Startup Monday: Latest tech trends & news happening in the global startup ecosystem (Issue 156- March 1)

Welcome to Startup Monday, my weekly newsletter that recaps the week in the global startup ecosystem. To have this newsletter emailed to you, you can sign up here.

Narine Emdjian, MBA

Top startup news to follow this week:

1. Social Discovery Group launches $20M venture fund to invest in social discovery startups

Social Discovery Group said it is starting SDG Lab, a $20 million corporate venture fund that will invest in social discovery startups.

The mission is to transform virtual intimacy into the new normal. Led by Alex Kudos, former CMO of Social Discovery Group, SDG Lab is more than just an investor—it is a hands-on partner for entrepreneurs building innovative social discovery and connection technologies.

SDG Lab is poised to back early-stage startups in AI-powered communication, VR/AR advancements, and social discovery platforms with an annual investment fund of $20 million. The venture studio provides founders with critical resources, including legal assistance, back-office support, tech infrastructure, and marketing expertise—allowing them to focus on innovation and scale.

“Social interaction is evolving, and digital intimacy is the next frontier,” said Kudos, CEO of SDG Lab, in a statement. “At SDG Lab, we’re not just funding ideas—we’re co-creating the future of human connection. By investing in and partnering with bold entrepreneurs, we are building technologies that make meaningful relationships possible, no matter where people are in the world.”

With over 20 years of market leadership, Social Discovery Group brings operational expertise and a network of 500 million users spanning 150 countries and over 60 online communication platforms, including Dating.com and DateMyAge. Companies in SDG Lab’s portfolio benefit from access to 1,200+ experts across SDG’s ecosystem, leveraging deep industry knowledge in user engagement, AI and digital communication.

SDG Lab aims to simplify the startup journey with a straightforward fundraising process. Entrepreneurs can secure seed funding for MVP development and additional capital for scaling, ensuring their vision becomes a profitable reality.

2. AI startup Bridgetown Research raises $19 million in latest funding

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Artificial Intelligence startup Bridgetown Research said on Wednesday it had raised $19 million in a funding round led by venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Accel, with participation from a leading research university.

The Series A funding round valued the Seattle-based company at $250 million, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

While most AI solutions focus on searching and summarizing information using large language models (LLMs), Bridgetown Research develops AI agents that gather proprietary data from experts and customer surveys.

These agents analyze the data to identify patterns and generate insights, aiding executives and investors in making strategic decisions.

With the latest fundraise, Bridgetown plans to invest further in training AI agents or bots to perform a broader set of analyses and enhance access to sector-specific intelligence through partnerships.

The company, which initially focused on private equity deal screening, has expanded to encompass a broader range of market research services.

The startup was founded by Harsh Sahai, who previously led machine learning teams at e-commerce giant Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab and served as the engagement manager at McKinsey & Co.

3. AI startup Anthropic close to $3.5 billion fundraise, sources say

Feb 24 (Reuters) - AI startup Anthropic is seeking $3.5 billion in a funding round that would value it at $61.5 billion, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The startup behind the Claude chatbot could receive backing from venture firms Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Bessemer Venture Partners, the sources said.

The funding round would be larger than the $2 billion the company was seeking to raise according to a Reuters report last month.

Venture capital heavyweights have rushed to pour into AI-linked startups, with nearly half of all funding dollars raised last year in the U.S. going to these companies, to capitalize on the future prospects of a booming technology.

The funding talks at Anthropic also underscore the appeal of U.S. AI startups, despite the emergence of China's lower-cost alternative DeepSeek rattling some investors.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is in talks for a mega funding round that could value it at up to $300 billion, Reuters has reported.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The fundraise was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

A major rival of OpenAI in the foundation model space, Anthropic was co-founded by former executives at the Sam Altman-led startup, and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei.

It was valued at around $18 billion in a fundraise led by Menlo Ventures last year.

On Monday, the company also launched an advanced AI model, called Claude 3.7 Sonnet, that can produce faster responses or display its step-by-step reasoning process, as it looks to gain a competitive edge in the generative artificial intelligence industry.

4. DeepSeek claims ‘theoretical’ profit margins of 545%

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek recently declared that its AI models could be very profitable — with some asterisks.

In a post on X, DeepSeek boasted that its online services have a “cost profit margin” of 545%. However, that margin is calculated based on “theoretical income.”

It discussed these numbers in more detail at the end of a longer GitHub post outlining its approach to achieving “higher throughput and lower latency.” The company wrote that when it looks at usage of its V3 and R1 models during a 24-hour period, if that usage had all been billed using R1 pricing, DeepSeek would already have $562,027 in daily revenue.?

Meanwhile, the cost of leasing the necessary GPUs (graphics processing units) would have been just $87,072.

The company admitted that its actual revenue is “substantially lower” for a variety of reasons, like nighttime discounts, lower pricing for V3, and the fact that “only a subset of services are monetized,” with web and app accessing remaining free.

Of course, if the app and website weren’t free, and if other discounts weren’t available, usage would presumably be much lower. So these calculations seem to be highly speculative — more a gesture towards potential future profit margins than a real snapshot of DeepSeek’s bottom line right now.

But the company is sharing these numbers amidst broader debates about AI’s cost and potential profitability. DeepSeek leapt into the spotlight in January, with a new model that supposedly matched OpenAI’s o1 on certain benchmarks, despite being developed at a much lower cost, and in the face of U.S. trade restrictions that prevent Chinese companies from accessing the most powerful chips. Tech stocks tumbled and analysts raised questions about AI spending.

5. Snowflake grows startup accelerator with $200M in new capital

Snowflake plans to expand its startup accelerator with $200 million in additional commitments, the tech giant that specializes in cloud-based data storage said Thursday.

The new injection of capital follows a string of activity by Snowflake over the past several months that illustrates that company’s growth ambitions.

The Snowflake Startup Accelerator, formerly known as the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program, invests in a broad range of early-stage startups. Notably, the accelerator invests in startups building AI-based industry-specific products on Snowflake.?Startups in the accelerator receive technical support from Snowflake and access to co-marketing opportunities, as well as credits for Amazon’s public cloud, AWS.

Graduates from previous cohorts include Coalesce, Andrew Ng’s LandingAI, and Twelve Labs.

A portion of the fresh $200 million will come from Snowflake’s new and existing VC partners, including Bain Capital Ventures, Blackstone Innovations Investments, Bessemer Venture Partners, Capital One Ventures, General Catalyst, Greylock Partners, Hetz Ventures, Mayfield, NewBuild Venture Capital, NTTVC, and Virtue.

There’s some fine print to be aware of. Snowflake noted in a blog post that while participating VC firms may invest in Snowflake Startup Accelerator companies, there’s “no guarantee” that any particular company will receive funding or that the full target amount will be invested.

Snowflake, which also announced plans for a new 30,000-square-foot “AI hub” at its Menlo Park campus and a $20 million AI upskilling program, continues to invest aggressively in AI. Earlier this week, the company announced an expanded partnership with Microsoft to offer access to AI models from OpenAI. Late last year, Snowflake inked a multi-year partnership with Anthropic and acquired Datavolo, an AI data pipeline firm.

6. Maternity clinic Millie nabs $12M Series A from an all-star, all female?class?of VCs

Millie, a California-based maternity clinic, founded by Anu Sharma, announced the raise of a $12 million Series A by investors including Foreground Capital, TMV, and Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures.?

Sharma was inspired to launch the company after the birth of her daughter in 2019. She faced pregnancy complications and, since she grew up with a family full of doctors, was able to identify some symptoms that were missed by medical staff. The experience led her to build a maternity clinic — the one she would have wanted while she was giving birth.?

The result is Millie, which launched in 2022. It offers maternity and gynecology care, as well as postpartum coaching, mental health care, and nutrition counseling. It works with all major insurance companies and there is in-person and virtual support, with a tech platform that provides patient monitoring tools. Others in this space include Diana Health and Oula.?

“What makes Millie unique is our hybrid model which combines in-person care at our clinics with virtual visits, remote monitoring, and a proprietary app,” Sharma told TechCrunch. “We do this with a capital efficient model, increasingly powered by AI-enabled workflows, in collaboration with payors and health system partners.”

Millie’s cap table consists of all female-led firms. The company, which has raised nearly $19 million to date, will use the fresh capital to expand its physical footprint across California and advance its technology services. It also wants to expand the network of healthcare partners with whom it works.??

This piece was updated to reflect the investors in the round and clarify the doctors in Sharma’s family.

7. Clean energy startup 1KOMMA5° grows to €520 million, eyes €10 billion target by 2030

Despite a challenging market for solar systems and heat pumps, Hamburg-based CleanTech startup 1KOMMA5° achieved a record €520 million in revenue for 2024—growing its organic sales by 36% to €490 million—while remaining debt-free and expanding its Heartbeat AI energy management platform, according to its preliminary business figures for 2024.

The company increased its total revenue close to €520 million in 2024, up from around €450 million in 2023 – despite “a recession and declining demand” for solar systems and heat pumps.

Adjusted for acquisitions, 1KOMMA5° achieved the strongest growth in its history, with organic sales rising from €360 million to €490 million in 2024; this underscores the company’s claim to European market leadership in the megamarket of home electrification.

Philipp Schr?der, CEO and Co-founder of 1KOMMA5°, states: “Even in the midst of a crisis year and in a shrinking market environment, we are growing by 36 percent. This is a great success for the entire team. We have made significant investments in Heartbeat AI and the smart meter rollout in 2024.

Despite sourcing polysilicon from Germany, which is far more expensive than production in Asia, and facing rising sales costs, we remain sustainably profitable on an operational level and debt-free. Over the last two years, we have consistently increased our revenue and profits without using an already approved credit line in 2024.”

Founded in 2021 by Jannik Schall, Micha Grueber, Michael Hinderer, Philip Liesenfeld, and Philipp Schr?der, 1KOMMA5° now employs around 2,500 people worldwide. They are a CleanTech startup for CO2-neutral energy, heat and mobility. The company operates around 80 locations in 7 markets worldwide, serving as the one-stop shop for intelligent, integrated energy solutions such as photovoltaics, electricity storage, heat pumps and EV charging stations.

8. SEAentia reels in €16 million for sustainable Corvina aquaculture

Peniche-based SEAentia, a company specialising in Corvina (meagre) aquaculture using Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS), has just announced the raising of €16 million to strengthen its team and advance the industrial phase of the project.

The funds were raised between capital from Indico Capital Partners’ Blue Fund and the Mar2030 Programme.

Jo?o Rito, President of SEAentia, stated: “This investment from Indico and the support from Mar2030 will make possible the world’s first Corvina production facility using recirculating aquaculture systems. This will enable us to meet growing demand and export this species on a large scale with high quality.”

SEAentia was founded in 2017 by Jo?o Rito, Nuno Leite, John Jones, and Sónia Rito, with initial support from Thierry Loustau and the business consultant All The Way. Its mission is to produce high-quality Corvina, focusing on innovative methods such as the use of recirculating aquaculture systems to ensure a constant and responsible production cycle while guaranteeing animal welfare.

The company aims to lead commercial Corvina production in RAS, controlling the entire production cycle in an environmentally responsible system. SEAentia is adamant that animal welfare and ecological sustainability are central pillars of their strategy.

The new funding, which could be increased by a further €8 million, will enable SEAentia to implement a large-scale infrastructure in the port of Peniche, allowing it to establish its production capacity, which is expected to reach 700 tonnes per year of high-quality Corvina, following strict sustainability criteria.

The investment is also set to be announced during the Luso-French Economic Forum, in attendance will be Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron.

9. Taktile raises €51.5 million to help risk experts in financial services adopt AI for decision-making

Taktile, a decision automation platform with offices in Berlin, London and New York, has raised €51.5 million in a Series B funding round, to continue optimising risk management strategies across the entire customer lifecycle.

The round was led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures, Tiger Global, Y Combinator, Prosus Ventures, Visionaries Club as well as Larry Summers, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, bringing Taktile’s total funding to date to €75.3 million.

Maik Taro Wehmeyer, CEO & Co-founder, Taktile said: “From day one of our journey, we believed that millions of lives could be improved by enabling organisations to make optimal decisions for their customers. By keeping experienced risk experts in control, we make it possible for even the most regulated businesses in financial services to fully adopt AI into high-stakes workflows.”

Founded in 2020 by Maik Taro Wehmeyer and Maximilian Eber, Taktile empowers risk experts to build, monitor, and optimise automated risk decisions across the entire customer lifecycle—from onboarding and credit underwriting to fraud and compliance transaction monitoring.

In 2024, Taktile quadrupled its customer base and grew over 3.5x in ARR. Its customer base spans 24 markets, encompassing FinTech companies such as Mercury, Kueski, and Zilch, as well as some of the world’s largest financial institutions, including Allianz and Rakuten Bank.

10. Unique secures €28.6 million to innovate agentic AI workforce in financial services

Zurich-based Unique, a vertical AI player creating a specialised agentic AI platform for financial firms, today announced the successful completion of its Series A funding round, raising €28.6 million.

This round was led by CommerzVentures and DN Capital, with continued support from existing seed investors including VI Partners and Pictet Group.

Unique’s total investment now stands at €50.5 million.

“We are excited to announce this Series A investment,” said Manuel Grenacher, CEO of Unique. “This funding will significantly boost our global expansion efforts and enhance our ability to deploy agentic solutions for our clients. As a vertical AI leader and a category owner, we are dedicated to advancing the financial services industry, and with the strong backing from our investors, we aim to drive the next wave of innovation.”

Founded in 2021 by Manuel Grenacher, Andreas Hauri, and Michelle Heppler, Unique innovates agentic AI for the financial services industry, providing solutions that empower financial institutions to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

With data security and regulatory compliance ensured, Unique’s platform supports customers to deploy agentic AI, through one of its 25 specialised ‘off the shelf’ use cases, or via customised agents. These solutions for back and middle-office functions can be integrated into existing systems, delivering improved performance and accuracy in processing data and requests.

Unique AI is already deployed by blue-chip companies with more than €2.1 trillion in assets under management, including Pictet Group, UBP, LGT Private Banking, SIX and others.

--?? Join the others and subscribe to the Startup Monday newsletter | Subscribe on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/dRPHdmNs

Follow me (Narine Emdjian, MBA ) on LinkedIn and see more tech trends and the latest federal funding opportunities