Crunchbase data shows global venture funding hit $300 billion in the first quarter of 2026, an all-time high, with AI companies capturing $242 billion, or 80% of that total. Despite the surge, an advisor to high-growth and venture-backed firms notes that founders are increasingly losing deals not because of weak technology, but because of shaky financial and operational foundations that investors uncover during due diligence.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-08-28
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou, is said to be raising fresh capital that would value the company at roughly $74 billion. The funds are intended to support research and development along with an expansion of its computing infrastructure.
wsj.com
· 2026-08-27
Instinct, founded last year by 23-year-old Noah Shinn under parent company Spear Street Technology, has closed a $250 million Series B round led by Index Ventures and Benchmark. The deal pushes the young startup's total funding to $350 million and its valuation to $2.5 billion, driven by buzz around its AI assistant that manages users' schedules, purchases and subscriptions through texts and calls.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-27
Stripe has acquired Clerky, an online legal services platform used by startups and their attorneys to handle routine formation and financing paperwork. Clerky says it will keep its existing team and focus after joining Stripe, continuing to serve the same startup and attorney customer base. The company reports its startups account for 23% of Silicon Valley seed and pre-seed financings and have collectively raised over $140 billion in venture capital.
clerky.com
· 2026-08-26
Deep Cogito, a startup founded by former Google AI search employees, has raised $43 million in funding. The capital will support the company's mission of helping businesses develop their own specialized AI models rather than relying solely on third-party systems.
wsj.com
· 2026-08-26
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