With investment from Georgian, Hedosophia, Khosla Ventures, and NVentures, new round takes total funding over $200M
NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2025 — PolyAI, a leader in enterprise conversational AI, has raised $86 million in Series D funding, co-led by Georgian, Hedosophia, and Khosla Ventures. Additional investors include NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), British Business Bank, Citi Ventures, Squarepoint Ventures, Sands Capital, Zendesk Ventures, and Point72 Ventures.
PolyAI has now surpassed $200 million in total funding to power helpful, human-like conversations that transform how enterprises speak with their customers. The company counts 100+ enterprises as customers today, with over 2,000 live deployments across 45 languages and more than 25 countries.
According to a Total Economic Impact™ study by Forrester, PolyAI customers achieve 391% return on investment, including an average of $10.3 million in savings, improved customer and employee experiences, stronger insights, and significant increases in profit.
The company’s agentic AI now does the work of 1,000+ full-time employees at multiple enterprises. Its customers span financial services, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, energy, and retail — including household names such as Marriott, Caesars Entertainment, PG&E, UniCredit, Foot Locker, and many more. Across PolyAI’s customer base, its AI agents’ impact amounts to around $1 billion in total value created each year.
“PolyAI started with a simple idea: enterprises should sound human,” said Nikola Mrkšić, CEO and Co-Founder of PolyAI. “We turned that idea into reality, and it led to something far greater: the emergence of the agentic enterprise. This is a living, breathing system that understands what your customers, employees, and AI agents are doing in real time — and helps them all succeed together. Like seeing a single drop of water and fixing a leak before it bursts, the agentic enterprise can detect and respond to problems and opportunities before human agents even know they exist. We’re building this future with the world’s leading enterprises, where our AI helps millions of customers every day.”
Emily Walsh, Lead Investor at Georgian and a returning investor through three consecutive rounds, added: “For the world’s largest brands, customer service is no longer just a cost center, it’s a massive opportunity for value creation. PolyAI’s ability to deploy lifelike voice agents at enterprise scale unlocks significant savings and revenue. We believe that PolyAI is building the category-defining platform for customer service in the AI era, and we’re excited to co-lead this round.”
PolyAI will use this latest funding to further develop the proprietary technology behind its Agent Studio platform and expand go-to-market efforts, with the goal of enabling more global enterprises to transform toward the agentic future.
About PolyAI PolyAI is transforming customer experience with AI agents that help enterprises show up as the best versions of themselves in every conversation. We are trusted by global leaders including Marriott, Caesars Entertainment, PG&E, and UniCredit to handle their most complex customer interactions. Our agents deliver human-level understanding with enterprise-grade reliability, and many of our largest deployments already do the work of 1,000+ full-time employees.
Backed by $6M in Funding, the company cuts through industry jargon with a glass-only, spring-sourced water that’s precisely filtered, mineralized, and third-party certified
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12, 2025 — Loonen, the first purified spring water that’s glass-bottled, third-party certified, and tastefully balanced with minerals your body needs, launches today. Alongside its debut in select retailers across California and nationwide on Amazon, the brand has secured $6M in funding led by Brand Foundry Ventures to help set a new standard in bottled water.
Loonen Sparkling Water
Loonen Still Water
The idea for Loonen began with Clara Sieg, a new mom and longtime venture investor. After seeing progress across nearly every consumer category, she was struck by how little evolution had taken place in the most essential one: water. Nearly half of U.S. tap water contains PFAS, with over 55% of systems testing positive for lead, and no federal limits for microplastics in bottled or tap water. The bottled water industry, long marketed as a cleaner alternative, is often less regulated than the tap. Loonen exists to change that.
“Loonen was born from a moment of panic that turned into purpose,” said Clara Sieg, co-founder of Loonen. “When I was pregnant with my daughter, I became aware of how much plastic and contamination hides in the water we drink. Partnering with David, who understands the structural issues in the beverage industry, turned that urgency into a solution: water that’s verified clean, free from microplastics, and balanced with the highest quality minerals to taste the way water should.”
Together with co-founder David Kimmell, a seasoned beverage operator who helped build Spindrift into a nationally recognized brand, they identified that most bottled waters fall into two flawed categories: purified municipal tap waters that retain chemical byproducts, or minimally treated “natural” sources that can carry trace contaminants like nitrates, arsenic, and radiologicals. Believing that clean water should not be a tradeoff, the two set out to create a water that lived up to its promise, marrying a high-quality source with equally high-quality filtration, mineralization, and bottling.
“After years in the beverage industry, I saw how little transparency existed, especially in bottled water,” said David Kimmell, co-founder of Loonen. “Consumers believed they were getting something clean, but the sourcing and bottling practices behind most products told a different story. That gap drove us to create Loonen with a different level of integrity.”
Loonen’s process begins with protected mountain springs in California. The water is transported in stainless steel, purified through a chemical-free physical membrane filtration, and then precisely mineralized with lab-tested elements like trace magnesium and Celtic sea salt for a naturally crisp taste. Each batch is verified by accredited third-party labs, with results accessible via a QR code on every bottle and box.
Drawing on the scientific research that shaped its founding, Loonen is further supported by a group of leading health and wellness experts who guide the company’s approach to purity and transparency. Its advisory board includes Robin Berzin, MD (functional medicine), Manasa Mantravadi, MD (pediatrics), Kelly LeVeque, CCN (clinical nutrition), and Alisa Vitti, HHC, AADP (hormonal health and nutrition).
“As a pediatrician, I’ve seen how something as simple as water can be one of the most powerful tools for a child’s health,” said Dr. Manasa Mantravadi. “At the same time, we know that plastics can leach harmful chemicals into what our kids eat and drink. Choosing water that is free from harmful chemicals isn’t just better for children’s growth and development today – it’s an investment in their long-term health as adults.”
Loonen is available nationwide on Amazon and in select retailers across California. Broader distribution will follow in 2026.
About Loonen
Loonen is a modern bottled water company committed to purity, transparency, and responsible design. The company sources water from protected mountain springs, filters to remove what others miss, rebalances with essential minerals, and bottles exclusively in glass. Every bottle is tested for forever chemicals, microplastics, and over 300 contaminants – then third-party verified with results publicly shared. Loonen is water as it should be. To learn more, visit loonen.com or follow along on Instagram @loonenwater.
Financing funds the global Phase 2b clinical trial in atopic dermatitis and Phase 2 clinical program in molluscum contagiosum
ANNAPOLIS, Md., Dec. 12, 2025 — Alphyn Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage dermatology company developing first-in-class Multi-Target Therapeutics®, today announced the close of its $25 million, twice-oversubscribed Series B financing. Proceeds will fund the Phase 2b global clinical trial of Alphyn’s lead drug candidate, Zabalafin Hydrogel, for atopic dermatitis (AD), initiate a second Phase 2 clinical program for the treatment of the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), and expand the company’s supply of drug raw material.
The round was led by QCA Investment Group and included existing investors Angel Physicians Fund, Serial Stage Venture Partners, a corporate fund, and several new investors.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support of our current and new investors. This financing reflects their confidence in our Multi-Target Therapeutic Drug Platform and our unique and highly differentiated drug candidates for atopic dermatitis and the molluscum contagiosum virus,” said Alphyn CEO Neal Koller. “We are well-positioned to rapidly advance Zabalafin Hydrogel towards our next key milestones – two pivotal Phase 3 trials – while broadening our pipeline of breakthrough therapies for skin diseases.”
Alphyn is developing Zabalafin Hydrogel as the first therapeutic to directly treat the distinct but interconnected drivers of AD – inflammation, itch, bacteria, and dry skin – and to directly treat the distinct but interconnected drivers of MCV – the virus itself, itch, inflammation and, in many sufferers, dermatitis (molluscum rash) and the added bacterial infection with its associated pain. Drugs on the market and being studied in clinical trials for both diseases directly target only one of the disease drivers, leaving the body to later fight the others. Zabalafin Hydrogel, with its expected strong efficacy and patient tolerability profile, has the potential for sustained management and long-term control of these diseases. For MCV, it has the potential to be the first direct antiviral drug that is safe, gentle and effective, and therefore the first real treatment option for the millions of children afflicted with this disease. Current marketed therapeutics destroy the skin and are blistering and painful for patients.
“Alphyn is breaking new ground with a first-in-class, natural topical therapeutic that is expected to directly addresses all of AD’s problems and have the potential for long-term, continuous use,” said Tony Shipley, chairman of Alphyn’s lead investor, QCA Investment Group. “With an experienced leadership team and their continued strong execution, Alphyn is poised to meet two tremendous market needs and bring patients a highly innovative new therapy for AD and MCV.”
ABOUT ALPHYN BIOLOGICS
Alphyn Biologics, Inc. is a clinical-stage dermatology company developing first-in-class Multi-Target Therapeutics® for severe and prevalent skin diseases based on its Zabalafin Platform. Its lead product candidate, Zabalafin Hydrogel, is being developed as a topical treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common form of eczema, and the molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), an unsightly, pruritic (itchy), and highly contagious skin infection predominantly in children.
Zabalafin Hydrogel is unique in its ability to directly treat all the interconnected problems of both AD and MCV. For AD, Zabalafin Hydrogel directly treats the immuno-inflammatory component of the disease, directly treats pruritus (itch), directly treats the bacterial component of AD, and directly treats xerosis (dry skin). For MCV, Zabalafin directly targets the virus itself, directly treats itch, directly treats inflammation and, in many sufferers, directly treats dermatitis (molluscum rash) and the added problem of bacterial infection with its associated pain.
Alphyn’s Zabalafin Platform has multiple bioactive compounds and, therefore, multiple mechanisms of action to support treatment of an individual disease in multiple ways, for anticipated improved efficacy, and to provide a robust pipeline of dermatologic therapeutics that have potential advantages in efficacy, safety, side effect, patient tolerability, and regulatory marketing authorization. Alphyn is based in Annapolis, Maryland, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Australia and Austria. The company became operational in 2020 and has raised approximately $34 million.
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2025 — Azio AI, the artificial intelligence compute and GPU infrastructure subsidiary of Azio, today announced its active participation in early-stage technical and infrastructure discussions supporting the Philippines’ national initiative to modernize and restructure its sovereign investment platform, including the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) and Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC).
The engagement follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2024 directive to pause and comprehensively restructure the MIF, initiating a renewed 2024–2025 planning cycle focused on governance reform, capital optimization, and long-term national development priorities. As part of this reset, Philippine policymakers and advisors are evaluating artificial intelligence compute, data-center infrastructure, and sovereign digital capacity as foundational components of future economic competitiveness.
Azio AI’s involvement reflects the Company’s broader corporate strategy to expand into sovereign, government, and public-sector AI infrastructure—an emerging global market driven by national data sovereignty requirements, AI industrial policy, and the need for domestically controlled compute capacity.
Strategic Positioning for Sovereign-Scale AI Infrastructure
Azio AI has been engaged in non-binding, early-stage technical discussions to assist with the evaluation of GPU-based AI data centers, sovereign compute architectures, and modular deployment models aligned with international best practices and comparable sovereign modernization frameworks.
As a certified distributor of Supermicro (NASDAQ: SMCI) high-density server systems and NVIDIA GPU platforms, Azio AI is positioned to support sovereign and public-sector stakeholders across the AI infrastructure value chain, including equipment pathway analysis, modular data-center design, and phased deployment planning.
Investor Perspective: Strategic Significance
From an investor perspective, sovereign and public-sector AI infrastructure represents a structurally attractive growth vertical characterized by large-scale deployments, phased capital investment cycles, and long-term infrastructure expansion. Governments worldwide are increasingly treating AI compute as strategic national infrastructure, similar to energy, telecommunications, and transportation.
Azio AI believes this positioning supports long-term shareholder value by aligning the Company with multi-year infrastructure initiatives that may include recurring hardware deployments, system upgrades, and expansion opportunities across multiple jurisdictions.
Outlook
Azio AI will continue supporting technical evaluations, infrastructure modeling, and deployment frameworks as Philippine authorities advance toward their 2025 MIF restructuring objectives. Any potential commercial engagement remains subject to definitive agreements, regulatory approvals, and standard corporate governance processes.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding potential future engagements, infrastructure deployments, market opportunities, and strategic positioning. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
About Azio
Azio is a technology-focused company providing advanced computing, infrastructure, and digital solutions across enterprise, public-sector, and emerging technology markets. Through its subsidiaries, Azio supports organizations seeking scalable, high-performance systems designed to meet modern data and AI-driven demands.
About Azio AI
AZIO AI (www.azionai.ai) provides enterprise-grade GPU servers, AI compute clusters, and scalable data-infrastructure solutions. The Company supports governments, universities, media organizations, and enterprise AI teams with high-performance hardware and modular infrastructure designed for mission-critical workloads.
The startups, from a range of industries — including media, SaaS, fintech, and entertainment — were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants across the United States. They reflect rising demand for culturally grounded innovation and scalable solutions that serve diverse populations and markets.
This second GROWTH cohort continues Geekz Ventures’ mission to back overlooked and underestimated founders building early-stage tech ventures.
“This year’s Geekz Ventures cohort is one of the most innovative and imaginative groups I’ve ever worked with,” saidGeekz Ventures Program Manager Brandon Wilkins. “Their ideas are bold, their execution is sharp, and they’re genuinely poised to make waves in their respective markets. It’s been inspiring to watch them push boundaries and build with such conviction. If the future of entrepreneurship were placed in the hands of founders like these, we’d all be in good shape.”
The GROWTH pre-accelerator combines targeted mentorship, hands-on training, and equity-free grant funding. Led by respected operators and seasoned industry experts, the program offers behind-the-scenes access and insight into what it truly takes to launch and grow a startup.
“We have an outstanding cohort this year,” said Geekz Ventures Executive Director Kunbi Tinuoye. “I am confident that our founders are now better equipped to navigate the entrepreneurial journey and scale their ventures.”
This year’s mentors include heavy hitters such as serial entrepreneurMykolas Rambus; media executiveAlex Hughes; returning mentorsKathryn O’Day, a venture partner, Derrick Williams, a strategic finance leader; and Gary Stewart, former Techstars managing director, alongside a range of other seasoned operators.
Storytelling That Wins Investor Attention
Among the standout sessions was a workshop led by Mike Lightman, founder ofHate Your Deck, who focused on the power of storytelling in pitch decks. “The best pitch decks don’t explain everything — they build curiosity one slide at a time,” said Lightman. “When founders treat their deck like a children’s book instead of a data dump, investors actually want to meet with them.”
With Geekz Ventures’ deep commitment to founder well-being, returning mentor, certified executive coach and licensed therapist, Chantel Cohen led sessions on work–life integration and sustainable leadership, helping founders build companies without burning out.
“The Geekz Ventures GROWTH pre-accelerator program provides a unique opportunity for early-stage founders to receive mentorship and guidance from seasoned professionals in various industries, and I’m glad to return as a mentor to the 2025 cohort,” said returning mentorCandice Washington.
Hayti founder and Geekz Ventures alum Cary Wheelous, who also worked with this year’s founders, added: “This year’s Geekz Ventures cohort is about tackling fundamental market gaps and economic barriers that the mainstream tech ecosystem continues to overlook. It’s essential because it provides the focused capital and networks required to scale solutions built by and for the culture into powerful, high-value assets.”
The 10-week program includes sessions on MVP development, customer discovery, audience growth, business operations, preparation for competitive accelerators, founder financing, and brand visibility. By the end of the program, participants are ready to thrive in an ever-changing tech landscape.
Below are the ten startups selected for the 2025 Geekz Ventures GROWTH pre-accelerator.
Troodie
Troodie is an AI-powered social commerce platform that transforms how restaurants grow and retain customers. The platform enables creators to share and monetize their recommendations, helping diners discover locally trusted spots. Founded byTaylor Davis, Troodie sits at the intersection of food culture, influencer marketing, and community-driven discovery.
Beebz
Beebz is building a video-first marketplace that changes how people find and book local businesses. Instead of scrolling through long text listings, users browse short-form videos and can book instantly, merging discovery and action in a single step. The company was founded byHabeeb Ayangbade and is designed for Gen Z and younger consumers who trust real video over static reviews and images.
Black Launch
BlackLaunch is a culture-first professional networking platform designed to strengthen connections, collaboration, and economic mobility for Black professionals, creators, and entrepreneurs. The platform offers a dedicated digital ecosystem where users can find community, exchange opportunities, and expand their networks. Led by founderTitus Colloway, BlackLaunch reflects the growing demand for spaces built around cultural identity and shared advancement.
PaintLabs
PaintLabs, publicly known as PaintCo, is reinventing fan engagement by replacing traditional, slow, labor-intensive face painting with high-precision, fast-printed body art. The company enables stadiums and sports venues to offer rapid, customizable designs that boost revenue while creating a standout fan experience. Led bySueAnn Hollowell, whose background in sports and immersive technology anchors the startup’s vision, PaintCo is on a mission to modernize on-site sports art.
ConcordeApp
ConcordeApp is a B2B SaaS platform that transforms networking from an inconsistent, manual activity into a structured and data-driven growth engine. By quantifying relationship-building efforts, the platform helps companies turn connections into real, measurable business outcomes. Founded byChaste Christopher Inegbedio, ConcordeApp draws on her enterprise operations experience to streamline how professionals develop and maintain business relationships.
Runwei
Runwei is a chat-based, multilingual, voice-enabled platform designed to democratize access to non-dilutive, non-debt capital. Through a single streamlined system, entrepreneurs can search for, apply to, and track grants, fellowships, awards, and other funding opportunities. Built byAixa Elgazwe to remove friction from the process, Runwei is powered by a deep commitment to equitable access to capital.
CloutBank
CloutBank is creating what founderTodd Sheridan calls the world’s first AI-native credit infrastructure. The platform helps digital creators build credit profiles that reflect the realities of modern online income, addressing a major gap in the traditional financial system. CloutBank’s model aims to ensure creators are recognized as legitimate economic actors with access to predictable financial tools and returns.
Fanatech
Fanatech is developing an all-in-one sports engagement platform where athletes, teams, and fans connect through interactive technology. Its tools deepen fan involvement, enhance loyalty, and unlock new monetization opportunities across the sports ecosystem. Founded byJonathan Makonnen, Fanatech sits at the intersection of sports culture and modern engagement tech.
Tykoon AI
Tykoon AI is an NIL creator-growth platform that supports emerging and often overlooked student-athletes as they build, monetize, and manage their personal brands. Using AI-powered tools, the company simplifies brand development and unlocks opportunities traditionally out of reach for underserved talent. The platform is led by founderPeter Lwuh, who is focused on helping athletes fully realize the value of their name, image, and likeness.
Budget University
Budget University is an online edtech platform delivering accredited financial literacy education to middle and high school students, homeschooling families, and underserved communities. Through its learning management system, students can access coursework on budgeting, investing, student loans, real estate, and long-term wealth building. Founder Shelby Patrice aims to equip young people with the tools they need to navigate modern financial systems with confidence.
About Geekz Ventures
Geekz Ventures is a Techstars Foundation-backed, registered 501(c)(3) non-profit virtual pre-accelerator that supports underestimated entrepreneurs who are launching early-stage tech-enabled startups. Other partners include Village Capital and Black Innovation Alliance. The program provides community, curriculum, coaching, funding, and resources designed to help founders validate their ideas, secure early customers, and prepare for follow-on funding opportunities. The accelerator is industry-agnostic, with a particular focus on media, connectivity, entertainment, and mobile technology.
MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 11, 2025 — Veteran Ventures Capital (VVC) announces its participation in the $60 million Series A financing of Vatn Systems (Vatn), a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the US military, allied nations, and commercial customers. The investment marks Vatn’s entry into VVC’s Fund II portfolio, underscoring the firm’s growing focus on scalable, dual-use autonomous systems that strengthen national security.
VATN Series A Announcement
Founded in Rhode Island by lifelong maritime practitioners and seasoned defense engineers, Vatn Systems is redefining how undersea missions are conducted. The company develops low-cost, modular AUVs designed to operate in large numbers—enabling distributed sensing, rapid ISR, mine countermeasures, and emerging undersea effects missions. Vatn’s platforms leverage a proprietary inertial navigation system and plug-and-play payload architecture, allowing operators to rapidly tailor vehicles for military, commercial, and scientific applications.
“Vatn exemplifies the kind of mission-driven innovation VVC was created to support,” said Derren Burrell, Founder and Managing Partner of Veteran Ventures Capital. “Their team is fielding the undersea mass our national security enterprise urgently needs, and they’re doing it with a level of technical rigor and operational intuition that’s rare in this sector. We’re proud to partner with BVVC, and to join Lockheed Martin Ventures, SAIC Ventures, Airbus Ventures, and other strategic investors who recognize the decisive advantage Vatn brings to the undersea domain.”
“We’re honored to partner with Veteran Ventures Capital,” said Nelson Mills, CEO and co-founder of Vatn Systems. “Their team understands the pace and demands of the national security landscape, and they bring the operational and strategic insight that companies in this sector need as they scale. This investment accelerates our ability to build and deliver undersea mass for customers who require reliable, rapidly deployable systems at a fraction of the cost.”
Vatn Systems has demonstrated rapid technical and commercial progress throughout 2025, delivering vehicles to U.S. government customers, conducting successful open-water demonstrations, and expanding production capacity to meet accelerating demand. The company’s modular design philosophy allows new mission profiles to be integrated in days rather than months—an advantage that resonates across defense, offshore energy, port security, and environmental monitoring.
“Vatn represents exactly the kind of founder-led ingenuity we seek to back,” said Craig Jaques, General Partner at Veteran Ventures Capital. “Their team has blended deep ocean experience with modern autonomy and manufacturing discipline, resulting in undersea systems that can be produced affordably and deployed at scale. As naval operations shift toward attritable, unmanned architectures, Vatn is exceptionally well positioned to become a category-defining player.”
Beyond its defense mission set, Vatn’s technology opens meaningful opportunities in civilian markets. Low-cost AUVs enable more persistent monitoring of coastal infrastructure, improved maritime domain awareness, expanded access for scientific research, and new tools for environmental stewardship—all areas where demand is growing as ocean resources become increasingly vital and contested.
About Veteran Ventures Capital
Veteran Ventures Capital invests in dual-use national security technologies, focusing on companies led by veteran entrepreneurs and leaders. Committed to advancing U.S. technological superiority, Veteran Ventures Capital provides capital, mentorship, and strategic guidance to high growth companies serving critical government and commercial markets. VVC’s portfolio includes leading companies in defense, aerospace, cybersecurity, and other sectors essential to national security, including notable investments in Hidden Level, Cambium,Agile Space Industries, and Asylon Robotics, amongst others. For more information, visit www.veteranventures.us and follow the firm on LinkedIn.
About Vatn Systems
Vatn Systems is a leading defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles that can be deployed at scale for the US military and allies. Founded in 2023 by a team of maritime experts and military leaders, Vatn Systems is on a mission to be the next underwater defense prime in a world where autonomous systems dominate naval battlefields. Vatn’s flagship products include the Skelmir S6 compact modular underwater effector and the Skelmir S12, a 12.75-inch diameter platform that merges the capabilities of a traditional AUV with the agility and performance of a lightweight torpedo, designed to attrit threats, deploy sensors and decoys, and support electronic warfare missions at scale. Both vehicles are powered by INStinct, Vatn’s proprietary inertial navigation system that delivers precise, GPS-free navigation in harsh maritime environments at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. For more information, visit www.vatnsystems.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.
LONDON, 11. Dezember 2025 — Sir Nick Clegg, Yann LeCun und weitere Experten schließen sich HIRO III an, einem auf Großbritannien und Europa ausgerichteten Multi-Stage-Risikokapitalfonds mit Fokus auf Spatial AI, Robotik, Langlebigkeit, Games, Raumfahrt und Verteidigung.
HIRO Capital, eine gründergeführte VC-Firma, gab heute bekannt, dass Sir Nick Clegg, ehemaliger President Global Affairs bei META und ehemaliger stellvertretender britischer Premierminister, dem Fonds als General Partner für den Start von HIRO III beigetreten ist. HIRO III ist ein großer Multi-Stage-Fonds, der jeweils zwischen 5 Mio. und 50 Mio. Euro in vielversprechende Innovatoren investieren kann und die Scale-up-Finanzierungslücke in Großbritannien und Europa adressiert.
Das Gründerteam von HIRO, bestehend aus Luke Alvarez, Cherry Freeman und der britischen Spiele-Legende Sir Ian Livingstone CBE, verfügt über eine starke Erfolgsbilanz als Gründer-Unternehmer, die zusammen mehrere Exits und Börsengänge mit einem Gesamtvolumen von mehr als 10 Mrd. Euro durchgeführt haben. Diese Erfolgsbilanz basiert auf technischem Fachwissen und Scale-up-Know-how aus jahrzehntelanger Erfahrung im Aufbau von und Investitionen in Start-ups.
Als Investor im Bereich der räumlichen Datenverarbeitung ist HIRO bestens für das neue Technologiezeitalter gerüstet, in dem wir in ganz Europa eine außerordentliche Wertschöpfung in Bereichen wie räumliche KI und Robotik bis hin zu Verteidigung und Langlebigkeit erleben werden.
Sir Nick Clegg kommentierte: „Ich bin zu HIRO gekommen, weil ich wie die Gründer an den Aufstieg von Immersive Computing und Spatial AI glaube. Wir werden uns nicht mehr nur das Internet anschauen – wir werden im Internet leben. Mit der Konvergenz von Raumfahrttechnologien und Weltmodell-KI der nächsten Generation befinden wir uns gerade in der Anfangsphase dieses Plattformwechsels. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Fonds konzentriert sich HIRO ganz auf diese Themen, und zwar ausschließlich in Europa.
Dies ist eine große Chance für das britisch-europäische Technologie-Ökosystem. Wir haben einige der herausragendsten Forschenden und Universitäten der Welt, aber auch großartige Ingenieurinnen und Ingenieure und Unternehmerinnen und Unternehmer. Unser Problem ist nicht ein Mangel an Innovation, sondern ein Mangel an Kapital in großem Umfang. Europa mag seine Kritiker haben, aber wir haben eine lebendige Start-up-Szene, die jetzt bereit ist, durchzustarten – ich glaube, das HIRO-Team hat die einzigartige geografische und technologische Reichweite, um dazu beizutragen.”
Neben der Ernennung von Clegg zum General Partner wird das Team von HIRO auch durch den neuen Beirat verstärkt. Der Beirat verfügt über außergewöhnliche Fachkenntnisse in jedem der vier Kernbereiche von HIRO: Räumliche KI und Cloud, Autonomie und Robotik, Raumfahrt und Verteidigung sowie Augmentation und Langlebigkeit.
Professor Yann LeCun sagte: „Ich freue mich sehr, dem HIRO-Beirat beizutreten. Wir treten in eine neue Phase der KI ein – eine Ära von Systemen, die die physische Welt verstehen, ein dauerhaftes Gedächtnis haben und komplexe Handlungen planen können. HIROs Erfolgsbilanz bei Investitionen in räumliche Technologien, 3D-Technologien, Wearables und Spiele bedeutet, dass das Unternehmen hervorragend aufgestellt ist, um von dieser neuen Welle von Möglichkeiten in Europa zu profitieren.”
Dem neuen Beirat gehören an: Professor Yann LeCun, ehemaliger Chief Scientist von Meta und Turing-Preisträger für Deep Learning AI; Malcolm Turnbull, ehemaliger Premierminister Australiens und führender Tech-Investor; Major Tim Peake, Wissenschaftler, Testpilot und erster britischer ESA-Astronaut; Laurent Solly, Vice President Europe bei META; Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsexperte Professor Deeph Chana vom Imperial Institute in London, Gründungsdirektor von NATO DIANA und des Nato Innovation Fund; Hannah Gladman, Strategy & Special Projects bei Google DeepMind; Dr. Jack Scannell, Biotech-Investor, Begründer der Langlebigkeit und Schöpfer von Eroom’s Law; Edward van Cutsem, Chairman of Private Markets bei Westerly Winds und ehemaliger MD bei BlackRock; Professor Paul Newman, Professor für Information Engineering in Oxford und Gründer des Oxford Robotics Institute; Caroline Daniel, ehemalige Journalistin und Strategin der Financial Times; Loredana Crisan, Chief Design Officer bei Figma.
Luke Alvarez, Managing Partner von HIRO, sagte: „Ich freue mich, Sir Nick Clegg in unserem Team willkommen zu heißen, zusammen mit Yann LeCun und allen weiteren hochkarätigen Beiratsmitgliedern. Wir befinden uns heute in der Anfangsphase einer Ära massiver technologischen Innovation mit einer beispiellosen Dynamik, die durch die zunehmende Konvergenz der Datenverarbeitung mit der physischen Welt, mit dem menschlichen Körper und mit autonomen Agenten angetrieben wird. Wir alle glauben an das Potenzial Europas, an der Spitze der Technologiebranche zu stehen, und wollen mit derselben Leidenschaft zum Erfolg Großbritanniens und Europas beitragen. Unser neuer Beirat wurde aufgrund seines Weitblicks, seines technologischen Fachwissens und seiner weltweiten und europaweiten Netzwerke ausgewählt. Wir freuen uns darauf, die ersten HIRO-III-Investitionen im Jahr 2026 anzukündigen.”
Informationen zu HIRO Capital
HIRO Capital ist eine gründergeführte Risikokapitalgesellschaft mit Sitz in London und Luxemburg, die in die superabundante Zukunft der Menschheit investiert. HIRO investiert von Serie A bis Serie C / Scale-Up in seinen spezialisierten Themenbereichen KI, Spatial Computing, Autonomie, Robotik, Langlebigkeit, Augmentation, Spiele, Simulation sowie Raumfahrt- und Verteidigungstechnologien. Wir konzentrieren uns auf Unternehmer und Innovatoren in der weit gefassten Region Europe+, die die EU, Großbritannien, Norwegen, die Schweiz und die Ukraine umfasst. Wir sind Gründer und Führungskräfte, die Founder Leaders unterstützen. Wir sind Optimisten und Futuristen. Wir glauben, dass Europe+ in der nächsten Phase der menschlichen Entwicklung, die durch die Technologie ermöglicht wird, weltweit führend sein kann und sollte. Wir wissen, dass die Kreativität, der Ehrgeiz und der Unternehmergeist der Menschen bessere Gesellschaften schaffen werden. https://hiro.capital/
HIRO ist nach dem Helden benannt, zu dem man wird, wenn man ein Spiel spielt oder Sport betreibt, nach dem Helden, der man ist, wenn man ein Unternehmen aufbaut – und es ist eine Hommage an Hiro Protagonist, den Hacker-Helden aus Neal Stephensons „Snow Crash”, der die digitale 3D-Welt codiert und die Menschheit gegen alle Widerstände rettet.
With over $50 million raised to date and a team of 100+ employees, LI.FI Protocol has surpassed $60 billion in lifetime transaction volume.
BERLIN, Dec. 11, 2025 — LI.FI Protocol, a powerful toolkit that enables developers to build on-chain swaps and cross-chain bridging within their applications, today announced the close of a $29 million Series A extension funding round. The latest round, led by Multicoin and CoinFund, brings total capital raised to $51.7 million.
The funding will fuel the further expansion of company operations and new product development. LI.FI has grown to 100+ employees worldwide and is scaling its team to best serve customers across the digital asset and integrated finance landscape. The LI.FI Protocol is nearing the 1,000 B2B partner milestone and has continued to be a leading infrastructure layer for key customers, including Robinhood, Binance, Kraken, MetaMask, Phantom, Ledger, Hyperliquid, Circle, Alipay, and more, growing monthly volume by 595%, from $1.15 billion in October 2024 to $8 billion in October 2025.
LI.FI will continue to tackle the growing fragmentation across blockchain infrastructure, token standards, and interoperability solutions by providing an enterprise-grade platform that continues to fuel its growth and success. The funding will support the next stage of innovation, including developing infrastructure for AI agents and stablecoins, as well as the planned launch of an open intent and solver marketplace in Q1 of 2026 to broaden access to third-party liquidity.
Philipp Zentner, Co-Founder & CEO of LI.FI commented on today’s news: “Over the past year, we’ve significantly expanded our product suite to strengthen our position in the market and provide a more seamless experience for both B2B partners and their users. This growth allows LI.FI to continue laying the foundation for the next generation of crypto applications, enabling developers and companies to access liquidity across all blockchain ecosystems in ways that were previously overly complex or inaccessible. The increased funding showcases investor confidence in LI.FI’s growth and vision as our goal remains to make composability invisible and reliable, enabling the entire industry to build on it confidently.”
LI.FI Protocol recently surpassed $60 billion in lifetime transaction volume and continues to abstract away complexity to meet the accelerating need for unified, secure, and developer-friendly liquidity infrastructure, allowing businesses to offer onchain capabilities without needing to build it themselves. In doing so, LI.FI is enabling the next wave of products that will bring millions of users into a truly interconnected Web3 ecosystem.
Spencer Applebaum, Investment Partner at Multicoin Capital, said: “As crypto trading becomes a core feature inside mainstream fintech apps, the hardest problem is no longer user demand – it’s making fragmented blockchains, liquidity, and execution work seamlessly together,” said Spencer Applebaum, Investment Partner at Multicoin Capital. “LI.FI Protocol gives fintechs and web3 wallets a single API to offer both trading and cross-chain asset movement, handling on-chain routing and execution behind the scenes. By hiding that complexity from both developers and end users, they make it far easier for financial apps to launch truly multi-chain crypto products at scale. This investment reflects our continued conviction in Philipp and his team as long-term category builders in the DeFi space.”
David Pakman, Managing Partner & Head of Venture Investments at CoinFund, added: “Crypto adoption is rapidly increasing just as the blockchain infrastructure underneath fragments and proliferates into multiple L1s, L2s, and protocols. LI.FI is a universal layer that solves this fragmentation problem, allowing for true global cross-chain liquidity and asset interoperability,” said David Pakman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments at CoinFund. “Founders like Philipp see fragmentation as an opportunity to build solutions that give developers access to infrastructure without having to choose between networks. This investment reflects our continued conviction in LI.Fi, Philipp, and his extraordinary team, and we believe they are well equipped to dominate the market for cross-chain products.”
About LI.FI
LI.FI is a non-custodial, open-source protocol that connects decentralized liquidity across multiple blockchain ecosystems. By aggregating access to third-party bridges and decentralized exchanges, LI.FI enables developers to integrate seamless multi-chain functionality into their applications through a single point of connection. This infrastructure reduces the complexity of navigating fragmented blockchain networks while ensuring users always maintain self-custodial control of their assets. It has built a connective layer that powers intuitive, multi-chain experiences on the front end, while preserving the decentralized principles that define Web3. After being founded in 2021, LI.FI has seen extensive growth globally with over 800+ partners in the market currently.
About Multicoin Capital
Multicoin Capital is a thesis-driven investment firm that makes long-term, high-conviction investments in category-defining companies and protocols on behalf of sophisticated families, foundations, endowments, and institutional investors. Founded in 2017, the firm leverages a deep understanding and accumulated knowledge of blockchain technology and crypto markets to deliver strong, risk-adjusted returns. Multicoin Capital manages several billion across its funds, and has established a track record of deploying capital across market cycles in both public and private markets.
About CoinFund
CoinFund is one of the world’s first crypto-native investment firms and a registered investment adviser founded in 2015. The firm champions the leaders of the new internet, powered by foresight as active investors to achieve extraordinary outcomes. CoinFund invests in seed, venture, and liquid opportunities within the blockchain sector with a focus on digital assets, decentralization technologies, and key enabling infrastructure.
NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2025 — Keeper, the world’s most effective AI matchmaker, today announced it closed a $4 million pre-seed funding round in October 2024. The round was led by Lightbank and Lakehouse Ventures, with participation from Champion Hill Ventures, Goodwater Capital, and others. The funding has powered a year of R&D to automate Keeper’s revolutionary matching methodology and accelerate the company’s destiny to find lasting love for every person on Earth.
Keeper’s AI matchmaker helps users find highly compatible, long-term partners by screening thousands of options and presenting one tailored match at a time.
Founded in 2022, Keeper is the only matchmaking product that is singularly focused on outcomes, with a matching approach that emphasizes quality over quantity in the extreme and a business model that aligns the company’s incentives with user success. In beta, Keeper’s comprehensive intake and psychometric approach attracted more than 1.5 million signups and produced the best success rate of any product in history with 1-in-10 first dates leading to marriage.
Since closing the round in October 2024, Keeper has focused on turning its human-in-the-loop, AI-assisted process into a fully automated AI matchmaker. With the recent launch of Keeper V2, Keeper’s AI performs the heavy lifting–searching, ranking, and proposing matches–before an expert human matchmaker performs a brief final review. This preserves accuracy while compressing time-to-match as Keeper completes the transition to full automation.
“In beta, we proved that our method works. This past year has been about scale, speed, and accessibility,” said Jake Kozloski, Founder & CEO of Keeper. “Our AI is becoming the matchmaker that understands you better than you understand yourself–so your first match can be your last first date. This funding helped us build the foundation for a fully automated AI matchmaker that can address loneliness at a global scale.”
Keeper uses open-ended data collection and rigorous relationship science to assess compatibility across preferences, personality, values, intelligence, and other predictors of long-term success. The company’s algorithms–developed with guidance from Stanford evolutionary scientists and psychometricians–learn from real-world outcomes to continuously improve matching performance.
John Neamonitis at Lakehouse Ventures recognizes Keeper’s promise: “Dating apps have one of the lowest NPS among all consumer apps–users are tired and frustrated and ready for something new. With advances in large language models, an AI matchmaker isn’t just possible, but as Keeper is proving, infinitely better than incumbent solutions.”
The new capital is being used to scale Keeper’s unrivaled matching engine, expand distribution, and introduce self-improvement features like coaching and feedback so Keeper can defeat industry incumbents whose products don’t work and make human loneliness a thing of the past.
Keeper is the AI matchmaker committed to finding everyone their soulmate. By combining advanced AI with relationship science and a business model aligned to user success, Keeper aims to end loneliness and give everyone the opportunity to build a happy, healthy family.
