If all the startups that announced funding rounds this week reach their goals, the world might be a better place. Plus, some funds are ready to back even more entrepreneurs.
Casting a net: Cast AI, a startup building tools to optimize workloads for AI and automated tasks, raised a $108 million Series C to fuel its R&D and geographic expansion.
Strong run: Lightrun, an Israeli startup whose AI-enabled observability platform helps debug code, locked in a $70 million Series B co-led by new backer Accel alongside previous investor Insight Partners.
Legal tech: Supio, a startup that uses AI to automate data collection and analysis for legal teams, raised a $60 million funding round led by Sapphire Ventures.
Bold vision: IXI, a Finnish startup hoping to bring autofocus to prescription glasses, raised $36.5 million from Amazon Alexa Fund and others to work on its first commercial product.
B2B trade: Nuvo, a San Francisco-based startup whose platform facilitates purchasing of physical goods between businesses, raised a $34 million Series A from Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital.
And OmniRetail, which aims to facilitate B2B e-commerce across Nigeria and West Africa, raised a $20 million Series A co-led by Norwegian development finance institution Norfund and Nigerian VC firm Timon Capital.
Early detection: Japanese startup Craif, a Nagoya University spinout that uses microRNA to develop AI-powered early cancer detection software, raised a $22 million Series C to fuel its expansion and R&D.
Ballooning: Near Space Labs, a startup whose balloon-based aerial imaging platform can have dual-use applications, secured a $20 million Series B led by Bold Capital Partners, a VC firm founded by Peter Diamandis.
Hot: Glacier, a startup behind a robot-enabled recycling fleet already deployed in several U.S. cities, secured a $16 million Series A led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund, with participation from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund.
Not broken: Kintsugi, an AI sales tax startup named after the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery, raised $15 million from tax technology solution provider Vertex and $3 million from existing investors at a $150 million post-money valuation, up from $80 million in November.
No more burping: Hoofprint Biome, a startup slashing methane emissions by modifying cattle's microbiome, raised a $15 million Series A led by SOSV.
U.K. upside: Volution, a U.K.-based VC investing in fintech, AI, and SaaS startups, launched a new $100 million fund to double down on its thesis.
One-up: European entrepreneur-focused platform EWOR launched its own “founder fellowship,” committing approximately $68 million to the initiative, which will compete with Harry Stebbings’ fellowship Project Europe.
