{"name":"Press Pool AI startup funding","url":"https://presspool.ai","description":"AI companies that publicly announced a funding round, by week, with sources and the number of AI answers in the Machine Relations Index that cited each company's website.","weeks":[{"url":"https://presspool.ai/ai-startup-funding/week-of-2026-09-21","week":"2026-09-21","range":{"start":"2026-09-21","end":"2026-09-26"},"published":"2026-09-26","updated":"2026-09-26","index_release":"mri_score_v2.0+2026-09-25+04fcb7fb8f29","index_window":{"start":"2026-05-10","end":"2026-09-25"},"sources_note":"This week's candidates came from a funding-announcement feed over TechCrunch, Tech.eu and EU-Startups, from AlleyWatch's and Raise Track's daily funding reports, and from Crunchbase News, Bloomberg and Reuters; 24 of them met the AI rule and were confirmed.","rounds":[{"company":"Nscale","domain":"nscale.com","description":"Nscale is a full-stack AI cloud platform spanning software, compute and power, from AI training and inference to data centers.","round":"Pre-IPO convertible notes","amount_usd":3360000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$3.36 billion","date":"2026-09-25","lead_investors":["Third Point"],"note":"$2.36 billion is paid at closing and $1 billion is an Nvidia commitment expected in mid-November; the notes convert to shares when the IPO completes.","sources":[{"label":"Nscale","url":"https://www.nscale.com/press-releases/pre-ipo-convertible-financing"},{"label":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/25/ahead-of-u-s-ipo-british-ai-neocloud-nscale-secures-3-36b-in-convertible-finacing/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":4}},{"company":"Island","domain":"island.io","description":"Island, which began with its Enterprise Browser, gives organizations one control plane to govern people and AI agents across devices, applications and data.","round":"Series F","amount_usd":400000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$400 million","date":"2026-09-24","lead_investors":["Evolution Equity Partners"],"note":"Valuation: $6.4 billion.","sources":[{"label":"GlobeNewswire","url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2026/09/24/3368154/0/en/island-announces-400-million-series-f-bringing-valuation-to-6-4-billion.html"},{"label":"CNBC","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/24/island-ai-cybersecurity-funding.html"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Cyera","domain":"cyera.com","description":"Cyera's platform lets enterprises control what data people and AI agents can reach, securing data at rest, in motion and in use.","round":"Series G extension","amount_usd":400000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$400 million","date":"2026-09-22","investors_phrase":"Investor: Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives","note":"Valuation: over $12 billion.","sources":[{"label":"Cyera","url":"https://www.cyera.com/press-releases/cyera-announces-400-million-investment-from-goldman-sachs-to-build-the-trust-layer-for-the-agentic-enterprise"},{"label":"SecurityWeek","url":"https://www.securityweek.com/cyera-raises-400-million-at-12-billion-valuation/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":9}},{"company":"Snorkel AI","domain":"snorkel.ai","description":"Snorkel AI builds expert-curated datasets and environments that AI labs, enterprises and government agencies use to train and evaluate models.","round":"Series E","amount_usd":350000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$350 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Insight Partners","S32"],"note":"Valuation: $3.5 billion.","sources":[{"label":"Snorkel AI","url":"https://snorkel.ai/blog/data-2-0-and-the-research-era-of-ai-data/"},{"label":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/22/snorkel-ai-triples-valuation-to-3-5b-as-demand-for-ai-training-data-booms/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":13}},{"company":"Heidi","domain":"heidihealth.com","description":"Heidi builds an AI care partner for clinicians, including an AI scribe, a point-of-care research tool, dictation and an audio-capture device.","round":"Series C plus growth investment","amount_usd":340000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$340 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Blackbird","General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund"],"note":"Blackbird led the $100 million Series C at a $900 million valuation; General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund led a separate $240 million growth investment, which The Next Web reports is repaid from a capped share of revenue.","sources":[{"label":"Heidi","url":"https://www.heidihealth.com/en-au/blog/heidi-secures-us340m-to-scale-agents-across-health-systems-globally"},{"label":"The Next Web","url":"https://thenextweb.com/news/heidi-340m-series-c-900m-valuation"}],"index":{"cited_runs":11}},{"company":"Enveda","domain":"enveda.com","description":"Enveda is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that uses AI to identify molecules made by living organisms and develop them into oral medicines.","round":"Series E","amount_usd":311000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$311 million","date":"2026-09-23","lead_investors":["Catalio Capital Management"],"sources":[{"label":"Enveda","url":"https://enveda.com/news/enveda-raises-311-million/"},{"label":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/23/enveda-secures-311m-to-bring-more-nature-derived-ai-drugs-into-clinical-trials/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Verda","domain":"verda.com","description":"Verda, formerly DataCrunch, is a full-stack AI cloud company that runs its own data centers, hardware and platform to provide on-demand compute for AI.","round":"Series B plus additional investment","amount_usd":189000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$189 million (€163 million)","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Emergence Capital"],"sources":[{"label":"Verda","url":"https://verda.com/blog/verda-raises-189m"},{"label":"SiliconANGLE","url":"https://siliconangle.com/2026/09/22/european-neocloud-verda-raises-189m-to-build-the-ai-infrastructure-of-tomorrow/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":2}},{"company":"Basecamp Research","domain":"basecamp-research.com","description":"Basecamp Research trains AI models on a proprietary genomic dataset to design therapeutics, starting with in vivo cell therapy.","round":"Series C","amount_usd":140000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$140 million","date":"2026-09-23","lead_investors":["S32"],"note":"Nvidia's venture arm and the Menlo Ventures and Anthropic Anthology Fund also invested.","sources":[{"label":"PR Newswire","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/basecamp-research-raises-140m-to-advance-ai-designed-therapeutics-302887620.html"},{"label":"Tech.eu","url":"https://tech.eu/2026/09/23/anthropic-and-nvidia-back-basecamp-research-in-140m-series-c/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Go.AI","domain":"go.ai","description":"Go.AI, formerly Go Abacus, provides on-premises AI infrastructure, software and hardware, for regulated industries such as banking, healthcare and defense.","round":"Series A","amount_usd":85000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$85 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Updata Partners"],"sources":[{"label":"Go.AI","url":"https://go.ai/company/press/series-a-funding"},{"label":"RuntimeWire","url":"https://runtimewire.com/article/go-ai-raises-85m-on-prem-ai-regulated-industries"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Ema","domain":"ema.ai","description":"Ema provides AI employees for HR, IT and finance that plan and carry out work across the applications an enterprise already uses.","round":"Series B","amount_usd":77000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$77 million","date":"2026-09-23","lead_investors":["Creaegis"],"sources":[{"label":"GlobeNewswire","url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/23/3367506/0/en/ema-raises-77m-series-b-to-put-ai-employees-to-work-across-the-enterprise.html"},{"label":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/23/ema-raises-77m-as-ai-starts-eating-into-enterprise-software-and-services/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":1}},{"company":"BigHat Biosciences","domain":"bighatbio.com","description":"BigHat Biosciences designs protein therapeutics with a platform that pairs AI models with autonomous, high-throughput lab experiments.","round":"Series C","amount_usd":75000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$75 million","date":"2026-09-24","lead_investors":["DFJ Growth","Premji Invest"],"sources":[{"label":"BigHat Biosciences","url":"https://www.bighatbio.com/news/bighat-biosciences-announces-75-million-series-c-financing"},{"label":"BiopharmaTrend","url":"https://www.biopharmatrend.com/news/ai-drug-discovery-startups-raise-526-million-in-two-days-1601/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Firecrawl","domain":"firecrawl.dev","description":"Firecrawl is a web data API that searches, scrapes and interacts with websites, turning them into clean Markdown or structured data for AI agents.","round":"Series B","amount_usd":75000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$75 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Smash Capital"],"sources":[{"label":"Firecrawl","url":"https://www.firecrawl.dev/blog/introducing-alexandria-series-b"},{"label":"RuntimeWire","url":"https://runtimewire.com/article/firecrawl-raises-75m-series-b-alexandria-ai-agent-data"}],"index":{"cited_runs":46}},{"company":"Confido","domain":"confidotech.com","description":"Confido is an AI operating system for consumer packaged goods brands that runs their commercial and financial workflows on one set of data.","round":"Series B","amount_usd":55000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$55 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Insight Partners"],"sources":[{"label":"Confido","url":"https://www.confidotech.com/blogs/confido-raises-55m-series-b-to-scale-the-ai-operating-system-for-cpg-brands"},{"label":"Built In NYC","url":"https://www.builtinnyc.com/articles/confido-raises-55m-series-b-20260922"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Ande","domain":"ande.ai","description":"Ande is an AI-native network where companies book corporate entertainment, such as client dinners and team outings, and manage approvals, contracts and expenses.","round":"Seed and Series A","amount_usd":52000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"more than $52 million","date":"2026-09-22","investors_phrase":"Investors: Lightspeed, Redpoint, Duration and Sierra, with Bain Capital Ventures","sources":[{"label":"PR Newswire","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ande-raises-52m-seed-and-series-a-to-launch-the-first-entertainment-operating-system-for-enterprises-302885220.html"},{"label":"AlleyWatch","url":"https://www.alleywatch.com/2026/09/the-alleywatch-startup-daily-funding-report-9-22-2026/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Baselayer","domain":"baselayer.com","description":"Baselayer provides identity and risk infrastructure that financial institutions use to verify businesses, and is extending it to AI agents acting for them.","round":"Series A","amount_usd":35000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$35 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["M13"],"sources":[{"label":"PR Newswire","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baselayer-raises-35m-series-a-led-by-m13-launches-identity-infrastructure-for-ai-agents-302885670.html"},{"label":"Crunchbase News","url":"https://news.crunchbase.com/ai/verifying-ai-agents-baselayer-35m-raise/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Chamelio","domain":"chamelio.ai","description":"Chamelio is an AI-native platform for in-house legal teams that drafts, reviews and negotiates contracts and runs approvals and other legal workflows.","round":"Series A","amount_usd":26000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$26 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Entrée Capital"],"sources":[{"label":"PR Newswire","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/chamelio-raises-26m-series-a-to-replace-legacy-clm-with-ai-native-in-house-legal-operations-302886011.html"},{"label":"Artificial Lawyer","url":"https://www.artificiallawyer.com/2026/09/22/chamelio-raises-26m-series-a/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"UltraSight","domain":"ultrasight.com","description":"UltraSight combines training, real-time AI guidance and analytics so clinicians can perform focused cardiac ultrasound exams under physician oversight.","round":"Series B2","amount_usd":24000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$24 million","date":"2026-09-23","lead_investors":["Alive HealthTech Growth Fund"],"sources":[{"label":"UltraSight","url":"https://ultrasight.com/ultrasight-raises-24-million-to-scale-its-ai-guided-cardiac-workflow-platform-across-u-s-health-systems/"},{"label":"HIT Consultant","url":"https://hitconsultant.net/2026/09/23/ultrasight-secures-24m-series-b2-ai-cardiac-ultrasound-echosystem-jama-cardiology/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Spott","domain":"spott.io","description":"Spott is an AI-native applicant tracking system and CRM for recruitment agencies that turns calls, emails and CVs into data teams can act on.","round":"Series A","amount_usd":21000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$21 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Balderton Capital"],"sources":[{"label":"Spott","url":"https://spott.io/series-a"},{"label":"Tech.eu","url":"https://tech.eu/2026/09/22/spott-secures-21m-series-a-to-expand-its-ai-platform-for-recruitment-agencies/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Soteris","domain":"soteris.ai","description":"Soteris is an AI platform that gives property and casualty insurers policy-level insight into profitability and expected loss ratio at quote and renewal.","round":"Seed","amount_usd":8000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"more than $8 million","date":"2026-09-22","lead_investors":["Spider Capital"],"note":"Disclosed when the company came out of stealth; Spider Capital lists the seed as led in 2025.","sources":[{"label":"Soteris","url":"https://soteris.ai/news/product-launch/"},{"label":"FinTech Global","url":"https://fintech.global/2026/09/22/soteris-raises-8m-seed-to-fix-hidden-pc-profit-leaks/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Dextr AI","domain":"dextr.ai","description":"Dextr AI provides AI agents that automate hotel and resort work across guest experience, reservations, staff operations, sales and marketing.","round":"Seed","amount_usd":6700000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$6.7 million","date":"2026-09-24","lead_investors":["Elevation Capital"],"sources":[{"label":"Dextr AI","url":"https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=360910"},{"label":"Crunchbase News","url":"https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/dextr-ai-hospitality-agents-raises-seed-funding/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"50skills","domain":"50skills.com","description":"50skills lets HR teams describe people processes such as onboarding in plain language, then builds and runs them with workflows, AI agents and human oversight.","amount_usd":6000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$6 million","date":"2026-09-24","lead_investors":["Frumtak Ventures","Swiss Post Ventures","Avant","DRD Investments"],"sources":[{"label":"50skills","url":"https://www.50skills.com/blog/50skills-raises-6-million-as-demand-grows-for-its-ai-operating-system-for-people-workflows"},{"label":"Tech.eu","url":"https://tech.eu/2026/09/24/50skills-raises-6m-to-scale-its-ai-operating-system-for-people-workflows/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Fearn","domain":"fearn.ai","description":"Fearn is an AI-native patent firm for startups whose former Big Law patent specialists draft and prosecute patents using models built for patent law.","amount_usd":5500000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$5.5 million","date":"2026-09-23","investors_phrase":"Investors: Kindred Ventures, a16z Speedrun, Designer Fund and Essence VC","note":"Disclosed at the company's launch; no lead investor named in the release.","sources":[{"label":"GlobeNewswire","url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/23/3367529/0/en/ai-native-patent-firm-fearn-launches-to-take-on-the-billable-hour-in-a-14b-market.html"},{"label":"Tech Funding News","url":"https://techfundingnews.com/fearn-raises-5-5m-led-by-kindred-to-build-an-ai-native-patent-firm-for-startups/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Kontext","domain":"kontext.security","description":"Kontext is a runtime security platform that sits between AI agents and the systems they use, checking each action against security policy.","amount_usd":4000000,"currency":"USD","amount_text":"$4 million","date":"2026-09-24","lead_investors":["42CAP"],"sources":[{"label":"Kontext","url":"https://kontext.security/blog/kontext-raises-4m-funding"},{"label":"Tech.eu","url":"https://tech.eu/2026/09/24/kontext-raises-4m-for-runtime-security-platform-for-ai-agents/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}},{"company":"Reply Next","domain":"replynext.com","description":"Reply Next is an AI platform that helps brands with many locations manage their online visibility, reviews and customer interactions in one place.","round":"Pre-seed","currency":"EUR","amount_text":"€400,000","date":"2026-09-24","lead_investors":["4Founders Capital"],"sources":[{"label":"Tech.eu","url":"https://tech.eu/2026/09/24/ai-platform-reply-next-secures-eur400k-pre-seed-funding/"}],"index":{"cited_runs":0}}]}]}