Venture Capital stories

Australia’s Propel-AIR 2.0 robotics sprint launches in Brisbane, uniting ARM Hub, MassRobotics and innovators for a week of AI showcases.

Preply secures USD $150m Series D from WestCap at a USD $1.2b valuation to scale its human-led, AI-backed language learning platform.

AI compliance firm ThetaRay names ex-Symphony chief Brad Levy as CEO, tasking him with scaling its Cognitive AI platform globally.

Berlin’s Cloover secures USD $1.222bn to scale AI-powered financing for home solar, batteries and heat pumps across Europe.

British Business Bank pledges up to GBP £50 million to IQ Capital Fund V, reinforcing a 20-year partnership backing UK deep tech.

First Media joins MMC as an LP, boosting the venture fund’s media-for-equity firepower with wider digital, social and TV ad reach for start-ups.

Salesforce extends its Startup Programme to Malaysia and the Philippines, targeting early-stage and AI-first ventures across South East Asia.

Airwallex acquires Korean fintech Paynuri, securing local payment and FX licences as it accelerates its expansion across Asia-Pacific hubs.

Mila, Bain & Company urge Canada to turn its AI research edge into homegrown startups by lifting annual AI venture funding from $2 billion to $10 billion.

AI contract software startup Ivo secures USD $55 million Series B to speed contract review, as revenue surges 500% and UK expansion looms.

Anthropic is setting up an Australian office in Sydney as Claude adoption soars, anchoring a wider global expansion and hiring push.

AI is shrinking routine coding vacancies but boosting demand for developers who can design systems, integrate tools and think strategically.

Elyos AI raises USD $13m to grow its AI agents that answer calls, book jobs and automate admin for trades and field service firms.

Cloudflare acquires UK AI marketplace Human Native to give creators more control and pay for data used to train and run AI systems.

German sustainability software firm osapiens raises USD $100m Series C led by Decarbonization Partners, propelling it to unicorn status.

AI platform Harvey will open a Paris office in Q2 and has hired former Canva executive Jorge Bestard as Vice President of EMEA Sales.

London’s Cyb3r Operations raises $5.4m to expand real-time monitoring of third-party cyber risk as supply-chain threats intensify.

SEON posts over 80% ARR growth, boosts API usage 250% and secures USD $80 million Series C to scale AI-powered fraud and AML platform.

Instabase appoints Omkar Pendse to spearhead product and technology as it doubles down on AI workflow automation after $100 million raise.

Gig work platform Traxlo launches in the UK, offering grocery retailers pay-per-task staffing to tackle labour gaps and rising costs.