Top 10 Startup and Tech Funding News – July 2, 2025

Climeworks Secures $162M to Scale Carbon Capture

Climeworks, the Swiss pioneer of direct air capture (DAC) technology, announced a $162 million equity financing today to boost its carbon removal capacity. The round was led by BigPoint Holding and Partners Group, bringing Climeworks’ total funding to over $1 billion. Climeworks will use the funds to accelerate the deployment of its next-generation Generation 3 DAC machines and expand its portfolio of engineered carbon removal solutions.

The company plans to install more advanced DAC plants worldwide (including the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Europe) to meet growing demand for permanent CO₂ removal. Climeworks’ founders have set a bold vision of capturing 1 billion tons of CO₂ by 2050; this new investment will help shrink the gap between that vision and reality.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Climeworks
• Investors: BigPoint Holding (lead), Partners Group
• Amount Raised: $162 million
• Total Raised: >$1 billion
• Funding Stage: Late-stage VC
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

xAI Lands $10B (Debt + Equity) for Grok AI and Data Centers

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI completed a landmark financing by raising a total of $10 billion – $5 billion in debt and $5 billion in equity – to fund its Grok AI platform and global data-center expansion. Morgan Stanley arranged the $5 billion debt facility (in secured notes and term loans), which was heavily oversubscribed. In parallel, xAI closed a $5 billion strategic equity round.

The equity portion drew top-tier backers, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, VY Capital, BlackRock, Fidelity, NVIDIA, AMD, and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holdings. xAI will use the funds to scale up its Memphis-based “Colossus” supercomputer (already one of the world’s largest AI clusters) and accelerate development of Grok, its AI model embedded in Musk’s X platform. This massive funding package underscores investor confidence in xAI’s vision, even as it targets ambitious revenue and growth milestones in the competitive AI infrastructure landscape.

Funding Details:

• Startup: xAI (Elon Musk’s AI venture)
• Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, VY Capital, BlackRock, Fidelity, NVIDIA, AMD, Kingdom Holdings, among others.
• Amount Raised: $10 billion (combined debt and equity)
• Total Raised: ~$10 billion (latest round)
• Funding Stage: Growth/private round (debt+equity)
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

Figma Files for $1.5B IPO to Challenge Adobe

Design software leader Figma filed registration paperwork today for an initial public offering (IPO) targeting up to $1.5 billion in proceeds. The S‑1 filing reveals that Figma generated $749 million in revenue in 2024 (a 48% increase year-over-year). With roughly $821 million in trailing revenue, analysts estimate the company could be valued around $15–20 billion after the IPO.

Figma’s co-founder Dylan Field will maintain voting control via dual-class shares. The company, which counts investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, and Sequoia Capital, plans to use the IPO proceeds to further build its product suite (competing with Adobe XD) and expand sales and R&D efforts. If successful, Figma’s offering will rank among the largest U.S. tech IPOs of 2025.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Figma
• Investors: Kleiner Perkins, Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital (existing backers)
• Amount Raised: ~$1.5 billion (planned IPO)
• Total Raised: (Private funding) ~$1.5 billion (approximate)
• Funding Stage: IPO
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

Dexter Energy Nets €23M Series C for Renewable Trading

Dutch climate-tech startup Dexter Energy announced a €23 million ($27.1 million) Series C round today to expand its AI-powered renewable energy trading platform. The round was led by Alantra’s Klima fund, with participation from Mirova and continued support from existing backers ETF Partners, Newion, and PDENH.

Dexter’s software uses machine learning to forecast renewable generation and optimize trading and storage operations for batteries and grid operators. This new capital will be deployed to scale Dexter’s forecasting and trading tools across Europe and beyond, meeting growing demand for smarter integration of renewables into the grid.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Dexter Energy
• Investors: Alantra (Klima fund, lead), Mirova, ETF Partners, Newion, PDENH.
• Amount Raised: €23 million (~$27.1 million)
• Total Raised: €23 million (after round)
• Funding Stage: Series C
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

Bambrew Raises ₹90 Crore for Sustainable Packaging

Bengaluru-based sustainable packaging startup Bambrew secured ₹90 crore (about $10.3 million) in funding today from Ashok Goel (former MD of Essel Propack) and Japanese VC Enrission India Capital. Bambrew will use the proceeds to advance R&D on its biodegradable materials and to expand manufacturing capacity.

The company plans to enter the Middle Eastern and North American markets with its sustainable packaging products as part of its global growth strategy.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Bambrew
• Investors: Ashok Goel (former Essel Propack MD), Enrission India Capital
• Amount Raised: ₹90 crore (~$10.3 million)
• Total Raised: ₹90 crore (after round)
• Funding Stage: Series Unknown (early-stage)
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

CIMware Grabs $2.3M Pre-Series A for Data Center Hardware

CIMware, a deep-tech infrastructure startup in India, announced it has raised $2.3 million in a pre-Series A round led by Transition VC. Founded by industry veteran Rajiv Ganth, CIMware is developing a “Composable Infrastructure Module” (CIM) – a rack-level smart switch that converges compute, storage, and networking into a single unit to improve data center efficiency.

The new funding will support further development of CIMware’s hardware and partnerships with large-scale data center operators, targeting demand from AI, streaming, and cloud service providers.

Funding Details:

• Startup: CIMware
• Investors: Transition VC (lead)
• Amount Raised: $2.3 million
• Total Raised: $2.3 million (after round)
• Funding Stage: Pre-Series A
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

Genesis AI Raises $105M Seed to Build Robotics AI Platform

Genesis AI, a dual-headquartered robotics software startup in Silicon Valley and Paris, emerged from stealth today with a $105 million seed round to build a general-purpose robotics foundation model. The funding was co-led by Eclipse Ventures and Khosla Ventures, with participation from investors including Bpifrance, HongShan (formerly Sequoia China), and tech luminaries like Eric Schmidt and Xavier Niel.

Founded by Carnegie Mellon AI and robotics PhDs, Genesis AI is developing a physics-based simulation platform that generates synthetic data up to 430,000 times faster than real time, aiming to automate a wide range of physical tasks. The new capital will accelerate hiring of robotics and AI talent and advance its simulation engine and foundation-model architecture, positioning Genesis AI to challenge incumbents in the robotics AI space.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Genesis AI
• Investors: Eclipse Ventures (lead), Khosla Ventures (co-lead), Bpifrance, HongShan (Sequoia China’s new fund), Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel.
• Amount Raised: $105 million
• Total Raised: $105 million
• Funding Stage: Seed
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

IORA Raises ₹8.5 Crore in Debt to Plant Millions of Trees

IORA Ecological Solutions (IORA) has secured ₹8.5 crore (~$1.0 million) in debt financing from Caspian Debt to expand its carbon sequestration initiative. Underwritten by Rabobank’s ACORN programme, the funding will scale up IORA’s MegCare project – an afforestation and carbon removal program covering 150,000 hectares in Meghalaya, India.

MegCare is designed to sequester over 25 million tonnes of CO₂ while creating economic benefits for 80,000+ smallholder farmers. The new capital will accelerate tree planting and ecosystem restoration efforts across the MegCare area.

Funding Details:

• Startup: IORA Ecological Solutions
• Investors: Caspian Debt (soon-to-merge with BlackSoil Capital)
• Amount Raised: ₹8.5 crore ($1.0 million) (debt)
• Total Raised: ₹8.5 crore (debt round)
• Funding Stage: Debt financing
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

AMAMA Secures $1M from Mistry Ventures for Retail Expansion

AMAMA, an Indian artisanal apparel and jewellery brand, announced a $1 million funding round led by Mistry Ventures. This is the company’s second round of investment (after initial backing from She Capital Trust).

AMAMA plans to use the funds to deepen its retail and e-commerce presence in major Indian cities (such as Delhi and Mumbai), strengthen its supply chain and technology infrastructure, and expand its design team to accelerate product development and sales.

Funding Details:

• Startup: AMAMA
• Investors: Mistry Ventures
• Amount Raised: $1 million
• Total Raised: $1 million (after round)
• Funding Stage: Seed
• Funding Date: July 2, 2025

Funding Summary Table