MENLO TIMES

Shield AI , a deeptech company protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems, led by Gary Steele, Ryan Tseng, ex-Navy Seal Brandon Tseng, Nathan Michael, and others, and Sedaro , powering the future of aerospace & defense with mission simulation at scale, led by Daniel Martin, Robbie Robertson, PhD, and others, have announced  a strategic partnership to advance autonomous operations in orbit. The partnership designates Shield AI’s Hivemind Pilot as the pri

Ricursive Intelligence , the first frontier AI lab addressing the most fundamental constraint in AI progress: chip development timelines that can’t keep up with algorithmic advancement, led by Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini, announced  its launch and a $35 million seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital( Stephanie Zhan ), along with other investors, including Modern Capital( Suhail Nimji , Jennifer Campbell ), 49Palms( Madhavan Ramanujam , Joshua Bloom ), and Striker ( M

Gradium , building the technological backbone, models, and infrastructure to support all voice applications, led by Olivier Teboul, Alexandre Défossez, Neil Zeghidour, and Laurent Mazaré, has announced its launch with a $70 million seed funding round led by FirstMark Capital  and Eurazeo  with participation from DST Global Partners , Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, Rodolphe Saadé, Korelya Capital, Amplify Partners, Liquid2, Drysdale Ventures, and angels including Yann LeCun, Olivi

Synopsys , the leader in engineering solutions from silicon to systems, enabling customers to rapidly innovate AI-powered products, led by Sassine Ghazi, Shelagh Glaser, Ravi Subramanian, Shankar Krishnamoorthy, and others, announced  an expanded, strategic partnership to revolutionize design and engineering across industries. R&D teams across sectors, from semiconductors to aerospace, automotive, and industrial, face growing workflow complexity, rising development costs, and

Saporo , helping security teams reduce attack paths, enforce least privilege, and prevent breaches, led by Olivier Eyries, Guillaume Eyries, and Dr. Eric Blavier, has secured €7 million in Series A funding led by  TIN Capital , with participation from  G+D Ventures ,  CDP  Venture Capital through its Corporate Partners I – ServiceTech fund,  XAnge ,  Lightbird VC , and  Session VC . Each investor will play a targeted role in Saporo’s expansion: TIN Capital in Northern Europe,

Nevis , the first unified AI platform built for wealth management, led by Mark Swan, Philipp Burda, and Ivan Chalov, has secured  $35 million in Series A from Sequoia Capital , ICONIQ , and Ribbit Capital , bringing the total funding to $40 million in under a year. Nevis enables advisors to complete operational work end to end, covering meeting preparation, client follow-ups, account openings, and ongoing service. The goal is straightforward: remove administrative burden so a

Black Forest Labs , building state-of-the-art technology that advances how the world is seen and understood, led by Robin Rombach, Andreas Blattmann, Sumith Kulal, Axel Sauer, Patrick Esser, and Tim Dockhorn, has announced Series B funding of $300M at a $3.25B post-money valuation from a16z , NVIDIA , Northzone , Creandum , Earlybird VC , BroadLight Capital , and General Catalyst , and welcoming Salesforce Ventures  and Anjney Midha (AMP), as co-leads, alongside Temasek , Bai

Gravis Robotics , the earthmoving autonomy platform, led by Ryan Luke Johns, Dominic Jud, Marco Tranzatto, Burak Cizmeci, and Neil Woodfin, has secured $23M co-led by IQ Capital  and Zacua Ventures , with Pear VC , Imad (CVC of Nesma & Partners), Sunna Ventures , Armada Investment  and Holcim. Gravis systems are already in use with major construction and quarry operators, including Holcim, enabling autonomous site prep, stockpile management, and material loading. The company

Quantum Systems , transforming decision-making processes through aerial data intelligence, led by Florian Seibel, Sven Kruck, and Dave Sharpin, has secured  €180 million in a Series C Extension led by Balderton Capital, following its €160 million Series C in May this year, bringing the total amount secured in 2025 to €340 million, which marks the largest private capital raise in Europe’s dual-use sector. This values the company above €3 billion. Quantum Systems has establishe

IQM , a global leader in building superconducting quantum computers, led by Dr. Jan Goetz, Dr. Mikko Välimäki, Dr. Juha Vartiainen, Sylwia Barthel de Weydenthal, Jan Kuerschner, and others, announced  an over €40 million investment to expand its state-of-the-art production facility in Finland. The expansion will accelerate the development, fabrication, and testing of advanced quantum processing units, as well as the assembly of full quantum computers, laying the foundation fo

EcoG , empowering the scaling of charging infrastructure and accelerating emission-free mobility, led by Joerg Heuer, Johannes Hund, Sebastian Lucae, Pierdomenico Staglieno, and others, has raised  €16 million in a Series B funding round led by  GET Fund ,  Extantia , and  Bayern Kapital . The fast-charging market for electric logistics and commercial fleets is growing quickly, but fragmented systems still hinder scale and reliability. Munich-based EcoG addresses this with an

Gosta Labs , an AI Operating System reducing administrative work and bringing clarity to complex clinical data, led by Lauri Sippola, Henri Viertolahti, Lionel Hadjadjeba, and others, has secured an oversubscribed €7.5 million seed round led by Voima Ventures , with participation from COR Group, the Aho family , and both existing and new investors, including Reaktor and a group of notable angel investors. Cancer care is becoming increasingly complex, with more than 35 million

BKN301 , a fintech architecture provider, led by Stiven Muccioli, Federico Zambelli Hosmer, and Luca Bertozzi, has secured a credit facility from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and acquired  Planky , a UK-based tech company specialized in AI-driven financial analytics and open banking. The credit facility goes alongside its latest Series B round, taking the total amount raised to €33 million. The new financing will accelerate BKN301’s roadmap, supporting the expansi

BlackSky , accelerating earth observation from space for real-time monitoring, led by Brian O’Toole, Henry Dubois, Chris Lin, Lyn Chassagne, Nick Merski, Patrick O’Neil, and Kevin Rioles, has delivered  the first very high-resolution  images  from the company’s third  Gen-3  satellite less than 24   hours following the satellite’s successful launch in November. The company’s advanced, low-latency commercial architecture is providing decision-grade data at real-time, mission-r

Firgun Ventures , the first VC firm focusing on Series A/B quantum companies, led by Kris Naudts, MD, PhD and Zeynep Korutürk, has launched  a $250 million venture capital fund dedicated entirely to early-growth-stage quantum companies and announced its first close at $70 million.  Backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, the fund is structured to support quantum companies in advancing from early pilot phases to deployable products positioned for use across sectors and regio

Arrived , helping you build wealth through modern real estate investing, led by Alejandro Chouza, Kenny Cason, Ryan Frazier, Sue Korn, and others, has raised  $27 million in new funding, led by Neo  and supported by Forerunner Ventures , Bezos Expeditions , Core , and others. The company has officially launched the Arrived Secondary Market, a first-of-its-kind platform that allows investors to buy and sell shares of individual rental homes across the U.S. with just a few clic

Orbit Fab , building in-space fuel delivery infrastructure, led by Daniel Faber, Shawn Hendricks, and others, has announced  its latest milestone toward refuelling satellites in orbit. The company will deliver the Advancing Satcom Technology with Refuelling and Logistics (ASTRAL) project with a total UK funding of up to $3.8m (€3.3m). The contract for the first stage of the mission, worth £1.3m (€1.1m), has now been awarded to Orbit Fab by ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommu

Redwire , a global leader in space and defense technology solutions, led by Peter Cannito, Jonathan Baliff, Al Tadros, and others, has been awarded  a $44 million phase 2 contract to advance the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA)  Otter  Very Low Earth Orbit ( VLEO ) mission to demonstrate the world’s first air-breathing spacecraft and advance next-generation orbital capabilities. The Phase 2 contract funds the completion of manufacturing and the delivery of

NcodiN , the deep-tech startup pioneering optical interposer technology with integrated nanolasers, led by Francesco Manegatti, Bruno Garbin, Fabrice Raineri, Yacine Halioua, and Carlo Guareschi, has secured  €16 million in an oversubscribed Seed financing round led by MIG Capital , with participation from Maverick Silicon , PhotonVentures , and Verve Ventures , alongside continued support from existing backers Elaia , Earlybird , and OVNI . To strengthen its foundation, Ncod

Zap Energy , building a seriously cheap, compact, scalable fusion energy technology, led by Benj Conway, Brian A. Nelson, and Uri Shumlak, has achieved  plasmas with electron pressures as high as 830 megapascals (MPa), or 1.6 gigapascals (GPa) total, comparable to the pressures found deep below Earth’s crust. The results are the highest-pressure performance to date in a  sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch  and an important marker on the path to scientific energy gain, or Q>1. Fu