Startups
Early-stage companies, venture funding, and startup ecosystem news.
Agility Robotics to go public in $2.5 billion SPAC deal
Agility Robotics said it will go public through a $2.5 billion merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI, a deal that would make it the first U.S. public company focused solely on humanoid robotics. The transaction is expected to raise more than $600 million, with proceeds aimed at scaling production and deployments of the Digit robot and its next-generation Digit v5 system.
Agility Robotics heads to Wall Street in a $2.5B bet on staffing warehouses with humanoids
Agility Robotics said it will go public through a $2.5 billion SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp. XI, setting up what would be the first U.S. public company focused entirely on humanoid robots. The company said the deal should bring in more than $600 million in gross proceeds to expand deployments, fulfill orders and scale production of its Digit robots for warehouse and industrial work.
Razorpay begins IPO process with confidential Sebi filing
Razorpay has confidentially filed draft IPO papers with Sebi and the stock exchanges, formally beginning its public listing process. The Economic Times reported the company is targeting a Rs 5,000-6,000 crore issue.
Razorpay confidentially files IPO papers with Sebi
Razorpay has confidentially filed draft IPO papers with Sebi and the stock exchanges, formally kicking off its public-listing process. Later reporting said the fintech company is targeting a raise of Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore, though key terms such as valuation and timing are still undisclosed.
K-Combinator startup accelerator to come up in Mangaluru with Rs 9.5 crore investment
Karnataka’s IT, BT and e-governance department is launching the K-Combinator Startup Accelerator in Mangaluru under the state’s LEAP programme, with Priyank Kharge saying the project will involve more than Rs 9.5 crore in investment.
Ramp Raises Series F at $44 Billion Valuation
Ramp said it raised a $750 million Series F led by ICONIQ, GIC and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan at a $44 billion valuation, with plans to invest further in AI products and expand its platform.
Nestle Partners With Helaina to Develop Infant Formula With Human Proteins
Nestle is reported to be partnering with U.S. startup Helaina to develop infant formula ingredients based on human-milk proteins. Helaina’s public materials describe its bio-identical lactoferrin platform and partner-facing nutrition technology, but the companies have not yet provided full public confirmation of the deal details.
How Lucis is Making Preventive Health the Standard Across Europe
Lucis said it raised a $20 million Series A led by Singular, with participation from General Catalyst and Y Combinator, to expand its preventive-health platform across Europe and keep developing its biomarker-based product.
TEDCO invests $100,000 in Sommos
TEDCO said it invested $100,000 from its Pre-Seed Builder Fund in Baltimore startup Sommos, which builds an AI product for capturing and organizing family stories across generations.
imec expands imec.ventures with dedicated U.S. presence
imec said it is establishing a dedicated U.S. presence for imec.ventures, with teams in Silicon Valley and on the East Coast, to support semiconductor deep-tech ventures and strengthen links with U.S. investors and innovation ecosystems.
Duration Ventures, Founded by Alumni of GC and Lightspeed, Aims for $375 Million Fund
Duration Ventures has launched with a reported target of about $375 million for a debut fund focused on early-stage enterprise AI.
OpenAI introduces new 'Trusted Contact' safeguard for cases of possible self-harm
OpenAI has launched Trusted Contact, an optional ChatGPT safety feature that can notify a nominated person if a serious self-harm concern is detected.
CodeWords raises $9M seed to expand AI agent platform
CodeWords has raised a $9 million seed round led by Visionaries, with participation from firstminute capital, Sequel and Illusian.
Ex-Roblox engineer’s OpsMill raises $14M from IRIS, BGV, Partech to build data layer for network automation
OpsMill has raised a $14 million Series A to grow Infrahub, its infrastructure data management platform for network automation and AI-driven operations. The round was announced on May 7 and was led by IRIS, with BGV, Serena and Partech participating.
The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 4/27/2026
AlleyWatch’s April 27 funding roundup features Avoca’s $125 million-plus raise, Kashable’s $60 million Series C and Era’s seed financing.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup & Key News – 27 April 2026
India’s startup and fintech news on April 27 included Metasports’ $20 million UA financing, MobiKwik’s RBI approval and Kissht’s IPO plans.
Metasports Interactive raises $20M from Metica under UA model
Metasports Interactive said it raised $20 million from Metica in a user acquisition financing round to expand Hitwicket globally.
Five Companies That Came To Win This Week
CRN’s April 24 roundup spotlights five companies that made notable moves this week: Cyera, OpenAI, Google Cloud, Cisco and Yugabyte.
AMTZ launches MedTech Hackathon 2026 in Visakhapatnam
AMTZ has launched MedTech Hackathon 2026 in Visakhapatnam, bringing together startups and innovators for a four-day health-tech event.
Anthropic blocks Claude subscriptions from third-party harnesses like OpenClaw
Anthropic has begun blocking Claude Pro and Max subscriptions from being used through third-party harnesses such as OpenClaw, according to TechCrunch and other reports. Affected users will need separate billing for those workflows.