Satellite maker @Apex_Spacecraft is in talks to raise about $500M at a $4B valuation. In June, it was valued at $2.3B. Washington Harbour Partners would lead, with @a16z and XYZ Venture Capital back in. CEO @IanCinnamon

Peak Energy, a developer of passively cooled sodium-ion energy storage systems, raised $108 million in an oversubscribed Series B round led by General Motors Ventures, with participation from Maverick Silicon, Infinite Capital, Eclipse, Xora Innovation, and LG Technology Ventures. Co-founded and led by CEO Landon Mossburg, the company will use the funding to scale U.S. manufacturing, fulfill more than $1 billion in existing customer orders, and expand into the data center market amid surging AI-driven power demand. FOUNDERS: Landon Mossburg & Cameron Dales INVESTORS: General Motors Ventures, Maverick Silicon, Infinite Capital, Eclipse, Xora Innovation, LG Technology Ventures ROUND: Series B AMOUNT: $108,000,000 HQ: Burlingame, California #VentureCapital #PeakEnergy #LandonMossburg #CameronDales #TradedVC

WILDE, a Lexington, Kentucky-based snack brand founded by CEO Jason Wright in 2015, raised $40 million from S2G Investments to accelerate growth across product innovation, manufacturing, and brand building. The company, which has surpassed $100 million in sales and expanded to more than 35,000 retail locations nationwide, makes protein-rich chips and crackers from real chicken breast, egg whites, and bone broth. The funding will support increased production capacity, new snack formats, and expanded marketing as WILDE seeks to strengthen its position in the growing protein snacking market. FOUNDER: Jason Wright INVESTOR: S2G Investments AMOUNT: $40,000,000 HQ: Lexington, Kentucky #VentureCapital #WILDE #JasonWright #S2GInvestments #TradedVC

Nirva, a wearable technology startup developing an ambient AI pendant that combines jewelry-inspired design with emotional intelligence and self-reflection features, raised $25 million in a pre-Series A funding round following an earlier $8 million raise in the summer. Drawing on experience from Ray-Ban Meta, the company aims to make wearable technology both functional and fashionable, using AI to help users better understand their moods and emotions. Nirva’s funding comes amid growing demand for stylish, wellness-focused wearables that blend advanced technology with personal identity and everyday fashion. FOUNDERS: Wei Lyu & Jason Chen ROUND: Pre-Series A AMOUNT: $25,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #Nirva #WeiLyu #JasonChen #TradedVC

Xona, a commercial navigation company developing a next-generation GPS alternative, has raised $250 million in a Series D funding round led by Future Ventures, with participation from undisclosed new and existing investors. The financing values the company at $2.45 billion and brings its total funding to more than $570 million since its founding in 2019. Co-founder and CEO Brian Manning said the capital will support satellite production and deployment of its Pulsar constellation, which aims to deliver centimeter-level positioning accuracy, stronger signals, and resistance to jamming and spoofing. Following its deployment of six satellites in October 2026, Xona plans to begin early commercial services in 2027 and scale production capacity to 50 satellites annually by the end of that year. FOUNDERS: Brian Manning, Tyler Reid & Paul Tarantino INVESTOR: Future Ventures ROUND: Series D AMOUNT: $250,000,000 HQ: Burlingame, California #VentureCapital #Xona #BrianManning #FutureVentures #TradedVC

Coherence Neuro raised a $45 million Series A round co-led by Founders Fund and the OpenAI Startup Fund to develop cancer therapies that continuously learn and improve. The company is building neurotechnology and brain-computer interface (BCI) platforms designed to monitor cancer in real time and feed data into treatment systems, enabling faster adjustments and more adaptive therapies. Founder Ben Woodington said the goal is to create a new approach to medicine that learns from patient data to improve treatment over time. FOUNDERS: Ben Woodington & Elise Jenkins INVESTORS: Founders Fund, OpenAI Startup Fund ROUND: Series A AMOUNT: $45,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #CoherenceNeuro #BenWoodington #EliseJenkins #TradedVC

Firstwork, co-founded by CEO Vardhan Kapoor and Shubham Choudhary, is an AI-powered platform focused on improving hiring, onboarding, and ongoing support for frontline workers. The company raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from existing investors Gradient and Y Combinator, alongside new investors Legion VC and Deel Ventures. The funding will support product expansion, AI research, and the establishment of its EMEA headquarters in London. FOUNDERS: Vardhan Kapoor & Shubham Choudhary INVESTORS: Earlybird Venture Capital, Gradient, Y Combinator, Legion VC & Deel Ventures ROUND: Series A AMOUNT: $15,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #Firstwork #VardhanKapoor #ShubhamChoudhary #TradedVC

Mach9 is an AI-powered CAD software company that converts reality-capture data into centimeter-accurate CAD drawings, helping surveyors and civil engineers complete infrastructure projects faster. The company raised $34 million in a Series A round co-led by First Round Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Prudence and Quiet Capital. Mach9 has supported nearly 100 organizations across more than 2,500 projects spanning 100,000 miles of infrastructure in all 50 states. FOUNDERS: Alex Baikovitz, Haowen Shi, Michael Mong & Zachary Sussman INVESTORS: First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Prudence & Quiet Capital ROUND: Series A AMOUNT: $34,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #Mach9 #AlexBaikovitz #TradedVC

Blacksmith, a San Francisco-based infrastructure platform that helps companies build and test code faster and at lower costs, raised $66 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion valuation, bringing its total funding to $125 million. The round was led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Premji Invest, Peak XV Partners, GV, and Y Combinator. Led by co-founders and CEO Aditya Jayaprakash, Aayush Shah, and Aditya Maru, Blacksmith plans to use the funds to expand its team and computing infrastructure. Its continuous integration platform enables builds and tests to run twice as fast at an average of 60% lower cost, serving more than 10,000 companies. FOUNDERS: Aditya Jayaprakash, Aayush Shah & Aditya Maru INVESTORS: Sequoia Capital, Premji Invest, Peak XV Partners, GV & Y Combinator ROUND: Series C AMOUNT: $66,000,000 VALUATION: $1,000,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #Blacksmith #AdityaJayaprakash #SequoiaCapital #TradedVC

Flapping Airplanes, an AI lab developing advanced GPU programming systems to improve the efficiency and flexibility of AI training and inference, has raised a $1 billion Series A co-led by Index Ventures and Lux Capital. The company has developed a megakernel framework capable of running training, inference, and video games within a single kernel, aiming to reduce AI costs and enable new applications in robotics and scientific discovery. Other institutional backers include Sequoia, Valor, Atreides, Kleiner Perkins, GV, NVIDIA, and others, alongside individual investors including Steven A. Cohen and Henry Kravis. FOUNDERS: Ben Spector, Asher Spector & Aidan Smith INVESTORS: Index Ventures, Lux Capital, Nova, Sequoia, Valor, Atreides, Kleiner Perkins, Fundomo, BCV, GV, Hummingbird, Hof, Absolute Ventures, A*, CRV, Definition, Seven Stars, Genesis, Jump Trading, XTX Ventures, Snowy Leopard, NVIDIA, Steven A. Cohen, Stan Duquesne, Henry Kravis & Micky Malka ROUND: Series A AMOUNT: $1,000,000,000 HQ: San Francisco, California #VentureCapital #FlappingAirplanes #BenSpector #IndexVentures #TradedVC