Western Hemisphere
Pyra, a London defence technology startup founded by Nick Blair, son of former British prime minister Tony Blair, is in talks to raise approximately US$200 million, according to Financial Times reporting cited by Sifted. Terms remain under discussion and the figure could change. Pyra Group UK Limited was incorporated
Western Hemisphere
Thrive Holdings has raised US$2 billion at a US$12 billion valuation from SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners, and Altimeter Capital. The company is a spinout of Thrive Capital, the venture firm Josh Kushner founded 16 years ago and one of OpenAI's largest investors, and was established as
Western Hemisphere
Coursera (NYSE: COUR) has made a US$100 million strategic equity investment in LearnVector, a newly formed AI-native learning company founded and led by Andrew Ng, acquiring a one-third ownership interest on a fully diluted basis. Because Ng co-founded Coursera and sits on its board, the transaction
Western Hemisphere
Mindgard has raised US$30 million in a Series A round led by Album VC, with participation from Karma Ventures, .406 Ventures, Atlantic Bridge, IQ Capital, and Lakestar, bringing total funding to roughly US$42 million. The company operates from London and Boston and sells an automated red-teaming and
Western Hemisphere
Preview, a platform that manages professional video production workflows built around generative AI, has raised US$12 million led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from The General Partnership and investor Badrul Farooqi. The announcement came on August 13. The round also drew angel investors including Frame.io co-founder Emery
Western Hemisphere
Billionaire investor Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5B, a record price for a U.S. professional sports franchise, ESPN reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources. The deal comes barely a year after Mark Walter, CEO of holding company
Western Hemisphere
Reservoir has raised US$8 million in seed funding led by Asymmetric Capital Partners, with participation from Founder Collective and MCJ, to build AI-enabled heat pump water heaters that double as grid-connected energy storage. The Boston-area company was founded by CEO Luke Winston-Almanzar, previously chief business
Western Hemisphere
Kesh, a Brazilian fintech founded in April 2025, has raised R$550 million, roughly US$110 million, in a round combining equity with financing for a proprietary FIDC, the receivables fund vehicle used in Brazil to fund credit portfolios. Grupo Leste, an alternative asset manager overseeing about R$22.3
Western Hemisphere
River AI has raised US$1.1 billion in a round led by General Catalyst and AMP PBC, with strategic investment from Nvidia and AMD Ventures alongside Y Combinator and Singapore's Temasek. The Palo Alto company, founded by Igor Babuschkin, launched on June 10 and announced the financing
Western Hemisphere
Bogotá-based payments orchestration platform Yuno has raised a $45 million Series B round led by Global PayTech Ventures, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, QuantumLight Capital, Monashees, Kaszek, and Endeavor Catalyst. Qatar-based Rasmal Ventures joined the round as the company establishes Qatar as its regional hub for
Western Hemisphere
FAZ Cred, a Brazilian fintech that lends to formally employed workers through payroll deduction, has raised R$80 million, roughly US$14.8 million, in 60 days through a new receivables fund called FAZ Cred Mais Trabalhador FIDC. The vehicle is backed by asset manager Patrimonial, which oversees approximately R$
Western Hemisphere
MarginEdge, an Arlington, Virginia company that automates back-office operations for restaurants, has raised US$80 million in a Series D round led by Schooner Capital and Ten Coves Capital, with participation from Osage Venture Partners, Derive Ventures, and Western Alliance Bank. The financing, which combines equity and debt, brings