funding

According to Jinshi reports, the EU announced that the latest funding for Ukraine will be used for the procurement of drones, missiles, air defense systems, and fighter jets.

AI security operations startup Mate Security announced the completion of a $35 million Series A financing round, led by Canaan Partners, with participation from Insight Partners, Team8, and Microsoft's venture fund M12, bringing the total funding to over $50 million.It has been less than a year since the company emerged from stealth mode. Mate Security was founded by former employees of Wiz and Microsoft, and its core product is the "Security Context Graph," which empowers AI security agents with business context by building an organizational knowledge layer, enabling them to make judgments based on actual operational conditions when handling alerts, effectively reducing false positive rates.

According to the Financial Times, Situational Awareness, an AI-themed hedge fund founded by 25-year-old former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, is seeking new funding following significant losses due to a sharp correction in AI-related stocks.In recent communications, Aschenbrenner acknowledged the increased market volatility, describing it as a new investment opportunity and encouraging investors to inject new capital. The fund's heavy investments in AI data centers, power, storage, and GPU cloud-related assets have seen significant declines during this round of AI capital expenditure deal pullback.

According to official news, the institutional-level Ethereum ecosystem service organization Ethereum Institutional announced the completion of its initial ecosystem funding round and the formation of a supporter alliance, receiving support from over 100 ecosystem participants, led by BitMine, SharpLink, and Ethereum co-founders Joseph Lubin and Mihai Alisie, with the amount undisclosed. The organization stated that this funding will be used to support its accelerated efforts in tokenization, stablecoins, and on-chain market infrastructure.Ethereum Institutional indicated that in the coming months, it will strengthen direct engagement with banks, asset management institutions, custodians, market infrastructure, fintech companies, and sovereign institutions to advance specific work related to tokenization, stablecoins, market infrastructure, and on-chain settlement, while expanding its core business areas such as institutional education, market intelligence, and ecosystem marketing; at the same time, it will continue to collaborate with a broader Ethereum ecosystem community, including L2, application teams, infrastructure, and custodial service providers.

According to Techcrunch, New York AI detection startup Pangram announced the completion of a $9 million financing round, led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Haystack, ScOp, Script Capital, and Cadenza.Pangram also released the next-generation AI text detection model Pangram 4 and the AI image detection model Pangram Image, with the text detection accuracy exceeding 99%, capable of identifying AI-assisted writing, mixed human-machine content, and text generated by AI impersonation programs; the image detection model is currently in research preview stage, based on pixel-level distribution analysis, capable of identifying AI-generated images across models and detecting AI images present in real photographs.

According to Gate market data, GlobalFoundries' stock rose more than 16% in pre-market trading. The U.S. government previously announced that the company would receive up to $300 million in funding.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated that the Bitcoin funding rate is showing typical signals before the significant increases in September 2024 and December 2022, indicating that pessimism may have recently peaked.From March to May, Bitcoin corrected over 50%, and the accumulation of short positions pushed the funding rate down to negative values. Subsequently, BTC rebounded to $82,000 in May. This signal has appeared again, potentially leaving room for a bullish reconstruction in the coming months. This indicator has been transformed into a monthly sentiment aggregation tool, which is more effective than the Fear and Greed Index.

According to Bitcoin.com, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor revealed that the company will consider market conditions in the future to repurchase STRC preferred shares (Series A perpetual preferred shares, with a par value of $100) by selling Bitcoin or MSTR stock.When the trading price of STRC is significantly below $100, the discounted repurchase can reduce future dividend expenses and has strong capital allocation appeal.

According to TechCrunch, nuclear startup Antares Nuclear has completed a $470 million Series C funding round, co-led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with participation from Industrious Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Shine Capital, including $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt.Antares is developing small modular reactors (SMRs) with a power output of 100 kilowatts to 1 megawatt, using TRISO fuel. The company is one of three finalists in the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Nuclear Power Systems program, planning to launch its first power-generating reactor next year and deploy it to U.S. military bases by 2028. Previously, Antares completed a $96 million Series B funding round last December, bringing its total funding to $604 million. The first batch of SMRs is expected to be operational in the early 2030s, with a cost of approximately $214 per megawatt-hour, higher than most new power plants except for the most expensive gas turbines.

Dutch crypto finance protocol Tori Finance announced that its institutional-grade Delta neutral yield product strUSD has completed a $50 million pre-deposit fundraising before its official launch, reaching the cap in just 7 days. Tori stated that strUSD offers an annualized yield of approximately 12%, with returns derived from global arbitrage trading strategies traditionally used by financial institutions, rather than from the circulation of funds in the crypto market. This strategy achieves low correlation with crypto market cycles by borrowing in low-interest currencies, investing in high-interest markets, and utilizing foreign exchange hedging to lock in dollar returns.Tori founder Samed Duzcay mentioned that such trades were previously mainly participated in by large institutions like pension funds and banks, which typically required a funding threshold of tens of millions of dollars and involved complex processes such as local bank accounts, custody, tax, and compliance approvals. Tori opens up these institutional strategies to ordinary users through on-chain tokenization. Users can deposit USDC or USDT to obtain the synthetic dollar asset trUSD and stake to earn strUSD. This asset is based on the ERC-20 standard and can be integrated with DeFi protocols such as Morpho, Pendle, and Curve, and can also be used as collateral for lending to further amplify returns.Tori claims that the protocol constructs an on-chain balance sheet through zero-knowledge proofs and trusted execution environments, with independent verification agency Accountable conducting real-time audits of off-chain fund situations; digital asset investment firm RockawayX serves as the risk management party and anchor liquidity provider. Additionally, Tori's smart contracts have been audited by Sherlock and Nethermind, and Hypernative has been introduced for round-the-clock security monitoring, with all contract upgrades set to a 24-hour delay mechanism. Tori stated that its goal is to bring the neutral yield strategies used by traditional financial institutions for decades into the on-chain financial system, promoting the integration of real yields with DeFi infrastructure.

Spanish AI company Multiverse Computing announced the completion of a €500 million ($570 million) Series C funding round, with a pre-money valuation of €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion), a 5-fold increase from its Series B valuation.The company focuses on sovereign and efficient AI, and this round of financing was co-led by Forgepoint Capital International, BNPP SIVF, and Bullhound Capital.

Nine financial institutions and Bitcoin companies announced the joint establishment of the Bitcoin Security Alliance, with founding members including Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity, Galaxy, and Strategy, covering the entire chain of institutions such as custody, trading, infrastructure, payments, and asset management.The alliance commits to providing a total of $15 million in funding over the next three years to support developers and researchers in the field of Bitcoin security, including long-term work to prepare Bitcoin for the future era of quantum computing. Each member independently decides which developers, researchers, or organizations to direct their funding towards. The daily operations of the alliance are coordinated on a voluntary basis by Brink Executive Director Mike Schmidt, with Brink being a nonprofit organization that funds Bitcoin open-source developers.The alliance clearly states that it does not formulate or direct Bitcoin protocols, does not express opinions on specific protocol changes, and does not represent Bitcoin or its developers—Bitcoin development continues to be carried out by a globally decentralized community of contributors. Its positioning is to emulate the model of industry organizations that have long supported open-source software, providing resources and attention to developers without controlling the underlying work.Strategy CEO Phong Le stated, "As long-term holders, ensuring the security of Bitcoin for generations is our greatest incentive"; BlackRock's Global Head of Digital Assets Robert Mitchnick pointed out that the work of Bitcoin core developers is "extremely important," and this commitment will provide "significant additional funding" for Bitcoin's long-term security needs. The alliance will also serve as a reliable source of information for investors, the public, and the media in the field of Bitcoin security, with plans to publish and continuously update materials related to Bitcoin security in the coming months.

Noetra, a company developing foundational models for physical AI and robotics supported by the Japanese government, CEO Hironobu Tamba stated in an interview that the company represents Japan's "last chance" to enhance domestic supply capabilities for critical technologies. In its first year, Noetra received over 380 billion yen (approximately 2.33 billion USD) in government funding and support from 44 companies, including SoftBank, Honda, and Sony. The company plans to procure 27,500 Nvidia Rubin chips, starting AI infrastructure construction in April 2027 and commencing operations in June 2028.Tamba stated that Noetra will provide Japanese companies with reliable and secure foundational models, enabling them to manage data independently. The Japanese government's goal is to deploy 10 million AI robots in manufacturing, shipbuilding, nursing, and other fields by 2040, while also advancing key technology projects like the chip foundry company Rapidus to enhance self-sufficiency and technological levels in the Sino-U.S. AI competition.

According to Forbes, humanoid robot startup Humanoid announced the completion of a $152 million Series A funding round, with a post-investment valuation of $1.35 billion, becoming the first unicorn company in Europe focused on the humanoid robotics field.This round of financing was led by Prime Movers Lab, with participation from German industrial giants Schaeffler and Bosch, Taiwan's Fubon Financial Holdings venture capital, and LVMH Arnault family's investment firm Aglaé Ventures. After this financing, Humanoid's total funding amount has reached $270 million.

Fluidstack, a cloud computing startup focused on AI computing power leasing Neocloud, announced that it completed an $830 million Series A funding round in January, with a valuation of $7.5 billion. The round was led by the Situational Awareness fund of former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, with participation from multiple investors.According to reports, Fluidstack builds infrastructure for AI laboratories, aiming to become the company that can deploy hundreds of gigawatts of computing power the fastest in the world.

According to GlobeNewswire, AI security startup Neo announced the completion of a $100 million financing round, led by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Craft Ventures and Merlin Ventures.It is reported that the company positions itself as an "Agentic Software Control" company, dedicated to building a real-time control layer for enterprises, helping security operations teams (SecOps) manage and protect the rapidly proliferating AI agents, AI applications, browsers, identity systems, and intelligent capabilities in traditional software. The new funds will be used to expand the engineering and marketing teams and accelerate the expansion of enterprise customers.

According to Fortune, the prediction market platform Pascal announced the completion of a $9 million Series A financing round, planning to create a new generation of prediction market platform aimed at professional traders and institutional users, challenging the current market landscape dominated by Kalshi and Polymarket. This round of financing was led by Union Square Ventures (USV), with specific valuation undisclosed.This financing is an extension based on the $6 million seed round from last August, with early investors including Wintermute Ventures and DBA. Pascal is headquartered in New York and positions itself as a prediction market platform similar to Kalshi, but aims to provide users with lower fees, higher liquidity, and more specialized trading tools through a trading model closer to perpetual futures.Pascal co-founder Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen stated that they hope to establish a high liquidity prediction market for real business risks in the future, allowing companies to use these markets for risk management and hedging.

According to Tiger Research and RootData based on research of 9,416 investment transaction data from the first half of 2018 to 2026, the capital inflow in the cryptocurrency market reached $13.3 billion in the first half of 2026, which is basically on par with the total of $13.2 billion for the entire year of 2024. However, the number of financing rounds was only 435, a decrease of 78% from the peak of 1,978 rounds in 2022, indicating that market funds are accelerating towards a few large transactions.The report points out that the current cryptocurrency investment market is dominated by a few large crypto-native VCs focused on leading investments, as well as venture capital departments of exchanges with liquidity and marketing support, while medium-sized institutions are being rapidly squeezed out. In terms of financing structure, the number of seed round transactions decreased by 88% from 2022 to 81, while financing in Series A and later stages accounted for 75.2% of total investments, with Series A financing amounting to $745.8 million, exceeding the total amount of all seed round financing of $423.3 million during the same period.In terms of sectors, payments and stablecoins, centralized exchanges, and prediction markets have become the most concentrated areas of capital. The payments and stablecoins sector attracted $2.85 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, but about 84% of this was driven by mergers and acquisitions such as Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK and Payward's acquisition of Reap; the investment share in the CEX sector rose to 18.2%, while prediction markets rose to 17.5%. In contrast, the number of financing rounds in the gaming sector plummeted from 141 rounds in 2024 to only 5 rounds, a decrease of 96%. Additionally, traditional financial institutions participated in 54.5% of all investment transactions in the first half of 2026.It is reported that Tiger Research is an independent research institution established in 2022, covering the Asian digital asset market, with business operations in South Korea, Japan, China, and Indonesia, publishing institutional-level research content in five languages, with over 100,000 monthly readers and more than 200 institutional clients.

According to TechCrunch, Indian AI programming startup Emergent has completed a $130 million Series C funding round, with a post-money valuation of approximately $1.5 billion, an increase of about 5 times from a $300 million valuation in January this year. This round was led by private equity firm Creaegis, with participation from MNI Ventures-Claypond, Sentinel Global, as well as Khosla Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund II, Lightspeed, Y Combinator, among others, bringing the total funding to $230 million.Emergent focuses on providing an "engineering team as a service" AI programming platform for small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs. It currently has an annual revenue of approximately $120 million, with a growth of about 70% in the past four months, and over 200,000 paying users, serving industries including logistics, manufacturing, construction, and property management.

According to Fortune magazine, stablecoin payment infrastructure startup Velocity announced the completion of a $38 million Series A funding round, led by crypto investment firm Dragonfly, with participation from institutions such as Coinbase, Capital One Ventures, and Wintermute. Velocity CEO Eric Queathem did not disclose the latest funding valuation.Founded in 2025, Velocity focuses on providing stablecoin payment solutions for businesses, payment service providers, fintech companies, and financial institutions, helping them optimize cross-border payments, fund settlement, and fund management processes using dollar-pegged tokens. Currently, Velocity has covered markets in the United States, parts of Europe, and Australia, with plans to use the new funds to apply for licenses to expand into Africa and Latin America, while also investing in building a more secure asset custody infrastructure and developing new features, including stablecoin yield products.