Advantage: (1) Full-stack self-developed: data collection hardware -> data pipeline -> world model -> differentiable physics engine, enabling system-wide co-evolution; (2) Native world model architecture (not VLA/JEPA/video generation) with physical-constraint-aware training; (3) Proprietary visual tokenizer outperforming Meta's DINOv3; (4) Founder's deep ties to NVIDIA world-class research ecosystem; (5) Talent moat: 50+ elite researchers from top universities, avg age 22-23 📈 Funding & Partnerships - Total Funding Raised: $69.0M - Latest Funding Round: Seed 👥 Leadership & Team - CEO Background: Ex-Research Scientist NVIDIA; Assistant Professor Tsinghua University College of AI; PhD in AI & Robotics from NYU (2025); NVIDIA Graduate Fellow (2024, 10 globally) - Key Members: Li Yiming (Founder & CEO); Team of 50+ from Tsinghua, PKU, Zhejiang, UC Berkeley, USC — avg age 22-23 📊 Market & Competition - Market Positioning: Emerging Physical AI / world model startup in China's embodied intelligence ecosystem; positioned as a full-stack 'Physical AI Infra' company rather than a robot hardware or model-only company; aims to be the 'iOS for physical world interaction' - Geographic Focus: China (Beijing-based, Tsinghua-incubated); targeting global markets long-term - Main Competitors: Spirit AI / 千寻智能 (Qianxun Intelligence),Galaxea / 星海图 (Xinghaitu),Unitree Robotics (宇树科技) Based on database updated on: 2026-07-02 #Innovation #AI #Startups Powered by #WeeklyVentures "Spot an error? Share your feedback to help us improve!" https://lnkd.in/gAMaJAsE