Silicon Valley Investclub

????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? $???? ?????????????? ???? ?????????????? Ualá is a leading fintech company that offers a comprehensive financial ecosystem, empowering individuals with tools to manage payments, request loans, and invest in various financial products — all from a single app. Ualá has boosted its Series E round by $66 million in a second close that included participation from Mexican media giant TelevisaUnivision. The funds raised through the equity sale will be used to continue growing across Latin America, with a special focus on Mexico. The company was valued at $2.75 billion at the first close. Ualá, Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina, was founded in 2017 by Pierpaolo Barbieri. In 2021, the company joined the unicorn club. Ualá operates in Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, providing a digital financial ecosystem that includes payments, loans, and investment services to expand financial inclusion across Latin America. “Due to overwhelming demand from our investors, we decided to raise more,” Barbieri said in an interview. “That means we can invest to grow more in Mexico, and also continue betting on the ecosystem of payments, investment and credit in Argentina.”

???????????????? ???????????? $???? ?????????????? ???? ?????????????? Dataminr is a leading AI-driven data analytics company that empowers organizations with real-time intelligence on high-impact events and emerging risks. By leveraging advanced machine learning and natural language processing, Dataminr analyzes vast streams of publicly available data—from social media and news sources to the dark web and IoT sensors—detecting critical signals before they become mainstream news. Its proprietary AI models distill complex information into actionable alerts, enabling businesses, governments, and first responders to make informed decisions quickly and confidently in an increasingly unpredictable world. Dataminr has raised $85 million in a combination of convertible financing and credit. Dataminr, New York, New York, United States, was founded in 2009 by Jeffrey Kinsey, Sam Hendel, and Ted Bailey. In 2018, the company joined the unicorn club. Dataminr operates across multiple markets, including public sector, financial services, corporate security, media, humanitarian organizations, and insurance, providing real-time intelligence to help organizations anticipate and respond to emerging risks. “The new capital will allow Dataminr to accelerate its growth trajectory, [and] provide investors with a discount to the IPO price or subsequent round of financing,” said CEO Ted Bailey. “[We’ll] also use this new funding to expand [our] international go-to-market in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and to power additional products in new verticals.”

???????????????????? ???????????? $???? ?????????????? ???? ?? $??.?? ??????????????+ ?????????????????? GrubMarket Inc. is a food e-commerce and technology company that connects farmers, distributors, and retailers through an AI-powered B2B marketplace, optimizing procurement, distribution, and global food sourcing. Operating primarily in the U.S. and Canada, GrubMarket Inc. is transforming the food supply chain by leveraging Enterprise AI innovation, providing businesses with data-driven insights, automation, and smart supply chain solutions to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and scalability. GrubMarket Inc. has raised $50 million in a Series G funding round, increasing its valuation to over $3.5 billion. The new round includes participation from 3SPOKE, Joseph Stone Capital, Liberty Street Advisors, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Pinegrove Venture Partners, Portfolia, and ROC Venture Group, along with additional unnamed backers. GrubMarket Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, was founded in 2014 by Mike Xu. In 2021, the company joined the unicorn club. "GrubMarket Inc. has experienced an incredible acceleration in growth over the last 12 months – our revenues surpassed $2 billion in 2024, and we became the largest private food technology company in the United States, while continuing to maintain a strong and healthy financial bottom line. As our business model is highly sustainable, this funding round was not a necessity, but rather an opportunity to align our valuation with the scale and strength of our business growth, our AI tech innovations, and the significant value we create for the industry," said Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket Inc. "In 2024, GrubMarket Inc. released the first Enterprise AI software solution suite for the American food supply chain industry. We are proud to innovate within this industry and for this industry. With the help of our patent-pending AI solutions, the lagging American food supply chain industry will be able to catch and ride the massive American and global AI technology wave that has been moving across all industries. This Series G funding will turbocharge our AI software and business growth and extend our eCommerce reach globally. We will increase our investment in people, financial infrastructure, technology, and acquisitions. Above all, we will continue to operate a sustainable business as the foundation of this company."

?????????? ???????????? $?????? ?????????????? ???? ???? $?????? ?????????????? ?????????????????? Zolve is a neobank designed for global citizens relocating to the U.S., offering a seamless and accessible banking experience. It provides comprehensive financial products, including deposit accounts, prepaid cards, money transfers, and bill payments, without requiring a prior U.S. credit history. By eliminating traditional banking barriers, Zolve empowers individuals to manage their finances across borders easily. Its innovative platform ensures that newcomers can build credit, track expenses, and access essential banking services from day one. Zolve has raised $251 million in a new funding round comprising both equity and debt, as the company looks to accelerate its expansion and enter new markets. Zolve, headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, was founded in 2020 by Piyush Agarwal and Raghunandan G. Zolve primarily operates in the U.S. and India, catering to global citizens relocating to the U.S., with plans for further expansion. “Financial institutions in one country don’t talk to financial institutions in another country because sufficiently low-risk individuals end up being treated as high-risk. That’s the problem we are trying to solve,” said Raghunandan G, founder and CEO of Zolve.

?????????????? ???????????? $???? ?????????????? ???? ???????? $?? ?????????????? ?????????????????? Pentera is a leading cybersecurity company revolutionizing how businesses and security teams strengthen defenses. Its Automated Security Validation platform continuously tests the integrity of all cybersecurity layers, providing real-time insights into vulnerabilities across the entire attack surface. By simulating real-world attack scenarios, Pentera enables organizations to uncover true security exposures and prioritize remediation before threats can be exploited. Trusted by thousands of security professionals worldwide, Pentera empowers teams to proactively close security gaps and stay ahead of evolving cyber risks. Pentera has raised $60 million in a Series D funding round at over $1 billion valuation. The new round was led by Evolution Equity Partners, with Farallon Capital Management participating. Pentera, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, United States, was founded in 2015 by Arik Faingold and Arik Liberzon. In 2022, the company joined the unicorn club. Pentera operates globally across diverse industries, including finance, retail, and manufacturing, providing enterprises and security service providers with automated security validation to proactively identify and remediate cyber threats. “We provide enterprises and governments a technology that, with a click of a button, can launch a mega attack against themselves, and with another click, the genie goes back into the bottle,” said Amitai Ratzon, CEO of Pentera. “The beautiful thing is that it’s all safe by design.”

?????????? ???????????? ???????????? $?????? ?????????????? ???? ?? $??.?? ?????????????? ?????????????????? Flock Safety is a safety technology company revolutionizing security with its automated license plate recognition cameras. Designed for law enforcement agencies, businesses, and neighborhoods, its technology helps prevent and solve crimes by capturing and analyzing vehicle license plates. The platform delivers real-time, actionable data, enhancing public safety and aiding investigations. By uniting communities with law enforcement, Flock Safety is shaping a smarter, more proactive approach to crime prevention. Flock Safety has raised $275 million in funding, increasing the company’s valuation to $7.5 billion. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Greenoaks Capital, Bedrock Capital, Meritech Capital, Matrix Partners, Sands Capital, Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Tiger Global Management, and Y Combinator. In total, Flock Safety has raised over $950 million to date. Flock Safety, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, was founded in 2017 by Garrett Langley and Matt Feury. In 2021, the company joined the unicorn club. Flock Safety operates in the public safety, law enforcement, private security, and smart city infrastructure markets, providing automated license plate recognition technology to help communities, businesses, and law enforcement agencies prevent and solve crimes. With its cutting-edge technology, the company remains committed to enhancing public safety and helping communities prevent and solve crimes more effectively.

?????????????????? ???? ???????????? $?????? ?????????????? ???? ?? $??.?? ?????????????? ?????????????????? Celestial AI is a pioneering optical interconnectivity company developing cutting-edge technology for data centers and AI computing solutions. Its Photonic Fabric? platform leverages light-based data transfer to eliminate bottlenecks, reduce power consumption, and enhance scalability for next-generation AI workloads. By replacing traditional electrical interconnects, Celestial AI enables faster, more efficient communication between compute nodes, transforming the performance of AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. Celestial AI has raised $250 million in a Series C-1 funding round led by Fidelity Management And Research Company at a $2.5 billion valuation. The round attracted new investors, including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Maverick Silicon, Tiger Global Management, and Lip-Bu Tan. Existing investors, including AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Temasek, Xora Innovation, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, and The Engine Ventures, also participated in the round. Celestial AI, Santa Clara, California, United States, was founded in 2020 by David Lazovsky, Michelle Tomasko, and Preet Virk. In 2024, the company joined the unicorn club. Celestial AI operates in the data center, AI computing, and high-performance computing markets, providing optical interconnect solutions that enhance scalability, efficiency, and speed for AI workloads, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise applications. “With the emergence of complex reasoning models and agentic AI, the requirements on AI infrastructure are compounding,” said David Lazovsky, CEO of Celestial AI. “Cluster sizes must scale from a few AI processors in a server to tens of processors in a single rack and thousands of processors across multiple racks, all while relying on high-bandwidth, low-latency network connectivity to handle massive data transfers between processors. Celestial AI’s Photonic Fabric is the only technology platform capable of meeting these critical demands while setting new standards for bandwidth, latency, energy efficiency and total cost of ownership. We are excited to work with top global investors who bring the capital and commitment to support our long-term mission of revolutionizing AI infrastructure with our Photonic Fabric."

This year is shaping up to be the year when applied AI solutions demonstrate their long-term commercial value at scale. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eyPY4-P9 Post written by Arthur Mouratov, Forbes Councils Member.

?????????????????? ???????????? $???? ?????????????? ???? ?? $??.???? ?????????????? ?????????????????? Dexterity, Inc. is an AI-driven robotics startup revolutionizing warehouse automation with intelligent, adaptable robots. Its Robots-as-a-Service model enables companies to streamline operations, overcome labor shortages, and enhance supply chain flexibility without major capital investments. Unlike traditional automation systems, Dexterity, Inc.’s robots continuously learn and adjust to dynamic warehouse environments, effortlessly handling fragile items, irregularly shaped products, and fluctuating inventory demands. By combining artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced robotics, Dexterity, Inc. ensures seamless, high-efficiency operations with minimal human intervention. Dexterity, Inc. has raised $95 million in funding from backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sumitomo Corporation at a valuation of $1.65 billion. The startup last raised money in 2021 at a valuation of $1.4 billion. Dexterity, Inc., Redwood City, California, United States, was founded in 2017 by Samir Menon. Dexterity, Inc. operates in key markets such as parcel and ground logistics, retail, and e-commerce, providing AI-driven robotic solutions for fulfillment, sorting, packing, and warehouse automation. Its technology enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and optimizes supply chain operations for high-volume logistics businesses. With its latest funding and continued innovation, Dexterity, Inc. is poised to further transform the logistics industry, making warehouse automation smarter, more adaptable, and more accessible than ever.

???????????? ???????????? $?????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????????? Epirus is a defense technology startup pioneering long-pulse high-power microwave technology to revolutionize electronic warfare. By integrating artificial intelligence and advanced electronics, the company develops software-defined, scalable defenses capable of neutralizing drone swarms, cyber-electronic attacks, and radar-jamming threats with unmatched precision. Unlike traditional kinetic systems, Epirus’ solutions deliver cost-effective, adaptive protection while minimizing collateral damage. With its AI-driven approach, Epirus is shaping the future of directed energy warfare for modern defense and security challenges. Epirus has raised $250 million in a Series D funding round led by 8VC?and Washington Harbour Partners LP with participation from StepStone Group, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Gaingels, and others. Epirus was previously valued at $1.35 billion for its $200 million Series C in 2022. Epirus, Torrance, California, United States, was founded in 2018 by Bo Marr, PhD, Grant L. Verstandig, Joe Lonsdale, John T., Max Mednik, and Nathan M. In 2022, the company joined the unicorn club. Epirus operates in the defense, cybersecurity, and commercial markets, providing advanced high-power microwave (HPM) technology for electronic warfare, critical infrastructure protection, and counter-drone applications across military and civilian sectors. “With our capital and talent and the right partnerships with US DoD to continue to advance Epirus’ technology, it will quickly become critical for defending aircraft, ships and even satellites and space-based platforms—and determinative for the future of warfare,” said Epirus founder and 8VC managing partner Joe Lonsdale.