startups

Vibe-coding startup Lovable raises $400M, doubles valuation to $13.3B

Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable announced on Wednesday that it has closed a $400 million Series C round at a $13.3 billion valuation, roughly doubling the $6.6 billion it commanded when it closed its Series B in December. The round was…

Google chief scientist departs after 27 years to launch AI startup Discovery Loop

Jeff Dean, Google's chief scientist and one of its longest-serving employees, is departing the company after 27 years to launch Discovery Loop, a startup aimed at automating the scientific method using artificial intelligence. He is joined by three other prominent…

European AI startups raise record $23B in first half of 2026

European AI startups raised a record $23 billion in the first half of 2026, a 130% year-over-year surge that captured 55% of all venture capital deployed in the region, according to the 2026 European AI Economy Report released Tuesday by…

July set a record 14 billion-dollar venture rounds as global startup funding doubled

Global venture funding totaled $65 billion in July 2026, doubling year over year and notching a record 14 billion-dollar rounds in a single month, according to Crunchbase data published Monday. The milestone extends a historic run of mega-financings that has…

DeepSeek eyes $71B valuation in new round weeks after raising $7.4B

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has begun preliminary talks with investors about raising fresh capital at a pre-money valuation of approximately $71 billion, less than a month after closing a record-breaking $7.4 billion maiden fundraising round, according to the Financial Times.

All 27 EU nations back €80B tech investment alliance

The European Investment Bank Group on Friday formally launched the second phase of the European Tech Champions Initiative, an ambitious fund-of-funds program that aims to mobilize up to €80 billion in investment to scale up the continent's most promising technology…

European startups raise $24B in Q2, best quarter in 4 years

European startups raised $24 billion in the second quarter of 2026, marking the region's strongest venture funding quarter in four years, according to Crunchbase data published this week. The figure represents a roughly two-thirds increase year over year and a…

Lovable reportedly seeks $300M at $13.2B valuation

Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable is in talks to raise $300 million at a $13.2 billion post-money valuation, roughly doubling the $6.6 billion it achieved in its Series B round last December, according to a report by Sifted cited by multiple…

Nearly 90 startups hit unicorn status in record first half of 2026

The first half of 2026 has produced almost 90 new unicorn companies — startups valued at $1 billion or more — with artificial intelligence firms dominating the class, according to TechCrunch tracking using Crunchbase and PitchBook data. The pace more…

Global VC hits record $510B in first half of 2026

Global startup investment reached a record $510 billion in the first half of 2026, already surpassing the $440 billion invested across all of 2025, according to Crunchbase's latest half-year report authored by senior data editor Gené Teare. The figure underscores…

ElevenLabs explores $22B valuation in employee share sale

ElevenLabs, the AI voice startup, is in early discussions with investors about a secondary tender offering that would value the company at roughly $22 billion, according to Bloomberg. The proposed transaction would allow employees to sell shares, with the tender…

DeepSeek raises $7.4B in first funding round at $50B-plus valuation

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has closed its first-ever external funding round, raising more than 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) at a valuation exceeding $50 billion, according to a report by The Information on Tuesday. The deal employed an unusual…

Mistral AI in talks to raise €3B at €20B valuation

French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI is in discussions to raise approximately €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in new funding at a valuation of roughly €20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The round would nearly double the company's…

Kimi chatbot maker Moonshot AI seeks $30B valuation

Moonshot AI, the Beijing-based developer of the Kimi chatbot, is in discussions to raise between $1 billion and $2 billion in a new funding round that would value the startup at as much as $30 billion, according to a person…