Startups Tech News.

RentoMojo set a Rs 384-404 price band for its Rs 1,255.6 crore IPO, opening September 9. The issue includes a Rs 150 crore fresh component and OFS, targeting a Rs 4,206.3 crore post-offer valuation.

YoLearn.ai, a Noida-based voice-first AI tutoring platform for K-12 students, raised undisclosed seed funding led by ABP Education. Founded in January 2025 by Kirti Prakash Mishra, the startup supports 22 Indian regional languages and will expand engineering teams and cloud infrastructure.

PatientIQ, a Chicago healthcare technology company, raised $30 million in Series C funding led by Hughes & Company, with Health Enterprise Partners and August Capital participating. The company will expand its real-world evidence platform and develop a direct-to-patient commerce experience. PatientIQ's network includes over 870 healthcare organizations.

Octave.energy, a Mechelen-based CleanTech startup, raised €10 million in Series A funding to scale its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and Energy Management System (EMS) solutions across Europe. SPDG Growth led the round, with imec.istart, BNP Paribas Fortis, and KBC participating.

Google Cloud Startup Summit will explore how agentic AI can reshape startup growth. The event addresses moving beyond AI wrappers and passive chatbots toward automating complex workflows. Data shows 55% of organizations cite faster strategic decision-making as a measurable outcome.

Sirdab, a Saudi Arabia logistics technology startup, closed a $10 million Series A co-led by Elm and BECO Capital. The funding supports regional expansion and AI development. Founded in 2022 by Naif Alzahri and Abdulrahman Alnamlah, Sirdab automates coordination between shippers, warehouses, and transportation providers.

Aslan Protects raised $20.8 million in seed funding co-led by Khosla Ventures and XYZ Venture Capital. The Washington, D.C. startup builds human-supervised AI operatives for national security and law enforcement. Funds will scale engineering and threat intelligence workforces.

Zurich-based Stellar Alpina secured €160,000 (CHF 150,000) from Venture Kick for its rotating detonation rocket engines. Founded by Rick Röthlisberger, Simi Y. Wespi, Victor Elliesen, and Patrick Egli, the startup emerged from ARIS. The funding expands testing infrastructure and advances its first flight engine.

askpolly, an Ottawa-based AI market research platform led by CEO Erin Kelly, raised $3M in Seed funding. Differential Ventures led the round, with The 98 and Forum Ventures participating. The funds will expand product development and accelerate US go-to-market efforts.

Mogu IoT, a Guangzhou-based industrial AI company, closed its Series C C1 and C2 rounds, raising nearly 200 million yuan. Yunhui Capital led the round, with Yuanhe Origin participating. The funds will develop the Lingzhi AI model and physical AI agents for energy efficiency.

The IMF verified El Salvador's post-June 2025 Bitcoin accumulation came from private donations, not public funds. The country reported acquiring 1,090 BTC worth $100 million in November 2025. Chivo wallet control transferred to a private operator, with the government retaining a minority stake.

Morocco-based ZSystems secured $1.65 million in seed funding led by Azur Innovation Management, with participation from MNF Ventures, Witamax, and Harambeans Prosperity Fund. The B2B2C retail supply chain platform, founded in 2022, will use the capital to expand across Morocco and the region.

Laters.com, a Singapore-based payments-first online travel agency, raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by XBO Ventures. Founded in 2023 by CEO Alex Yardley, the company lets travelers book flights with over 100 payment methods, including crypto and buy-now-pay-later options.

Catch emerged from stealth with $5 million in seed funding co-led by Entrée Capital and Pitango, with Seedcamp and Factorial Capital participating. Founded by CEO Nir Sabato and CTO Yoav Ramon, the startup builds autonomous AI agents for executive administration, integrating with Gmail, Slack, and Outlook.

Backbone, a Belgium-based software company, raised €4 million in pre-seed funding led by Pitchdrive. The AI-powered food quality and compliance platform will use the capital to accelerate product development and expand commercially into new markets.

ZenHR, a Saudi Arabian HR technology company, secured $6 million in Bridge funding led by Impact46. The capital fuels product development, including AI-powered HR tools, and expansion of ZenEWA across 11 MENA markets. Founded in 2017 by Youssef Shamooun and Mohammad Al-Haj Hassan.

Rentomojo's IPO values the company at Rs 4,246 crore. The furniture and appliance rental platform is proceeding with its public listing. The valuation reflects the company's market position ahead of the share sale.

3C Coding School, an Egypt-based edtech startup, raised $3 million in a seed round led by MRG Economic Group. The funding will expand operations into Saudi Arabia and develop its AI-powered learning platform. Founded in 2015, the company has served over 120,000 students.

Hugging Face, founded in 2016 as an emoji-named teen chatbot app, became an open-source AI advocate. CEO Clément Delangue approached Nvidia this summer to pursue a deal.

ESDS Software Solution listed at ₹757 on the NSE, a 76.5% premium over its ₹429 IPO price, and at ₹746.30 on the BSE. The ₹720 Cr IPO was oversubscribed 135.88X, with ₹576 Cr earmarked for cloud infrastructure.

Agentic AI could automate 80% of routine treasury coordination and processing, leaving risk and strategic decisions to humans, per EY. The report notes 60-70% of mid-level treasury time goes to low-value tasks, and AI could boost liquidity forecast accuracy to around 90%.

Marketers now evaluate creators on AI citation potential, not just engagement. Agencies like Tinuiti, Ogilvy, Go Fish Digital, and Jellyfish track how creator content shapes AI chatbot recommendations. Jellyfish reports over 90% of its clients list AI's discovery impact as a top concern.

Gimlet Labs, which helps customers divide AI tasks across multiple chip types, raised $300 million led by a16z at a $3 billion valuation. The round comes six months after an $80 million Series A.

Resect AI emerged from stealth with $25M from private equity investors to develop open-source technology that catches AI hallucinations before they occur. The company's tools target detection of false outputs in artificial intelligence systems.

Andreessen-backed AI startup Gimlet is now valued at $3 billion. The valuation marks a significant milestone for the company, which has attracted major venture capital backing.

An Australian property developer's collapse is rippling into private credit markets. The failure exposes lender exposure within the sector, prompting assessments of broader financial stability and potential contagion risks across similar funds and investors.

Sugar's new fundraise values it over 80% below its Rs 3,000 crore peak, with FY26 revenue estimated at Rs 300-350 crore, down from Rs 505 crore in FY24. Slice seeks shareholder approval for Rs 403.47 crore in debentures and Rs 81.49 crore in equity shares.

Crusoe raised $3 billion at a $30 billion valuation in a round co-led by Atreides Management and Valor Equity Partners, with Mubadala Capital participating. The AI infrastructure provider recently signed a $13 billion, five-year cloud contract with Jane Street.

AI scientist and Google researcher Ray Kurzweil joined BCI startup Subsense as an advisor. Subsense develops non-surgical brain-computer interface technology using inhaled nanoparticles. The appointment was reported by Alexei Oreskovic of Fortune.

Jio Platforms may launch its estimated $4-billion IPO, India's largest ever, by late October or early November, around Navratri and Diwali. The telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries could see spillover into the first week of November.

Upwind Security Inc. raised $300 million in Series C funding led by Bessemer and TCV, with Salesforce Ventures, Greylock, and Craft Ventures participating. The cloud security platform is now valued at $3.8 billion, up $2 billion since the start of the year.

A US Census study of 2.7 million founders found those behind the fastest-growing 0.1% of new ventures averaged 45 years old. A 50-year-old founder was roughly 1.8 times as likely as a 30-year-old to produce an exceptional-growth company.

The Supreme Court accepted the settlement between SEBI and NSE in the co-location and dark fibre cases, clearing a key hurdle to NSE's listing. The IPO is expected to raise ₹31,000 crore, making it India's second-largest ever, after Jio Platforms.

Oura Inc. filed for an IPO on the Nasdaq under ticker "OURA," targeting up to $3 billion. Revenue hit $1.21 billion for nine months to June 30, up 74%, with net income of $60.8 million. Paid members doubled to 5 million.

Hong Kong pet food startup Buddy Bites raised a $4.2 million Series A led by Digitalis Ventures, with backing from angel investor Adrian Lai. The subscription-led brand, founded by Ryan Black and Chris Lee, will use funds for cat food launch and shelf-stable fresh dog food.

Index Ventures dropped plans to invest in AI assistant Town after Instinct, an Index-backed company, complained about a potential conflict of interest. Town raised $90M at a $1B valuation, with an eleventh-hour cap table reshuffling.

HubX raised a $75M Series A led by Point72 at a $1.2B valuation, its first external funding. Boston's Elucid secured $55M for AI cardiovascular imaging, and Israel's Guardio raised $40M at a $1.1B valuation. Investors favor verticalized AI across sectors.

Leanwatts raised $2 Mn in seed funding led by Trivest Partners for portable EV chargers. The startup will accelerate R&D and manufacturing, targeting ₹60 Cr ARR by March 2027. Founded in 2023, it makes chargers from 500W to 6.6kW for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and tractors.

RentoMojo's FY26 profit after tax surged 142% to ₹104.2 Cr from ₹43.1 Cr, aided by a ₹36.6 Cr one-time tax credit. Operating revenue rose 45.5% to ₹387 Cr. The IPO-bound rental platform filed its prospectus with SEBI for a fresh issue of ₹150 Cr and an OFS of 2.7 Cr shares.

Madrona research shows 74% of 150 enterprise IT professionals plan to expand AI budgets, yet fewer than half of AI pilots reach production. 77% re-evaluate AI vendors every six months, making startup ARR less secure than traditional SaaS contracts.

Gate, a Panama-based crypto exchange, launched Event Contracts Builder in August, letting brokers, Web3 apps, and trading platforms integrate prediction markets. The service is part of Gate DexBuilder, and Gate also launched a $3 million grant program for event contract developers.

Accel is reportedly in talks to lead a $1 billion funding round for Thinking Machines at a $40 billion valuation. The deal would mark one of the largest private AI investments, significantly boosting the startup's market position.

Realta Fusion partnered with Madison Gas and Electric to build a 200-megawatt fusion power plant in Wisconsin by the mid-2030s. The utility made an equity investment, and Realta gains interconnection access. Similar deals exist with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Helion, Type One Energy, and Proxima Fusion.

Anthropic PBC launched Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1, its most capable large language models to date. The launch follows a $35 billion cloud deal with Nvidia-backed Lambda for a 350-megawatt Hut 8 Texas data center, plus a $45 billion Nscale agreement.