In addition to the folks at Playground, we wanted to give a quick shout-out to FinStrat Management, the outsourced financial department services firm that serves early-stage startups and raised its hand to partner with us on what is going to be a very fun, very informative night in a couple of weeks in Palo Alto; thanks to both teams for making the evening possible. 🎉

Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings briefly lifted global markets before a broad tech selloff erased the gains, signaling how fragile investor confidence has become amid stretched valuations, volatile rate expectations, and mounting concerns about the durability of the AI trade. The WSJ has more here.

“Every quarter, we pull together a spreadsheet that we all type PortCo data into. There is a lot of back and forth - when did that board meeting happen? Where are the notes?” 

- Ops team at a $30B Growth Fund. 

Make reporting less painful with PortfolioIQ. 

By Marina Temkin

Kalshi, a prediction market that allows people to bet on future events, has raised a massive $1 billion round at an $11 billion valuation, according to a person familiar with the deal. The round comes less than two months after the seven-year-old startup announced its previous fundraise of $300 million at a $5 billion valuation.

The latest round is led by the company’s returning investors Sequoia and CapitalG, the person said. Other investors in Kalshi include Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Anthos Capital, and Neo.

Kalshi and Sequoia declined to comment. CapitalG didn’t respond to our request for comment.

Kalshi’s main rival, Polymarket, was reportedly in talks last month to raise another funding round at a $12 billion to $15 billion valuation, mere weeks after closing a $1 billion round at an $8 billion pre-money valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Kalshi and Polymarket surged in popularity last year after both prediction markets allowed people to bet on the outcome of the presidential election. These betting sites became even more prominent after they correctly predicted the results of New York City’s mayoral election earlier this month.

For the Mamdani versus Cuomo race, Kalshi purchased ad space on New York subway cars, running live screens that displayed the up-to-the-minute odds of each candidate winning, a marketing campaign that undoubtedly raised the company’s brand awareness among New Yorkers.

Kalshi allows people in over 140 countries to bet on various future events, ranging from who Time magazine will name Person of the Year for 2025 and the Rotten Tomatoes score for the film Wicked, to outcomes further in the future, like the next U.S. presidential election winner.

Amperesand, a three-year-old Singapore startup that develops medium voltage solid-state transformer power systems, raised an $80 million Series A round co-led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and Temasek, with Industry Ventures, Acclimate Ventures, and SG Growth Capital as well as previous investors Xora Innovation, Material Impact, TDK Ventures, and Foothill Ventures also participating. More here.

Arbiter, a New York startup founded this year that uses AI to connect patient data to automate referrals, appointment scheduling, and other care-coordination tasks, raised a $52 million seed round at a $400 million valuation, according to Business Insider. The deal was co-led by TriEdge Investments and MFO Ventures, with WindRose Health Investors also taking part. More here.

Genspark, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that builds AI workplace agents to automate everyday office tasks, raised a $275 million Series B round at a $1.25 billion post-money valuation. Investors included Emergence Capital Partners, SBI Investment, LG Technology Ventures, UpHonest Capital, and Pavilion Capital. Forbes has more here.

Incode Technologies, an eleven-year-old San Francisco company that offers biometric and document-based identity verification, is reportedly looking to raise up to $300 million at a $3 billion valuation. Bloomberg has more here.

NestAI, a Helsinki startup founded this year that builds physical AI products for unmanned vehicles, autonomous operations, and defense command and control systems, raised a $115.2 million round co-led by Tesi and Nokia. TechCrunch has more here.

Peek, a 14-year-old San Francisco company that provides booking and management software for tours, attractions, and other experiences, raised a $70 million Series D round led by Springcoast Partners, with previous investors WestCap, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Eric Schmidt, and Paul English also participating. The company has raised a total of $150+ million. PhocusWire has more here.

Physical Intelligence, a two-year-old startup based in San Francisco that develops AI software to help robots learn general-purpose tasks, raised a $600 million round at a $5.6 billion valuation. CapitalG was the deal lead, with Index Ventures and T. Rowe Price as well as previous investors Lux Capital, Thrive Capital, and Jeff Bezos also digging in. Bloomberg has more here.

Profluent, a four-year-old startup based in Emeryville, CA, that develops AI models for protein design, raised a $106 million round co-led by Altimeter Capital and Bezos Expeditions, with additional participation from previous investors Spark Capital, Insight Partners, and Air Street Capital. The company has raised a total of $150 million. More here.

Archetype AI, a three-year-old Palo Alto startup that analyzes real-time sensor data with AI to detect and describe real world conditions, raised a $35 million Series A round co-led by IAG Capital Partners and Hitachi Ventures and including Bezos Expeditions, Venrock, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Samsung Ventures, Systemiq Capital, E12 Ventures, and Higher Life Ventures. More here.

Coverbase, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that helps large, regulated organizations use AI to automate vendor procurement and third-party risk reviews, raised a $16.5 million Series A round led by Canapi Ventures, with Fika Ventures, TTV Capital, Pear VC, Valley Bank, and Founders You Should Know also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $20 million. Crunchbase News has more here.

NcodiN, a two-year-old Paris startup that develops photonic interposers with integrated nanolasers to overcome the speed and energy limits of traditional semiconductor hardware, raised an $18.4 million seed round led by MIG Capital, with Maverick Silicon, PhotonVentures, and Verve Ventures as well as previous investors Elaia, Earlybird, and OVNI also participating. Tech.eu has more here.

Okami Medical, an eight-year-old startup based in Aliso Viejo, CA, that develops vascular embolization devices for peripheral vessel occlusion, raised a $45 million round led by Gilde Healthcare, with previous investors US Venture Partners and Vensana Capital also contributing. Medical Device Network has more here.

Revenium, a startup based in Herndon, VA, that helps companies measure and manage the ROI of their AI spend, raised a $13.5 million seed round led by Two Bear Capital, with WestWave Capital also opting in. More here.

Sortera Technologies, a five-year-old startup based in Markle, IN, that uses AI and advanced sensors to sort high-value aluminum alloys from mixed scrap, raised a $45 million round led by T. Rowe Price, with VXI Capital and Yamaha Motor Ventures also investing. Canary Media has more here.

Stuut Technologies, a two-year-old New York startup that uses AI to automate accounts receivable tasks, raised a $29.5 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Activant Capital, Khosla Ventures, 1984 Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, Page One Ventures, Vesey Ventures, and Valley Ventures also pitching in. More here.

Twenty, a one-year-old startup based in Arlington, VA, that helps military hackers automate ways to identify and penetrate target computer networks, raised a $38 million Series A round. The deal was led by Caffeinated Capital, with General Catalyst and In-Q-Tel also participating. Bloomberg has more here.

Wispr, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that develops voice dictation technology, raised a $25 million round led by Notable Capital, with Flight Fund also joining in. The company has raised a total of $81 million. TechCrunch has more here.

AlphaXiv, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that provides an AI research hub to help engineers find, evaluate, and apply new academic AI methods, raised a $7 million seed round co-led by Menlo Ventures and Haystack, with Shakti VC, Conviction Embed, and Eric Schmidt also participating. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Annie, a two-year-old startup based in Lehi, UT, that is creating an AI co-worker for dental practices, raised a $4 million seed round co-led by Las Olas Venture Capital and Chicago Ventures, with Gamba Ventures also chipping in. TechBuzz News has more here.

Athian, a four-year-old Indianapolis startup that helps livestock producers cut greenhouse gas emissions and generate Scope 3-aligned credits by adopting science-based sustainability practices, raised a $4 million Series A round. Investors included Ajinomoto Group Ventures, Chipotle Mexican Grill Cultivate Next Fund, Mondelēz International Sustainable Futures, Australian Agriculture Company, California Dairies, Elanco Animal Health, dsm-firmenich Ventures, Newtrient, and Tyson Ventures. More here.

Deduction, a one-year-old New York startup that provides an AI tax accountant for U.S. consumers by combining autonomous agent workflows with human CPA oversight, raised a $2.8 million pre-seed round led by One Way Ventures and including Creator Ventures, Alpine VC, and Intuition. StartupBeat has more here.

Ember, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that uses AI to help health systems prevent insurance claim denials and improve collections, raised a $4.3 million seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with Y Combinator also opting in. HIT Consultant has more here.

Kaaj, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that uses AI to automate credit risk analysis so lenders can evaluate small business loans in minutes rather than days, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures, with Better Tomorrow Ventures also investing. TechCrunch has more here.

Logistica OS, a Berlin startup founded this year that builds AI agents to automate supply-chain workflows such as reading handwritten delivery slips and reconciling pallet balances, raised a $1.7 million pre-seed round led by NAP. Tech.eu has more here.

Manta Cares, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that offers a free digital platform to help cancer patients and their care partners track symptoms, medications, appointments, treatment decisions, and everyday logistics, raised a $5.4 million seed round co-led by Pear VC and Sozo Ventures, with 1843 Capital also chiming in. Femtech Insider has more here.

Orion, a one-year-old New York startup that provides AI-driven risk intelligence to help enterprises predict and respond to real-world threats such as protests, natural disasters, and supply-chain disruptions, raised a $3.5 million seed round. Dynamo Ventures led the deal, with Bravo Victor Venture Capital, Techstars Central, and Service Provider Capital also contributing. SiliconANGLE has more here.

Pibit.AI, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that provides an AI system to extract, enrich, and flag risk data for underwriters, raised a $7 million Series A round led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with Y Combinator and Arali Ventures also digging in. Forbes has more here.

Poly, a four-year-old San Francisco startup that helps users tag, summarize, organize, and generate content from their cloud files using AI, raised an $8 million seed round. Felicis was the deal lead, with Bloomberg Beta, NextView, Figma Ventures, AI Grant, Wing Ventures, and MVP Ventures also engaging. More here.

Synthio Labs, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that uses voice AI to help life sciences companies engage clinicians and patients through secure, compliant conversations, raised a $5 million seed round led by Elevation Capital, with 1984 Ventures, Peak XV Partners, and Y Combinator also anteing up. The Economic Times has more here.

Private capital enters 2026 at a turning point. According to Affinity’s 2026 Predictions Survey, 54% of investors say proving the value of existing funds is their top challenge, while 67% expect more deal activity despite exit uncertainty. Join leaders from Northwestern Mutual and Armira for Affinity’s 2026 Private Capital Predictions webinar to uncover how firms are adapting strategies, strengthening LP relationships, and using AI to drive performance in a volatile market. 

Meron Capital, an eight-year-old Tel Aviv VC firm that backs early-stage companies across sectors like AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and digital health, raised $70 million for its third fund. More here.

Verizon is cutting more than 13,000 jobs as its new CEO pushes to slash costs, reverse shrinking postpaid subscriber numbers, and reorient the carrier around winning back wireless and home-internet customers. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

When it comes to Elon Musk, Grok apparently knows which side its bread is buttered on, calling the South African billionaire “strikingly handsome,” with a “lean, athletic physique” that makes him “fitter than LeBron James” and strong enough to beat Mike Tyson in a fight because of his “grit and ingenuity.” TechCrunch has more here.

Shernaz Daver, a marketing maven who helped turn Khosla Ventures into an AI powerhouse, is moving on; she talks with Connie about some of her tricks of the trade.

Tel Aviv-based VC firm Team8 has appointed Galia Beer-Gabel as Managing Director in New York, where she will focus on embedding AI and secure infrastructure into financial institutions. CTech has more here.

Grokipedia is drawing scrutiny after Cornell University researchers found it repeatedly cites neo-Nazi, white nationalist, and conspiracy sites as sources. NBC News has more here.

New research from Common Sense Media and Stanford Medicine warns that teens relying on chatbots for mental-health support face real danger as the systems routinely miss signs of hallucinations, paranoid thinking, disordered eating, manic symptoms, self-harm, and depression. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Farmers facing falling dairy prices are turning cow cuddling into a steady side business, charging visitors to snuggle trained calves as small farms look for new ways to stay afloat.

Actually telling the time seems to be beside the point with this $99,000 Bell & Ross BR-X3 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor.

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