Top Startup and Tech Funding News – September 17, 2025
Nickie Louise
Posted On September 17, 2025
It’s Wednesday, September 17, 2025, and we’re back with the top startup and tech funding news stories making waves today. From multibillion-dollar AI hardware plays to fintech, insurtech, and space-powered IoT, investors continued to pour capital into both late-stage giants and rising early-stage players.
Today’s highlights feature Groq’s $750 million mega-round at a $6.9 billion valuation, Splash Financial’s $70 million Series C to scale its fintech lending marketplace, and Chestnut Carbon’s $90 million extension that brings its Series B to $250 million. AI and developer tools also took center stage with Blacksmith, Ultralytics, and CodeRabbit collectively securing $100 million to accelerate innovation. On the global stage, Carro raised $60 million to push Japanese cars across Asia, while Hubble Network closed a $70 million Series B to expand its satellite IoT constellation.
Funding Highlights
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Groq raised $750 million to expand its AI chip infrastructure, cementing its role as a key Nvidia rival.
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Splash Financial secured $70 million+ in Series C funding to grow its credit union–powered lending marketplace.
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Chestnut Carbon added $90 million to its Series B, bringing the total to $250 million for large-scale carbon removal.
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CodeRabbit landed $60 million to scale its AI-powered code review platform globally.
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Hubble Network raised $70 million to build out its satellite-based IoT connectivity.
Investor Activity
The day’s rounds drew participation from some of the world’s largest venture capital firms, sovereign funds, and corporates — including BlackRock, Samsung, NVIDIA Ventures, and Temasek. Strategic investors such as Cool Japan Fund and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board doubled down on regional bets and sustainability. Meanwhile, Google Ventures, Seven Seven Six, and Scale Venture Partners anchored early- and mid-stage financings across developer tools, consumer social, and AI.
Together, these financings illustrate sustained conviction across AI infrastructure, fintech, climate tech, and consumer platforms — sectors that continue to attract the deepest pools of capital.
Here’s the full breakdown. Until tomorrow, have a great evening.
Groq Raises $750M in Funding at $6.9B Valuation for AI Chip Expansion
Groq, a Silicon Valley chip startup founded by a former Alphabet engineer, has raised a massive $750 million funding round, more than doubling its valuation to $6.9 billion. The funding will power Groq’s growth in the booming AI hardware sector, where its inference-optimized chips compete with offerings from Nvidia and AMD.
Groq’s chips are designed to run pre-trained AI models at high speed and low cost, aligning with the industry’s shift toward AI inference workloads. The new capital comes just over a year after Groq’s prior round, which raised $640 million in August 2024, underscoring continued investor enthusiasm for AI infrastructure.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Groq
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Investors: Disruptive (lead), BlackRock, Neuberger Berman, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, a large U.S. West Coast mutual fund manager, Samsung, Cisco, D1, Altimeter, 1789 Capital, Infinitum.
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Amount Raised: $750 million
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Total Raised: ~$1.39 billion (including prior rounds)
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Funding Stage: Growth financing (Series unknown)
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Blacksmith Raises $10M in Series A Funding for Dev Tools
Blacksmith, a startup offering a next-generation continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform, secured a $10 million Series A round just four months after its seed funding. The San Francisco–based company’s Series A was led by Google Ventures, which had also backed Blacksmith’s $3.5 million seed round in May 2025.
By leveraging high-performance gaming-grade CPUs and AI-driven pipelines, Blacksmith helps software teams test and ship code much faster than generic cloud CI services. The funding will enable Blacksmith to scale its engineering team and customer base, capitalizing on growing demand for speed and efficiency in an AI-driven software development market.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Blacksmith
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Investors: Google Ventures (lead).
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Amount Raised: $10 million
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Total Raised: $13.5 million (including seed round)
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Funding Stage: Series A
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Airbuds Raises $5M in Seed Funding for Music Social App
Airbuds, a San Francisco-based music social networking app, announced a $5 million seed funding round. The round was led by Seven Seven Six, the venture firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Airbuds offers a widget-based mobile app that lets users share what they’re streaming with friends in real time.
The startup says its app has already reached 15 million downloads and 5 million monthly active users, giving it a strong community of young, music-loving users. The new funds will help Airbuds expand features and grow its user base, aiming to capture social music sharing that has eluded incumbents like Apple and Spotify.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Airbuds
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Investors: Seven Seven Six (lead).
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Amount Raised: $5 million
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Total Raised: $5 million
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Funding Stage: Seed
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Hubble Network Raises $70M in Series B Funding for Satellite IoT
Hubble Network, a Seattle startup building a satellite-based IoT connectivity constellation, has closed a $70 million Series B round. This round brings Hubble’s total funding to $100 million. The funding was provided by an investor group including Ryan Swagar (Swagar Capital) and others such as Tom Gonser (DocuSign co-founder), Mike Farley (Tile co-founder), Marc Weiser (RPM Ventures), Tuff Yen (Seraph Group), and Y Combinator.
Hubble’s network enables everyday Bluetooth devices to connect to satellites without relying on cellular networks or special hardware. With its initial satellites launched and multiple enterprise partnerships, Hubble plans to use the Series B proceeds to accelerate satellite deployment and onboard developers across logistics, infrastructure, defense, and consumer markets.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Hubble Network
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Investors: Ryan Swagar (Swagar Capital, lead), Tom Gonser (DocuSign co-founder), Mike Farley (Tile co-founder), Marc Weiser (RPM Ventures), Tuff Yen (Seraph Group), Y Combinator.
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Amount Raised: $70 million
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Total Raised: $100 million
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Funding Stage: Series B
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Ultralytics Raises $30M in Series A Funding for Vision AI Models
Ultralytics, a London-based developer of open-source computer vision models (the YOLO family), announced a $30 million Series A round. The round was led by Elephant VC, with participation from SquareOne. Ultralytics’ technology powers the popular YOLO models, which are used billions of times daily for tasks like crop monitoring and industrial inspection.
The open source startup reports it is already profitable and will use the new capital to expand its model family, develop commercial applications, and scale its go-to-market team. This funding supports Ultralytics’ mission to bring fast, efficient AI vision tools – such as the new YOLO12 model – to enterprise users in industries ranging from agriculture to manufacturing.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Ultralytics
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Investors: Elephant VC (lead), SquareOne.
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Amount Raised: $30 million
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Total Raised: $30 million
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Funding Stage: Series A
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
EvoluteIQ Raises $53M in Growth Funding Round for AI Automation
EvoluteIQ AB, a Stockholm-based provider of AI-driven business process automation, secured $53 million in growth funding. The round was led by Baird Capital. EvoluteIQ uses a proprietary agentic AI platform (EIQ) that lets enterprises automate complex workflows and decision processes using AI agents.
The funds will fuel EvoluteIQ’s international expansion and accelerate development of its “agentic mesh” AI services. The company noted it will continue to invest heavily in India – home to its largest R&D center – while expanding globally. EvoluteIQ’s earlier $20 million round last year brings its total funding to about $73 million.
Funding Details:
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Startup: EvoluteIQ AB
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Investors: Baird Capital (lead).
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Amount Raised: $53 million
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Total Raised: ~$73 million (including prior $20M round)
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Funding Stage: Growth capital (minority growth round)
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Carro Raises $60M in Funding to Promote Japanese Cars in Asia
Carro, a Singapore-based used-car e-commerce platform, raised $60 million in funding to strengthen demand for Japanese vehicles across APAC. The round was led by the Cool Japan Fund, a Japanese government-backed investment fund. Carro plans to use the investment to promote Japanese cars – especially plug-in hybrids – across the Asia-Pacific region.
The company operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, connecting buyers and sellers of vehicles online and offering related services like insurance and financing. Existing backers Temasek and SoftBank also support Carro, which is reportedly considering an IPO in the U.S. later this year. This funding will help Carro grow market share in its core Southeast Asian markets and prepare for expansion into new markets.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Carro
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Investors: Cool Japan Fund (lead), with existing investors Temasek and SoftBank Group.
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Amount Raised: $60 million
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Total Raised: Not disclosed (prior funding rounds)
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Funding Stage: Growth financing (unannounced round)
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Splash Financial Raises $70M in Series C Funding for Fintech Lending
Splash Financial, an Ohio-based AI-powered lending marketplace for student loans and personal loans, announced it has raised over $70 million in a Series C round. The round was led by Grand Oaks Capital and included participation from First Tech Federal Credit Union, Curql Collective, The O.H.I.O. Fund, and other existing backers.
Splash will use the new capital to expand its platform beyond student loan refinancing into mortgage products (it recently launched a home equity line of credit) and to grow its network of credit union partners. The Series C brings Splash’s total equity funding to about $135 million since inception. The funds will help Splash strengthen its position as a premier lending technology provider for credit unions and community banks.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Splash Financial
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Investors: Grand Oaks Capital (lead); investors include First Tech Federal Credit Union, Curql Collective, The O.H.I.O. Fund, and others.
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Amount Raised: $70 million+
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Total Raised: ~$135 million
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Funding Stage: Series C
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Chestnut Carbon Raises Additional $90M in Series B Funding for Carbon Removal
Chestnut Carbon, a U.S. forest-based carbon removal startup, announced an additional $90 million investment in its Series B. This tranche increases the total Series B to $250 million (up from an initial $160 million). The financing came from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), which also participated in the original Series B. Chestnut Carbon partners with landowners to plant forests and generate verified carbon removal credits.
The new funding will enable Chestnut to purchase more land (adding to 60,000 acres already secured) and develop proprietary technologies for improved forest modeling. With this capital and recent executive hires, Chestnut is scaling its operations to meet growing demand from companies seeking high-quality, permanent CO₂ removals.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Chestnut Carbon
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Investors: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments, lead).
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Amount Raised: $90 million (new tranche)
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Total Raised: $250 million (Series B total)
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Funding Stage: Series B
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
InsurTech Startup Reserv Raises $16M in Series B Funding Extension
Reserv, a New York insurtech startup offering AI-enabled claims administration software, closed an additional $16 million funding tranche. The extension brings Reserv’s Series B total to $41 million. The round was led by QBE Ventures and included participation from strategic partners, with pro-rata from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Flourish Ventures, and others.
Reserv will use the funds to further develop its AI-driven claims orchestration platform, accelerating hiring and product expansion. Co-founded by industry veterans, Reserv’s software helps insurers automate claims handling to reduce loss costs and improve customer experience.
Funding Details:
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Startup: Reserv
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Investors: QBE Ventures (lead); participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Flourish Ventures, and other existing backers.
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Amount Raised: $16 million (Series B extension)
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Total Raised: $41 million (total Series B)
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Funding Stage: Series B
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
CodeRabbit Raises $60M in Series B Funding for AI Code Review
CodeRabbit, a San Francisco AI tooling startup, announced a $60 million Series B. The round was led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from NVIDIA’s venture arm (NVentures) and existing investors including CRV, Harmony Partners, Flex Capital, Engineering Capital, and Pelion Venture Partners. CodeRabbit provides an AI-powered code review platform that integrates with engineering workflows to catch bugs, improve security, and streamline development. The new funding will accelerate hiring and product development as CodeRabbit expands globally. Founded by CEO Harjot Gill, CodeRabbit’s platform uses AI to deliver context-aware code feedback to help engineering teams ship high-quality code faster.
Funding Details:
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Startup: CodeRabbit
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Investors: Scale Venture Partners (lead); NVIDIA Ventures (NVentures); existing investors CRV, Harmony Partners, Flex Capital, Engineering Capital, Pelion Venture Partners.
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Amount Raised: $60 million
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Total Raised: $60 million
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Funding Stage: Series B
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Funding Date: September 17, 2025
Tech Funding Summary Table
| Startup | Investors (Lead & Notable) | Amount Raised | Total Raised | Funding Stage | Funding Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groq | Disruptive (lead), BlackRock, Neuberger Berman, Deutsche Telekom CP, Samsung, Cisco, Altimeter, 1789 Capital, Infinitum | $750M | ~$1.39B | Growth financing | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Blacksmith | Google Ventures (lead) | $10M | $13.5M | Series A | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Airbuds | Seven Seven Six (lead) | $5M | $5M | Seed | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Hubble Network | Ryan Swagar (lead), Tom Gonser, Mike Farley, Marc Weiser, Tuff Yen, Y Combinator | $70M | $100M | Series B | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Ultralytics | Elephant VC (lead), SquareOne | $30M | $30M | Series A | Sep 17, 2025 |
| EvoluteIQ | Baird Capital (lead) | $53M | ~$73M | Growth equity | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Carro | Cool Japan Fund (lead), Temasek, SoftBank | $60M | Not disclosed | Growth financing | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Splash Financial | Grand Oaks Capital (lead), First Tech FCU, Curql Collective, O.H.I.O. Fund | $70M+ | ~$135M | Series C | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Chestnut Carbon | CPP Investments (lead) | $90M | $250M | Series B | Sep 17, 2025 |
| Reserv | QBE Ventures (lead), Bain Capital Ventures, Flourish Ventures | $16M | $41M | Series B | Sep 17, 2025 |
| CodeRabbit | Scale Venture Partners (lead), NVIDIA Ventures, CRV, Harmony, Flex, Pelion | $60M | $60M | Series B | Sep 17, 2025 |
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