Funding News on LinkedIn

a16z dropped a $2.2B fund announcement yesterday. Here's the 60-second version for builders. The news a16z just raised $2.2B for Crypto Fund 5, the largest crypto-focused fund ever raised. Why now AI is powerful but opaque. The internet is more consolidated now. crypto's openness, transparency. global and decentralized nature matter more than ever. What a16z is seeing Stablecoins are winning. Usage keeps growing through every downturn. People are using them to save, send money abroad, and pay for things. Finance is moving onchain. Perps, prediction markets, lending, tokenized real-world assets. A new financial system that's open, instant, and nearly free. Regulation is finally clearing. This gives builders certainty and users protection. Sectors a16z is focusing on: Stablecoins and payments Onchain capital markets and RWAs Creator economies with real ownership DePIN AI x crypto agents Consumer apps built on crypto rails ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I run a design agency that works with crypto teams on brand and product design. If you're building in any of the sectors above, let's chat!

Tessera Labs: $60 Million Funding Raised For AI-Powered ERP Modernization Platform: Tessera Labs announced it raised $60 million in oversubscribed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz to accelerate development of its AI-native enterprise transformation platform. Foundation Capital, Myriad Venture Partners, and Osage University Partners also participated in the financing round. The post Tessera Labs: $60 Million Funding Raised For AI-Powered ERP Modernization Platform appeared first on Pulse 2.0.

District: $14.7 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI Commerce Platform: District announced it raised $14.7 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kindred Ventures, with participation from Greylock Partners and a group of angel investors and operators from the technology and commerce sectors. The post District: $14.7 Million Seed Funding Raised For AI Commerce Platform appeared first on Pulse 2.0.

Daily research from FinTech Global UK cemented its place as the main European WealthTech hub with 43% of all deals in Q1 European WealthTech deal activity grew by 21% YoY in Q1 European WealthTech completed 47 deals in Q1 2026, up 27% from 37 deals in Q1 2025 and 21% from 39 deals in Q4 2025. Funding moved in the opposite direction, with $343.2m raised during the quarter, down 18% from $418.3m in Q1 2025 and 58% below the $826.9m recorded in Q4 2025. UK companies secured 43% of all deals to cement their position as the main European WealthTech hub for the quarter UK retained its position as the most active European WealthTech market in Q1 2026, recording 20 deals and a 43% share of total activity, up from 19 deals in Q1 2025, though its share of overall transactions fell from 51% as deal flow spread more evenly across the region. Germany held on to a top three position in both periods, climbing from three deals and an 8% share in Q1 2025 to five deals and an 11% share in Q1 2026, a modest but meaningful rise in volume. Italy entered the ranking in Q1 2026 with five deals and an 11% share, matching Germany on both counts and joining it in second place. France, which had sat second in Q1 2025 with six deals and a 16% share, dropped out of the top three entirely, a notable shift given its prior prominence. The broader distribution of activity across the UK, Germany and Italy, at the expense of a more concentrated French presence, suggests the European WealthTech landscape is becoming less top-heavy, with investment flowing into a wider range of markets across the region. Embankment, a software and services platform for alternative investment funds, has raised $17.4m in a Series A round, marking it as one of the biggest European WealthTech deals of the quarter The round was co-led by Smedvig Ventures and BlackFin Capital Partners, with existing investors also participating. Founded in Copenhagen in 2022, the company has built a modular, scalable platform designed to replace the fragmented and largely manual processes that have historically characterised fund administration in the alternatives space. It now serves more than 250 funds across private equity, real estate and funds of funds, representing total assets under management of more than $34.8bn, and has quadrupled its turnover over the past 18 months. Luxembourg, the largest addressable market in Europe for alternative fund services, is a key focus for the fresh capital, having entered that market four months prior to the announcement. The proceeds will also fund product improvements including enhanced data quality and transparency, automation, new custody and brokerage solutions and the integration of additional third-party systems.  ­

🏪 Retail News 1. CFB, the parent company of "Dairy Queen" and a catering group, has officially become the largest shareholder of "Meet Fresh". The total number of CFB Group outlets has increased from approximately 1,850 to 2,500 in China. 2. Several high-performance Mac products from Apple have been taken off the shelves, reportedly due to tight memory supply. 3. Samsung Electronics’ market capitalisation reaches US$1 trillion, making it the second Asian company after TSMC to achieve this milestone. 4. OpenAI launches GPT-5.5 Instant: hallucination rates reduced by up to 52.5%, now available to all users. 5. The three major memory manufacturers are betting on new DRAM technologies, which may open up opportunities for two types of interface chips. 🌌 Company News ▲ Samsung announces suspension of all home appliance sales in the Chinese market Samsung Electronics issued a statement on its official website stating that, in response to rapidly changing market conditions and following careful consideration, it has decided to cease sales of all home appliances, including televisions and monitors, in the mainland Chinese market. Samsung stated that mobile phone sales will continue as normal. ▲Moonshot AI set to complete $2 billion funding round 6 May: News reports indicate that LLM unicorn Moonshot AI (Kimi) is set to complete a new $2 billion funding round, with a post-investment valuation exceeding $20 billion. A reporter has confirmed with Meituan that this round is led by Meituan, with participation from China Mobile and CPE (CITIC Industrial Fund), among others, with Meituan investing over $200 million. In January and February of this year, Moonshot AI had just completed three rounds of intensive funding, raising $500 million, $700 million and $700 million respectively. Including this latest round, Moonshot AI has raised over $3.9 billion in less than six months, with its latest valuation more than quadrupling from the approximately $4.3 billion recorded last November. To date, Moonshot AI's cumulative funding has exceeded $5.52 billion.

🚨 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁: 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐍 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 $𝟓 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 💄🧪 Dermatologist-led D2C skincare brand CHOSEN has raised $5 million in a Series A round from Bold, Alkemi Growth Capital, and Avnish Anand (CaratLane). The funding will support R&D, clinically tested product development, expansion of its Centre of Excellence, and team hiring. Founded by Dr Renita Rajan, CHOSEN develops science-backed skincare products tailored for Indian skin concerns such as pigmentation and ageing. The brand offers 88 SKUs across skincare, haircare, body care, and vegan categories. CHOSEN is also investing in advanced dermatology research, including a melanin lab and IoT-led personalization technologies. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: 🏢 Company: CHOSEN 💰 Funding Raised: $5 Million 📊 Funding Round: Series A 🤝 Investors: BOLD, Alkemi Growth Capital, Avnish Anand (CaratLane) 🧴 Sector: D2C Skincare / Dermatology / BeautyTech 📍 Market: India 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: 🌞 Building skincare products specifically designed for Indian skin concerns and climate conditions 🔬 Strengthening science-led and dermatologist-developed beauty solutions 🏭 Leveraging in-house manufacturing for better quality control and faster innovation 🧴 Expanding presence in India’s fast-growing premium skincare and cosmeceutical market 💡 Integrating technology and personalization into skincare offerings 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: ✅ Indian consumers are increasingly shifting toward clinically backed skincare products ✅ Dermatology-led beauty brands are gaining traction over influencer-driven formulations ✅ Personalized skincare and science-based beauty solutions are becoming major growth categories ✅ India’s D2C beauty and skincare ecosystem continues to attract investor interest despite broader funding slowdowns ✅ The funding highlights rising demand for products tailored specifically for Indian skin biology and environmental conditions Stay tuned for more updates on high-impact deals and industry insights! 🌐💼 👉 For similar updates, follow us and explore opportunities: https://lnkd.in/g_e7BAi3 👉 Join our WhatsApp group for instant updates: https://lnkd.in/gCV8EgigTop of Form #SkinCareStartup #BeautyIndustry #StartupIndia #ConsumerBrand #DirectToConsumer #IndianEntrepreneurs #ScienceBackedSkincare #ClinicalSkincare #Innovation #GrowthCapital #Fundraise #StartupEcosystem #IndianBrands #PersonalCare #TechEnabledBeauty #FutureOfBeauty #DermatologistLed #SkincareInnovation #InvestmentNews #EmergingBrands

🚀 Startup Spotlight 🚀 District - AI-native commerce platform enabling anyone to build, launch, and scale online businesses (stores, marketplaces, live selling) without engineering resources. 🔍 Company Overview - CEO: Eddie Koai (Edward Koai) - Year Founded: 2022 - Location: Los Angeles, California - Team Size: 11-50 - Webpage: https://district.net 🎯 What They Do - One-line Description: AI-native commerce platform enabling anyone to build, launch, and scale online businesses (stores, marketplaces, live selling) without engineering resources. - Target Customers: Creators, entrepreneurs, small-to-medium brands, community-driven marketplace operators, and enterprise brands seeking flexible commerce infrastructure outside traditional e-commerce platforms. - Industry Verticals: AI in Retail / E-commerce 🚀 Achievements & Status - Current Stage/Status: Seed - Major Milestones: Seed - Key Investors: Founded 2022 by former Snap product/engineering leaders; quietly onboarded 1,000+ businesses over 3 years; raised $14.7M seed round led by a16z and Kindred Ventures in May 2026; moved into general availability in 2026 - Basic Growth Metrics: 1,000+ businesses onboarded over 3 years (2022-2025); NikNax generated $5M+ in sales in 2025 across 5,000 sellers; Stacked Golf generates ~$150K in weekly sales with 1,000+ active sellers 💡 Competitive Edge - How They Differentiate: Unlike Whatnot (a centralized marketplace) or Shopify (template-driven e-commerce), District is an AI-native infrastructure platform that lets anyone create their own marketplace or storefront via natural language, with built-in live selling, community features, and full ownership of customer relationships and data. - Key Technological Advantage: AI commerce stack with natural language storefront generation; unified platform combining storefront builder, operations dashboard, payments, fraud prevention, fulfillment, and customer support; built for real-time live selling and community-driven commerce formats; no-code/zero-engineering approach to complex marketplace creation. 📈 Funding & Partnerships - Total Funding Raised: $14.7M - Latest Funding Round: Seed 👥 Leadership & Team - CEO Background: Ex-Snap Inc. Product Leader (Head of Stories); Boston Consulting Group (BCG); UC Berkeley graduate. Also General Partner at Uncommon Projects. - Key Members: Eddie Koai (Co-Founder & CEO); Patrick Mandia (Co-Founder & President); Khoi Tran (Co-Founder & Engineering Lead) 📊 Market & Competition - Market Positioning: Positioned as the AI-native commerce infrastructure layer for the next generation of internet-native commerce — bridging the gap between creator-led communities and scalable commerce operations, targeting a new category outside traditional e-commerce platforms. - Geographic Focus: United States (headquartered in Los Angeles, CA) - Main Competitors: Whatnot; CommentSold; Shopify (for traditional e-commerce) Based on database updated on: 2026-05-07 #Innovation #AI #Startups Powered by #WeeklyVentures "Spot an error? Share your feedback to help us improve!" https://lnkd.in/gqXdrvHq

Warburg Pincus Access Fund raised ~$37.3M through a private offering of limited partnership units on April 1, with combined subscriptions across the fund and its offshore parallel vehicle totaling ~$45.3M on the same closing date. Class B1 units drove the bulk of the raise at ~$36.5M. The fund also disclosed transactional NAVs across six share classes, ranging from $25.59 to $27.12 per unit as of March 31. Anyone tracking this space closely? Covering this and more today at SQX Alts. #PrivateEquity #AlternativeInvestments #SECFilings #InstitutionalInvesting #PrivateMarkets

Peter Thiel's Founders Fund just raised a record $6B growth fund - its largest fund ever - to double down on late-stage AI and technology companies. The new vehicle, the firm’s fourth growth-stage fund, comes less than a year after its previous $4.6B fund, marking its fastest fundraising cycle to date. A few notable points: → $4.5B came from external LPs, including sovereign wealth funds → $1.5B was committed by Founders Fund partners and employees → The capital is expected to be deployed over 2–3 years → The strategy remains highly concentrated, with capital likely going into roughly a dozen companies This reinforces a broader trend: the best private companies are staying private longer, and late-stage investors are raising increasingly large pools of capital to keep backing them before IPO. Founders Fund’s previous growth fund invested in companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, Anduril Industries, Stripe, and Cognition.

Founders Fund has raised $6 billion for its fourth growth-stage vehicle, its largest fund to date. The capital will target later-stage technology companies, addressing the growing demand for private capital as high-growth startups increasingly delay going public. Led by Peter Thiel, the venture capital firm is known for its concentrated investment strategy. The new fund will continue to make significant bets on a select number of companies, continuing its approach of backing category-defining technology startups. More at: https://lnkd.in/drpVX8ZT #VentureCapital #Funding #Startups

#OpenAI and #Anthropic recently announced competing joint ventures with major #private #equity (PE) firms to accelerate the deployment of their models into thousands of middle-market companies. This move signals a shift from selling software licenses to a "forward-deployed" consulting model (pioneered by Palantir & others), where engineers are embedded directly within businesses to build custom AI workflows. #Key #Partners: ❶ OpenAI's "The Deployment Company": Funding: Raised over $4 billion from a 19-firm consortium Key partners include TPG, Bain Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, and Advent International. ❷ Anthropic's Joint Venture: Funding: Launched an enterprise services firm with approximately $1.5 billion in committed capital. Key Partners: Anchored by Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs, with additional backing from Apollo Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and GIC What does this mean? #Strategic #Drivers - ▪ #Captive #Customer #Base: PE firms control over 30,000 portfolio companies globally; these deals provide a "captive audience" for AI adoption, bypassing traditional sales cycles. ▪ #Consulting #Disruption: Both ventures aim to disrupt the traditional consulting industry by providing "outcomes" (e.g., automated back offices) delivered by their own engineers rather than third-party consultants. ▪ #IPO #Readiness: As both companies prepare for potential IPOs later in 2026, these ventures help shore up enterprise revenue and adoption metric https://lnkd.in/gTm-S4jH How should startups developing AI services & investors react to this? ScaleUp Labs | Tech Bloc | Simón Carpman | Rafael Yáñez

Founders Fund raises record $6B new fund to double down on late stage AI #FoundersFund, led by Peter Thiel, has raised a record $6 billion growth fund targeting late-stage technology and #AI startups, marking the largest fund in its 20-year history. The vehicle represents the firm’s fourth growth-stage fund and was launched less than a year after its previous $4.6 billion fund, the fastest fundraising cycle to date. Of the total, $4.5 billion came from external limited partners, including sovereign wealth funds, while $1.5 billion was committed by Founders Fund’s partners and employees. The firm is expected to deploy the capital over two to three years across roughly a dozen companies, maintaining its strategy of concentrated, high value investments, with average checks historically around $600 million. The prior fund backed companies such as Anthropic, receiving $1.25 billion at a $350 billion valuation, Anduril Industries with a $1 billion investment, as well as Stripe, Ramp, Cognition AI, and OpenAI. The raise comes as peers like Sequoia Capital and Thrive Capital secure $7 billion and $10 billion funds respectively, reflecting sustained demand for late-stage private capital as high growth startups remain private longer. The article on Tech Funding News in the first comment.

a16z Crypto has raised $2.2B for its new fund #a16zCrypto has raised $2.2B for its Crypto Fund 5 to back crypto startups at all stages over the next decade. The fund will target practical applications built on crypto infrastructure, spanning stablecoins, payments, financial services, decentralized systems, and sectors such as perpetual futures, lending, prediction markets, and tokenized assets. The raise comes amid weaker sentiment than in previous cycles, though underlying activity across the sector remains strong. While smaller than its $4.5B 2023 fund, Crypto Fund 5 still exceeds recent raises by peers such as Haun Ventures ($1B) and Dragonfly Capital ($650M). 👉 https://lnkd.in/d_TcmwEK #cryptonews #crypto #cryptocurrency #blockchain #web3 #NFT #cryptoinvesting #phoenixgroup #phoenix

🚀 Startup Spotlight 🚀 Decile Group - Full-stack venture capital platform powering emerging fund managers with AI-driven tools, training, and fund administration. 🔍 Company Overview - CEO: Adeo Ressi - Year Founded: 2021 - Location: Palo Alto, California - Team Size: 11-50 - Webpage: https://decilegroup.com 🎯 What They Do - One-line Description: Full-stack venture capital platform powering emerging fund managers with AI-driven tools, training, and fund administration. - Target Customers: Aspiring and emerging venture capital fund managers (first-time GPs), solo GPs, and small VC firms worldwide - Industry Verticals: AI in Fintech 🚀 Achievements & Status - Current Stage/Status: Growth Stage - Major Milestones: Seed - Key Investors: 2021: Decile Group founded as spin-out of VC Lab from Founder Institute; 2025: Raised $14M seed round co-led by Draper Associates, Javelin Venture Partners, and Geek Ventures; 2025: Launched Start Fund (launch VC fund in under 24 hours); 2026: Launched Startuply.vc (AI-powered startup research platform, 1,000+ profiles in 6 days); 2026: Launched Decile Access - Basic Growth Metrics: 900+ VC funds launched; $6B+ in target AUM; 1,000+ VC firms on Decile Hub platform; 94 Net Promoter Score; 853 VC firms accelerated through VC Lab; 1,000+ startup profiles generated by Startuply.vc in first 6 days 💡 Competitive Edge - How They Differentiate: Unlike Carta (cap table focus) or AngelList (SPV/roll-up focus), Decile Group is a full-stack platform combining accelerator training, AI-powered fund operations SaaS, fund administration, and direct capital — all purpose-built for emerging first-time managers. Also differentiated by its ethical framework (Mensarius Oath) and track record of launching ~50% of all new VC firms globally. - Key Technological Advantage: Pioneer of "Agentic VC" — deploying AI agents across fund operations, deal flow, and LP relations. Decile Hub uses AI for automated LP engagement, capital calls, deal memo generation, portfolio monitoring, and compliance. Startuply.vc uses agentic AI workflow with multiple AI writing personas and fact-checking models to generate venture-ready startup profiles in minutes. 📈 Funding & Partnerships - Total Funding Raised: $16.5M - Latest Funding Round: Seed 👥 Leadership & Team - CEO Background: Founder & Executive Chairman of Founder Institute (2009-present); Co-creator of the SAFE Note (2012); Founded TheFunded (2007); Founded Game Trust (sold to RealNetworks 2007); Founded methodfive (sold to Xceed for $88M); Founded Total New York (sold to AOL 1997); University of Pennsylvania (attended) - Key Members: Mike Suprovici (Co-Founder & Head of Acceleration); Cary Lawrence (Chief Executive Officer); Spiro Roiniotis (CTO); Brian Neumann (SVP Engineering) 📊 Market & Competition - Market Positioning: Market leader in emerging VC fund enablement — has launched 900+ VC funds with $6B+ in target AUM and powers 1,000+ VC firms through Decile Hub. Positioned as the "operating system for modern VC" and the pioneer of "Agentic VC." - Geographic Focus: Global (headquarters in Palo Alto/San Francisco, remote-first organization, VC Lab operates across 200+ cities worldwide) - Main Competitors: Carta (fund administration and cap table management); Allocate (fund-of-funds and LP matching platform); AngelList (VC fund formation and SPV platform) Based on database updated on: 2026-05-06 #Innovation #AI #Startups Powered by #WeeklyVentures "Spot an error? Share your feedback to help us improve!" https://lnkd.in/gYm5Kryc

Busy week with two new VC funds raised for the #Crypto and #Blockchain space – further connecting #TradFi and #Crypto Crypto Investor Haun Raises $1 Billion for New Funds, Expands to AI Agents (Bloomberg) https://lnkd.in/gruP5jue Andreessen Horowitz Raises New $2.2 Billion Crypto Fund (Bloomberg) https://lnkd.in/gs4pexe6 Haun Ventures Andreessen Horowitz Cartesian Digital #DigitalAssets #crypto #blockchain #bitcoin #btc #ethereum #eth #cryptocurrency #cryptocurrencies #trading #cryptotrading #defi #nft #tokenization #xrp #cryptonews #tether #solana #tron #cardano #hyperliquid #cryptohedgefund #hedgefund #finance #fintech #altinvestments #futures #fx #fundmanagers #CoinAlts #investmentoperations #operations #familyoffice #cryptotrading #cryptocurrencies #bitcoinnews #investment #investing #business #bitcoins #blockchaintechnology #coinbase #invest #entrepreneur #nfts #litecoin #trader #web #bitcointrading #finance #defi #technology #altcoin

Celebrating Vision Ridge Partners, LLC on the successful close of Sustainable Asset Fund IV. To mark the occasion, we presented the team with a bespoke digital tombstone, created in collaboration with 4Deal Studios. Fund IV has raised approximately $2.4 billion in capital commitments, making it Vision Ridge’s largest fundraise to date. Inspired by the Vision Ridge name, the design features an eye overlooking a dynamic global landscape, reflecting the firm’s investment focus across energy, transportation, and agriculture. Congratulations to the entire Vision Ridge team on this outstanding achievement! To learn more, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eAfEsg9k #privateequity #privatemarkets

The combined total raised by the three largest infrastructure funds in 2025 was $70 billion– nearly a third of all capital closed during the year. Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) Partners closed its fifth vintage at the $25.1 billion hard cap, marking the second-largest infrastructure fund ever raised. The US-based giant was closely followed by Swedish EQT Partners, which closed its sixth vintage at €21.5 billion ($24.8 billion). Energy transition-focused Brookfield Global Transition Fund II took the bronze with $20 billion raised for the fund plus $3.5 billion in co-investment capital. Our ‘Infrastructure Fundraising Report 2025’ is out now. Download and read today: https://lnkd.in/ei_mnw6c. #Infrastructure #Fundraising

Where Smart Money is Quietly Betting in DeFi Right Now The numbers are hard to ignore. Top crypto venture firms have just secured massive new capital even as the broader market cools. a16z crypto closed a $2.2 billion fund, Haun Ventures raised $1 billion, and Dragonfly Capital secured $650 million. Together, these moves show strong conviction from limited partners who see durable adoption forming in decentralized finance. What stands out is where this smart money is flowing. These firms are not chasing short-term hype. They are placing big bets on areas with real usage and compounding growth: stablecoins and payment infrastructure, real-world assets and tokenization, prediction markets, and the on-chain infrastructure needed for AI agents. Recent investments reflect this focus clearly. a16z has backed Kalshi, better money protocols, Babylon, and Jito. Haun Ventures made a major commitment to Erebor Bank and continues to support Squads. Dragonfly has invested in Rain, Polymarket, and multiple rounds in Ethena. These are infrastructure plays designed to turn powerful DeFi primitives into everyday products that generate revenue and solve real problems. The funding environment has cooled since the start of the year, with fewer mega-rounds and more discipline. Yet these top-tier firms continue to attract and deploy large capital because they believe the next phase of DeFi is about building systems where usage compounds over time rather than attention that fades quickly. In our space, price action often grabs the headlines, but real progress happens in these quieter moments when serious capital backs foundational infrastructure. This deployment signals confidence in the long-term maturation of DeFi. As DeFi explorers, it is wise to observe where this smart money is moving. It often points toward the categories that will matter most in the years ahead. What DeFi sectors do you believe will see the strongest real adoption going forward? Stablecoins and RWAs, prediction markets, AI agents, or something else entirely? I would love to hear your perspective.

Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto has raised a $2.2 billion Crypto Fund V It will be deployed across blockchain infrastructure, decentralised finance and application-layer startups. The fund is smaller than its previous $4.5 billion fund raised in 2022 as Crypto venture funding is still below its 2021–2022 peak, according to PitchBook. Details: https://lnkd.in/gbNGrq4T #Crypto #CryptoFunding #Blockchain #Startups #DigitalAssets #AndreessenHorowitz #TechTrends #BusinessNews #Inspirepreneur

🚀 Startup Spotlight 🚀 Lithosquare - Paris-based AI startup applying foundational AI models to accelerate critical metals exploration, reducing analysis from months to days. 🔍 Company Overview - CEO: Aymeric Préveral-Etcheverry - Year Founded: 2024 - Location: Paris, France - Team Size: 11-50 - Webpage: https://lnkd.in/gGYrtZfn 🎯 What They Do - One-line Description: Paris-based AI startup applying foundational AI models to accelerate critical metals exploration, reducing analysis from months to days. - Target Customers: Mining and exploration companies, primarily in Europe and North America, with operations in the Middle East, South America, and Africa. - Industry Verticals: AI in Supply Chain / Logistics 🚀 Achievements & Status - Current Stage/Status: Seed - Major Milestones: Seed - Key Investors: Founded April 2024; AGORANOV non-equity assistance (Oct 2024); French Tech 2030 laureate (2025 cohort); Aterian JV partnership announced (Dec 2025); $25M Seed round raised (May 2026) - Basic Growth Metrics: Planning to double team to 40 employees; opening North America office; 898 LinkedIn followers (as of May 2026) 💡 Competitive Edge - How They Differentiate: Unlike KoBold Metals (US-focused, massive capital) and others, Lithosquare is European-based with a first-principles geological AI approach that encodes geological science rather than just pattern-matching known deposits. The company targets European sovereignty in critical minerals supply chains and uses a business model combining upfront payments, outcome-based payments, and revenue-sharing on future mines. - Key Technological Advantage: Foundational AI model trained on multimodal geological data (maps, reports, geophysical surveys) that enables geologists to reason, test new hypotheses, and search where they've never been — unlike traditional ML pattern-recognition models that only find what's already been discovered. 📈 Funding & Partnerships - Total Funding Raised: $25M - Latest Funding Round: Seed 👥 Leadership & Team - CEO Background: Ex-CEO & Co-Founder of FieldBox.ai; Master of Science from MINES ParisTech (engineering school). Mining engineer background. - Key Members: Aymeric Préveral-Etcheverry (CEO & Co-Founder); Simon Leclair (Co-Founder); Pierre Argoud (Geologist); Loren Gassot (Team Member); Nicolas Petit (Team Member) 📊 Market & Competition - Market Positioning: European leader in AI-driven critical metals exploration, positioning to compete globally with US-based KoBold Metals while focusing on European supply chain sovereignty and diversification of critical mineral sources. - Geographic Focus: Europe (headquarters), Africa (Morocco, Botswana), Middle East, South America, North America - Main Competitors: KoBold Metals (US, raised $537M Series C at $3B valuation); VerAI Discoveries (US); Earth AI (Australia) Based on database updated on: 2026-05-05 #Innovation #AI #Startups Powered by #WeeklyVentures "Spot an error? Share your feedback to help us improve!" https://lnkd.in/gM882qdT