Top Startup and Tech Funding News – August 12, 2025

It’s Tuesday, August 12, 2025, and we’re back with a packed edition spotlighting 15 startup and tech funding stories from the U.S. and around the globe. From AI-powered freight management to breakthrough neurotherapies and rare earth magnet manufacturing, today’s rounds showcase the breadth of innovation investors are backing.

Funding Highlights

At the top of the list, SetPoint Medical secured $140 million to launch its FDA-approved rheumatoid arthritis neurostimulation therapy in the U.S., while Vulcan Elements closed a $65 million Series A to onshore rare earth magnet production. Gameto raised $44 million to advance late-stage stem cell-derived fertility treatments, and 1Kosmos pulled in $57 million to scale its passwordless identity platform. AI infrastructure also drew attention, with Tavily’s $25 million Series A for real-time agent search and Mako’s $8.5 million seed to automate GPU code optimization.

Investor Activity

The day saw strong participation from top-tier names like Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Altimeter Capital, Forgepoint, and Overwater Ventures, alongside strategic backers such as Northwell Health, AMD, and Northwestern Mutual. The spread of capital from seed through late-stage underscores sustained investor conviction in startups addressing critical pain points—whether in healthcare, AI safety, logistics, or fintech.

Here’s the full breakdown. Until tomorrow, have a great evening.

Vulcan Elements Lands $65M Series A Funding to Onshore Rare Earth Magnet Production

Vulcan Elements, a US-based rare earth magnet startup, has closed a $65 million Series A funding round to scale up its domestic manufacturing operations in North Carolina. The round was led by Altimeter Capital with significant backing from One Investment Management (the fund led by ex-SoftBank Vision Fund chief Rajeev Misra).

Vulcan is building a 21,000-sq-ft plant in Durham to produce high-performance neodymium magnets, aiming to reduce U.S. reliance on China, which currently produces over 90% of the world’s rare earth magnets. The new capital will accelerate Vulcan’s expansion toward full commercial scale to meet surging demand in defense, electronics, and automotive sectors.

Since launching in 2023, Vulcan’s proprietary magnet chemistry and production process have been validated by the Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory and backed by the U.S. Department of Defense through contracts with the Air Force, Army, and Navy. The company also noted that its chief technology officer, Dr. Piotr Kulik, established the first U.S. rare earth magnetics laboratory in more than two decades.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Vulcan Elements

• Investors: Altimeter Capital (lead), One Investment Management (Rajeev Misra’s fund), with participation from other strategic investors

• Amount Raised: $65 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

1Kosmos Secures $57M Series B Funding to Scale Passwordless Identity Platform

1Kosmos, an identity verification and passwordless authentication provider, has raised $57 million in a Series B round to accelerate global expansion of its cybersecurity platform. The funding was led by Forgepoint Capital, Oquirrh Ventures, and Origami Capital, and includes a $10 million line of credit from Bridge Bank.

The latest capital infusion, which brings 1Kosmos’s total funding to $72 million, will fuel product enhancements, deeper integration with zero-trust security frameworks, and entry into new markets as organizations seek to combat identity fraud at scale.

Funding Details:

• Startup: 1Kosmos

• Investors: Forgepoint Capital (lead), Oquirrh Ventures, Origami Capital; plus a $10M credit line from Bridge Bank

• Amount Raised: $57 million

• Total Raised: $72 million (including this round)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Gameto Closes $44M in Series C Funding for Next-Gen Reproductive Therapies

Gameto, an Austin, TX-based biotechnology company developing stem cell-derived therapies for women’s reproductive health, secured $44 million in a Series C round to advance its clinical programs. The financing was led by Overwater Ventures and joined by Insight Partners, RA Capital, Two Sigma Ventures, BOLD Capital Partners, Future Ventures, and others.

Gameto’s lead program, called Fertilo, is currently in Phase 3 trials – reportedly the first induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapy to reach late-stage development in the U.S. With this new funding, which brings Gameto’s total capital raised to $127 million, the company will expand its operations and R&D efforts, including work on additional therapies for menopause and ovarian health.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Gameto

• Investors: Overwater Ventures (lead), Insight Partners, RA Capital, Two Sigma Ventures, BOLD Capital, Future Ventures, Ingeborg Investments, etc.

• Amount Raised: $44 million

• Total Raised: $127 million.

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

SetPoint Medical Raises $140M in Series D Funding to Launch Rheumatoid Arthritis Neurotherapy

SetPoint Medical, a Valencia, CA-based medical device startup, has raised a total of $140 million in new financing to support the U.S. launch of its novel therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. The round includes $115 million in Series D funding – co-led by Elevage Medical Technologies and Ally Bridge Group – plus a $25 million second tranche of SetPoint’s Series C.

The FDA-approved SetPoint System is a first-of-its-kind neurostimulation device that treats RA by modulating the immune system via the vagus nerve, offering a drug-free alternative for patients who don’t respond to standard biologic drugs. The latest investment adds several new health-focused backers (such as Northwell Health) to SetPoint’s syndicate and will help drive its commercial rollout and pipeline expansion into other autoimmune conditions.

Funding Details:

• Startup: SetPoint Medical

• Investors: Elevage Medical Technologies (co-lead), Ally Bridge Group (co-lead), with new investors including Northwell Health and SPRIG Equity, alongside returning backers (NEA, Viking Global, Abbott, etc.)

• Amount Raised: $140 million (combined Series D and Series C extension)

• Total Raised: Not disclosed (company has multiple prior rounds)

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Profound Snags $35M in Series B Funding to Boost Brands in AI Search Results

Profound, a NYC-based startup building a marketing platform for the AI-driven internet, has raised $35 million in Series B funding to help brands optimize their presence in AI-generated search results. The round was led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, Saga VC, and South Park Commons.

“We’re in the midst of the most significant shift in how consumers discover and research products since the dawn of the internet,” said James Cadwallader, Co-founder and CEO of Profound. “AI assistants are becoming the new front door to every business. If you’re not showing up in those conversations, you’re invisible to billions of consumers.”

Profound’s platform enables companies to monitor how AI assistants and chatbots describe their brand and to create content that these AI systems will favor, aiming to increase “AI referrals” to the business. This new infusion brings Profound’s total funding to $58.5 million and will support accelerated feature development, including agentic workflow tools and international expansion as demand grows for AI-focused marketing solutions.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Profound

• Investors: Sequoia Capital (lead), Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, Saga VC, South Park Commons

• Amount Raised: $35 million

• Total Raised: $58.5 million

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Jocasta Neuroscience Grabs $35M in Series A Funding to Target Dementia with Longevity Protein Therapy

Jocasta Neuroscience, a Scottsdale, AZ-based preclinical biotech company, raised $35 million in Series A financing to advance its lead therapeutic compound into human trials. The round was led by True Ventures and joined by Moore Strategic Ventures, SC8 Investments, Glentura, the Yagan Family Foundation, and others.

Jocasta’s research focuses on a proprietary formulation of the protein alpha-Klotho, which has shown potential to slow cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases. The new funding will support an IND filing and Phase 1 clinical studies for the company’s lead drug candidate (JN-0413) aimed at treating dementia associated with aging.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Jocasta Neuroscience

• Investors: True Ventures (lead), Moore Strategic Ventures, SC8 Investments, Glentura, Yagan Family Foundation, others

• Amount Raised: $35 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

GoodShip Hauls in $25M in Series B Funding to Streamline AI-Powered Freight Management

GoodShip, a Bellevue, Washington-based startup modernizing freight management with AI, has hauled in $25 million in Series B funding to expand its platform for enterprise shippers. The round was spearheaded by Greenfield Partners and saw participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, FUSE, Chicago Ventures, and Ironspring Ventures, bringing GoodShip’s total funding to over $40 million.

GoodShip’s software unifies logistics data and automates processes to cut transportation costs and delays. Notably, clients like Tropicana have seen shipping costs reduced by up to 5% and late deliveries down 20% after adopting the platform. The new capital will fuel further AI-driven feature development, deeper automation of freight operations, and the expansion of GoodShip’s team as it opens a new headquarters in Bellevue.

Funding Details:

• Startup: GoodShip

• Investors: Greenfield Partners (lead), Bessemer Venture Partners, FUSE, Chicago Ventures, Ironspring Ventures

• Amount Raised: $25 million

• Total Raised: ~ $40 million

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Tavily Secures $25M in Series A Funding to Power Real-Time “Internet of Agents”

Tavily, an AI startup based in New York (with offices in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi), secured $25 million in funding – including a $20 million Series A led by Insight Partners and Alpha Wave Global – to scale its platform for AI agents to access live web and enterprise data. Tavily’s system is purpose-built to feed real-time, structured information into large language models, reducing hallucinations and outdated responses by giving AI “agents” a live search layer into the internet and private datasets.

The platform has seen rapid adoption, with over 1 million monthly downloads and users among Fortune 500 companies and tech firms. With the new funding, Tavily plans to double its headcount, deepen partnerships across the AI ecosystem, and enhance its high-performance retrieval capabilities for mission-critical applications.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Tavily

• Investors: Insight Partners (co-lead), Alpha Wave Global (co-lead)

• Amount Raised: $25 million (Series A round)

• Total Raised: $25 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Jump Scores $23M in Series A Funding to Elevate Sports Fan Experience

Jump, a New York-based sports tech startup, raised $23 million in a Series A round to expand its fan engagement platform for professional teams and venues. The financing was led by Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, with participation from Courtside Ventures, Will Ventures, Forerunner, as well as sports executive Steve Malik.

Co-founded by serial entrepreneur Jordy Leiser alongside former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and tech investor Marc Lore, Jump’s platform integrates ticketing, content, commerce, and game-day operations in one digital hub. The company has already partnered with the NBA/WNBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx to enhance live game experiences, and the new funding will help onboard more teams and accelerate product development.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Jump

• Investors: Seven Seven Six (Alexis Ohanian, lead), Courtside Ventures, Will Ventures, Forerunner, and Steve Malik (NC Courage owner)

• Amount Raised: $23 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Datumo Raises $15.5M in Funding to Scale AI Model Evaluation and Safety Tools

Datumo, a Seoul-based AI startup specializing in large language model evaluation and safety, raised $15.5 million in funding to take on industry leader Scale AI in the AI data marketplace. The investment was led by Salesforce Ventures along with South Korea’s KB Investment, ACVC Partners, SBI Investment, and others, bringing Datumo’s total financing to roughly $28 million.

Founded by a former defense researcher and KAIST alumnus, Datumo evolved from a crowdsourced data-labeling app into a full-stack AI model evaluation platform now used by Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and over 300 clients. The new capital will fund R&D on automated AI safety tools and support Datumo’s expansion into Japan and the United States as it helps enterprises benchmark and improve LLM outputs.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Datumo

• Investors: Salesforce Ventures (lead), KB Investment, ACVC Partners, SBI Investment, others

• Amount Raised: $15.5 million

• Total Raised: ~$28 million

• Funding Stage: Series A (early-stage funding)

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Mako Nabs $8.5M in Seed Funding to Automate GPU Code Optimization

Mako, a NYC-based artificial intelligence company specializing in GPU kernel code generation, emerged from stealth with an $8.5 million seed funding round to advance its AI-driven developer platform. The round was led by venture firm M13, and the startup also announced key partnerships with chipmakers AMD and Tenstorrent as part of the deal.

Mako’s technology allows developers to write machine learning models in high-level languages, while its AI system automatically generates and continually tunes the low-level CUDA/OpenCL code needed to run efficiently on any GPU hardware. The seed funding will be used to expand the company’s operations and accelerate development of its platform, which aims to unlock better performance from existing chips in both cloud and on-premise environments.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Mako

• Investors: M13 (lead); partnerships with AMD and Tenstorrent as strategic collaborators

• Amount Raised: $8.5 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Inclined Lands $8M in Series B Funding to Democratize Life-Insurance Loans

Inclined, a San Francisco fintech startup that enables people to borrow against their whole life insurance policies, raised an $8 million Series B round to expand access to this historically wealth-exclusive financing option. The funding was led by HSCM Ventures, with participation from Northwestern Mutual and both new and existing investors.

Founded in 2020 by serial entrepreneur Josh Wyss alongside Strava co-founder Mark Shaw, Inclined digitizes the traditionally time-consuming process of collateralizing life insurance so that policyholders can quickly tap into their policies’ cash value. The fresh capital brings Inclined’s total funding to $31 million and will help the company grow its platform and partner network, further opening up this form of low-interest borrowing to a broader customer base.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Inclined

• Investors: HSCM Ventures (lead), Northwestern Mutual, among other new and existing backers

• Amount Raised: $8 million

• Total Raised: $31 million

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Continua Lands $8M in Seed Funding for AI Group-Chat Assistants

Continua, a San Francisco-based startup founded by former Google engineer David Petrou, has secured an $8 million seed round to bring AI assistants into group chats. The company is developing a consumer-facing platform that injects large language model “agents” into SMS, iMessage, and Discord conversations to help users plan events, answer questions, and automate tasks collaboratively.

The funding was led by GV (Google’s venture arm), with additional participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and a group of angel investors. Continua says its AI agent will intelligently participate in multi-person chats only when needed – for instance, setting reminders or launching polls – aiming to reduce group chat chaos and enhance productivity.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Continua

• Investors: GV (Google Ventures, lead), Bessemer Venture Partners, plus notable angel investors

• Amount Raised: $8 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Uno Platform Raises $2.54M in Seed Funding to Expand Cross-Platform Dev Tools

Uno Platform, a Montreal-based startup focused on enterprise-grade cross-platform developer tools, has raised a C$3.5 million (US$2.54 million) seed funding round to accelerate its mission of simplifying app deployment across multiple operating systems. The 2-year-old company offers a suite that lets developers code an application once and easily run it on Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, and web platforms.

Uno’s enterprise-focused approach, which has attracted customers like Toyota and Microsoft, has also drawn investor interest: the seed round was co-led by AQC Capital and Desjardins Capital, with participation from notable angels including Microsoft veteran Scott Hanselman. The new funding will help Uno launch premium tools (such as its real-time UI editor “Hot Design”) and scale up its developer platform to boost productivity for large organizations.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Uno Platform

• Investors: AQC Capital (co-lead), Desjardins Capital (co-lead), with participation from Scott Hanselman and other angel investors

• Amount Raised: C$3.5 million (≈US$2.54 million)

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: August 12, 2025

Tech Funding Summary Table