Top Startup and Tech Funding News Roundup – Week Ending September 27, 2025

It’s Saturday, September 27, 2025, and we’re back with the top startup and tech funding news stories that shaped the week. From billion-dollar AI infrastructure bets and healthtech expansions to fintech, defense tech, and enterprise software plays, capital continued flowing across every stage and geography.

This week’s coverage spans Monday, September 22, through Friday, September 26, spotlighting both late-stage giants and fast-moving challengers. Nscale made headlines with a record-breaking $1.1 billion Series B to scale global AI infrastructure, while Oura Health raised $875 million to cement its position as a leading wearable health platform. Filevine locked in $400 million to accelerate its AI-powered legal suite, Judi Health secured $400 million to expand employer health benefits, and Modular attracted $250 million for its cross-platform AI deployment engine.

Funding Highlights

• Nscale raised a record $1.1 billion Series B funding — the largest in European history — to build out AI cloud infrastructure.

• Oura Health secured $875 million at an $11 billion valuation to expand wearable health devices.

• Filevine landed $400 million to scale its AI-powered legal operating system.

• Judi Health closed $400 million in Series F funding to transform health benefits management.

• Modular added $250 million in Series C funding to make AI deployment cross-platform and chip-agnostic.

• Other notable rounds included AppZen ($180M Series D), Distyl AI ($175M Series B), Auterion ($130M Series B), and Cohere ($100M Series D).

• Early-stage momentum was strong: Juicebox ($30M Series A), Corintis ($24M Series A), and Light ($30M Series A) captured investor attention.

Investor Activity

The week saw heavy participation from top-tier VCs and strategic corporates. Fidelity, TPG, Riverwood, Khosla Ventures, Insight Partners, and General Catalyst led major rounds, while tech giants like NVIDIA, AMD, Salesforce, and Dell doubled down with strategic investments. Private equity firms and sovereign wealth players — from Abu Dhabi’s ADIA to Aker ASA in Norway — played outsized roles in the mega-rounds.

The spread highlighted the ongoing barbell trend: mega-rounds powering AI infrastructure, healthtech, and fintech giants alongside steady early-stage activity in developer tools, recruiting platforms, and next-gen chip cooling. Together, these financings underscore investor conviction in ambitious founders reshaping how we work, compute, and care for our health.

Here’s the full breakdown. Until next week, have a great weekend.

Oura Health Raises $875M Series E Funding for Wearable Health Platform

Oura Health, the maker of the popular Oura smart ring, is raising roughly $875 million in a new Series E funding round at a valuation of approximately $11 billion. The massive funding round (expected to close by month-end and possibly exceed $900M) will be used to scale manufacturing, expand international sales, and develop next-generation wearable health products.

Since its 2013 founding, Oura has sold over 5 million rings and is projected to generate more than $1 billion in revenue by 2025.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Oura Health (Oura Ring maker)

• Investors: Not disclosed (press reports cite unnamed investors)

• Amount Raised: ~$875 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series E

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Tide Raises $120M in Series F Funding for SME Banking Expansion

London-based Tide, a fintech offering business banking services to small and medium enterprises, secured $120 million in fresh funding at a valuation of $1.5 billion. The round was led by private equity firm TPG, with participation from existing backer Apax Digital Funds. Tide – which already serves over 1.6 million business customers – will use the capital for global expansion (into markets like India, Germany, and France) and to integrate advanced AI features into its platform.

Founded in 2017, Tide has carved out a space serving small- and medium-sized businesses with digital banking tools that go beyond payments. Its platform helps SMBs with accounting, invoicing, and administrative tasks, positioning itself as a one-stop shop for business management.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Tide

• Investors: TPG (lead), Apax Digital Funds

• Amount Raised: $120 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series F (late stage)

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

AppZen Raises $180M in Series D Funding to Power AI for Finance Teams

San Jose-based AppZen, which offers an AI platform that automates finance and expense auditing, has raised $180 million in Series D funding round. The round was led exclusively by Riverwood Capital, bringing AppZen’s total funding to $290 million. AppZen’s “agentic AI” technology automates tasks such as expense report auditing and accounts payable workflows.

The company plans to use the new funds to scale its AI product suite and support a larger global customer base of hundreds of enterprises (including Amazon, Salesforce, and JPMorgan Chase).

Founded in 2012, AppZen automates manual processes, uncovers problems, and optimizes decision making for more than 1,500 global enterprises including Airbus, Amazon, Novartis, and Salesforce. Its AI platform combines patented computer vision, deep learning and semantic analysis with intelligence from thousands of online sources to understand financial transactions in business context and make decisions before those transactions happen.

Funding Details:

• Startup: AppZen

• Investors: Riverwood Capital (lead); previous backers include 500 Global, Lightspeed, Coatue, Bloomberg Beta, Redpoint

• Amount Raised: $180 million

• Total Raised: $290 million

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Distyl AI Raises $175M in Series B Funding to Scale Enterprise AI Consulting

Distyl AI, an enterprise-focused AI consulting startup founded by ex-Palantir engineers, secured $175 million in a Series B financing at a $1.8 billion post-money valuation. The round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital, and DST Global.

Distyl helps Fortune 500 companies embed AI directly into core business operations; its platform and services deliver concrete results (such as T-Mobile using Distyl to improve operational efficiency). The new funding (boosting total funding to just over $200M) will enable Distyl to expand its team, refine its platform, and deepen strategic partnerships as demand grows for “AI-native” enterprise solutions.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Distyl AI

• Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures (co-leads), Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital, DST Global

• Amount Raised: $175 million

• Total Raised: ~$200 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Empower Semiconductor Secures $140M+ in Series D Funding for AI Power Management

Empower Semiconductor, a California-based company developing advanced power-management solutions for AI processors, announced the closing of a Series D round totaling more than $140 million. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, with additional participation from Maverick Silicon, CapitalG, Atreides Management, Socratic Partners, Walden Catalyst, Knollwood, and an Abu Dhabi Investment Authority subsidiary.

Empower’s technology (including integrated voltage regulators and silicon capacitors) dramatically improves energy efficiency for high-performance computing. The new financing will accelerate Empower’s growth in the AI space and support further R&D breakthroughs in data-center power delivery.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Empower Semiconductor

• Investors: Fidelity Mgt (lead), Maverick Silicon, CapitalG, Atreides Management, Socratic Partners, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Knollwood, ADIA (Abu Dhabi Inv.)

• Amount Raised: >$140 million

• Total Raised: >$140 million (this round)

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Filevine Secures $400M in Series E Funding to Scale AI-Powered Legal Platform

Salt Lake City–based Filevine, a provider of legal practice management software, announced $400 million in new equity funding on Sept. 23. The capital was raised in two undisclosed tranches – one led by Insight Partners, another co-led by Accel and the Halo Fund – with participation from Meritech, StepStone, Run Ventures, and Album Ventures.

Filevine’s “legal operating system” is used by nearly 6,000 law firms and 100,000 legal professionals to automate case management and analytics. The new funds (bringing Filevine’s total funding to about $626M) will accelerate development of its AI-driven platform and support global expansion in the rapidly growing legaltech market.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Filevine

• Investors: Insight Partners (lead), Accel, Halo Fund, Meritech, StepStone, Run Ventures, Album Ventures

• Amount Raised: $400 million

• Total Raised: ~$626 million (including this round)

• Funding Stage: Series E

• Funding Date: September 23, 2025

AmplifAI Raises $33.7M in Series B Funding to Enhance AI Contact Centers

AmplifAI, a Texas-based SaaS startup focused on contact-center operations, closed a $33.7 million Series B round led by CVS Health Ventures. Existing investors LiveOak Ventures and Dallas Venture Partners also participated. AmplifAI’s platform uses AI and agent performance data to optimize contact center efficiency and customer experience.

The new funding (raising total funding to about $52.2M) will bolster product development and sales expansion, particularly targeting healthcare, financial services, technology, and retail clients. The capital will be used to enhance AI-driven analytics and automation tools for enterprise contact centers.

Funding Details:

• Startup: AmplifAI

• Investors: CVS Health Ventures (lead), LiveOak Ventures, Dallas Venture Partners

• Amount Raised: $33.7 million

• Total Raised: ~$52.2 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 23, 2025

Aleph Raises $29M in Series B Funding for AI-Driven Financial Planning Software

Aleph, a Nashville startup building an AI-native financial planning & analysis (FP&A) platform, raised $29 million in Series B financing on Sept. 23. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and included Picus Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Y Combinator. Aleph’s software automates variance analysis and other finance workflows, helping companies replace legacy tools with AI-powered analytics.

The funding brings Aleph’s total raised to $46 million and will be used to accelerate product development as the company scales to serve customers like Zapier, Turo, and Chess.com.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Aleph

• Investors: Khosla Ventures (lead), Picus Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Y Combinator

• Amount Raised: $29 million

• Total Raised: $46 million

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 23, 2025

Judi Health Raises $400M in Series F Funding to Expand Employer Health Platform

Judi Health (formerly Capital Rx), a New York–based healthtech startup providing pharmacy and benefits management solutions, announced a $400 million funding round. The financing included a $252M Series F led by Wellington Management and General Catalyst, plus additional undisclosed investments (closing in October) from Generation Investment Management, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, 9Yards Capital, B Capital, Edison Partners, Prime Health Investments, and Transformation Capital.

Judi Health’s integrated platform serves 4 million pharmacy benefit members and 54 million health plan lives. The new capital (bringing total funding to ~$607M) will allow Judi to expand its pharmacy benefit management operations and deploy its unified health benefits software to millions more users.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Judi Health (fka Capital Rx)

• Investors: Wellington Management (lead), General Catalyst, Generation IM, Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, 9Yards Capital, B Capital, Edison Partners, Prime Health Investments, Transformation Capital

• Amount Raised: $400 million

• Total Raised: ~$607 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series F

• Funding Date: September 23, 2025

Modular Raises $250M in Series C Funding for Cross-Platform AI Deployment

Modular, an AI hardware and software startup founded by former Google and Apple engineers, announced a $250 million financing that values the company at $1.6 billion. The Series C round was led by Thomas Tull’s US Innovative Technology Fund, with participation from DFJ Growth, Google Ventures, General Catalyst, and Greylock Venture Partners.

Modular’s platform lets developers run AI applications across different chips (CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, etc.) without rewriting code. The new capital (bringing total known funding to about $380M) will accelerate R&D and expansion as Modular seeks to challenge established AI chip players by making compute infrastructure more flexible and cross-platform.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Modular

• Investors: US Innovative Technology Fund (lead), DFJ Growth, Google Ventures, General Catalyst, Greylock Venture Partners

• Amount Raised: $250 million

• Total Raised: $380 million

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: September 24, 2025

Cohere Raises $100M in Series D Funding for Secure Enterprise AI

Cohere, a Toronto-based AI startup specializing in secure, on-premises large language models, announced a $100 million funding round at a $7 billion valuation. Existing backers NVIDIA, AMD, and Salesforce participated again, joined by new investors Nexxus Capital Management and the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Cohere’s platform enables companies to deploy customizable AI models with a focus on data privacy and compliance. The new funding will fuel Cohere’s global expansion and R&D as it scales its security-first AI solutions for enterprise customers.

Founded in 2019 by former Google researchers, including CEO Aidan Gomez, Cohere’s ascent is marked by its focus on enterprise applications, setting it apart from competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. OpenAI, for instance, is projecting $1 billion in revenue for 2024 and has amassed over $10 billion in investments, primarily from Microsoft. Meanwhile, other AI labs, including Anthropic and Mistral, continue to attract significant backing from industry heavyweights.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Cohere

• Investors: NVIDIA, AMD, Salesforce (existing); Nexxus Capital Management, Business Development Bank of Canada (new)

• Amount Raised: $100 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series D (late-stage)

• Funding Date: September 24, 2025

Juicebox Raises $30M in Series A Funding for AI Recruiting Platform

Juicebox, a San Francisco startup building an AI-driven candidate search engine for recruiters, has closed $30 million in Series A round led by Sequoia Capital. The funding brings Juicebox’s total raised to $36 million. The company’s platform uses large language models to sift through resumes and profiles, surfacing qualified candidates that traditional keyword searches might miss. Co-founders David Paffenholz and Ishan Gupta say the AI platform can sift through resumes and profiles to surface qualified candidates that keyword-based search might miss.

Juicebox will use the new capital to scale operations and continue enhancing its large-language-model-powered hiring tools. “The new funding will be used to scale our team, invest in the Juicebox Agent, and continue building the future of AI-powered recruiting,” the company said in a statement.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Juicebox

• Investors: Sequoia Capital (lead)

• Amount Raised: $30 million

• Total Raised: $36 million

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Corintis Raises $24M in Series A Funding for Advanced Chip Cooling

Corintis, a Swiss hardware startup developing microfluidic liquid cooling solutions for semiconductors, secured $24 million in Series A funding. The round was led by BlueYard Capital, with participation from Founderful, Acequia Capital, Celsius Industries, and XTX Ventures. Corintis’s chip-cooling modules significantly improve heat removal for high-performance computing chips.

The company will use the new funding to expand its engineering team, ramp up manufacturing of cooling modules, and establish a U.S. presence. Its microfluidic cooling technology can remove heat from data-center chips up to three times more effectively than traditional solutions, addressing a critical bottleneck in computing infrastructure.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Corintis

• Investors: BlueYard Capital (lead), Founderful, Acequia Capital, Celsius Industries, XTX Ventures

• Amount Raised: $24 million

• Total Raised: $33.4 million (including prior pre-seed)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Auterion Raises $130M in Series B Funding for Swarm Drone Software

Auterion, a U.S. defense technology startup, announced a $130 million Series B round on Sept. 25. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures, and Costanoa Ventures. Auterion develops AuterionOS software and Nemyx AI drones for autonomous swarm operations across air, land, and sea.

Auterion’s technology is already deployed under Pentagon contracts. The new funding will ramp up production of its drone platforms and accelerate global deployment of unmanned vehicle swarms for defense and security customers.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Auterion

• Investors: Bessemer Venture Partners (lead), Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures, Costanoa Ventures

• Amount Raised: $130 million

• Total Raised: $130 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Nscale Raises $1.1B Series B for Global AI Infrastructure

Nscale, a UK-based AI cloud infrastructure startup, closed a €1.1 billion (about $1.1 billion) Series B round – the largest Series B in European history. The round was led by Norwegian conglomerate Aker ASA, with continued support from existing shareholders Sandton Capital and participation from Blue Owl, Dell, Fidelity, G Squared, Nokia, NVIDIA, Point72, and T. Capital.

Nscale provides hyperscale GPU-powered data centers and AI cloud services, leveraging low-cost renewable energy. The new funding will accelerate Nscale’s global expansion (Europe, North America, Middle East) and the deployment of “AI factory” data centers (such as the new Stargate UK and Norway facilities), meeting surging demand for AI compute.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Nscale

• Investors: Aker ASA (lead), Sandton Capital, Blue Owl, Dell, Fidelity Mgt, G Squared, Nokia, NVIDIA, Point72, T. Capital

• Amount Raised: $1.1 billion (largest Series B in Europe)

• Total Raised: $1.1 billion (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Tether Eyes $15–$20B Private Round at $500B Valuation

Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, is seeking $15–20 billion in a private placement for roughly 3% of the firm. The round (aiming at an implied ~$500 billion valuation for Tether) is expected to close by year-end, according to CEO Paolo Ardoino. Tether plans to use the massive funding to accelerate growth of its stablecoins and other ventures (including telecom and AI projects) as part of a broader expansion strategy.

If completed, this raise would rank among the largest financings in crypto history. Behind Tether is iFinex, the Hong Kong-based parent company that also operates the Bitfinex exchange. Together, they’ve played a pivotal role in shaping crypto markets over the past decade, even as regulators and critics have questioned Tether’s reserves and transparency.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Tether (stablecoin issuer)

• Investors: Selected institutional investors (lead not disclosed)

• Amount Raised: $15–$20 billion (target)

• Total Raised: Not applicable (private)

• Funding Stage: Private placement

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Light Raises $30M in Series A Funding for AI-Native Finance Platform

Light, a Copenhagen-based fintech startup, secured $30 million in Series A funding to modernize financial operations with AI. The round was led by Balderton Capital, with participation from Atomico, Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp, and Entrée Capital. Light’s platform automates multi-entity accounting and cross-border payments for fast-growing companies.

The new capital will fund expansion (including opening a New York office) and allow Light to triple its engineering team by mid-2026 as it rolls out further AI-powered features to streamline global finance workflows.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Light

• Investors: Balderton Capital (lead), Atomico, Cherry Ventures, Seedcamp, Entrée Capital

• Amount Raised: $30 million

• Total Raised: $30 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Factory Raises $50M in Series B Funding for AI Software Agents

Factory, a San Francisco startup building “agent-native” AI coding tools, announced a $50 million Series B led by NEA. Other investors in the round include Sequoia Capital, J.P. Morgan, Nvidia, Abstract Ventures, Mantis Ventures, and angel backers Frank Slootman, Nikesh Arora, and Aaron Levie. Factory’s AI “Droid” agents, which generate production-ready code for software development tasks, recently topped industry benchmarks.

The new funding (at a valuation around $300M) will accelerate product development and support enterprise rollouts at companies like MongoDB, Bayer, and Zapier.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Factory

• Investors: NEA (lead); Sequoia Capital; J.P. Morgan; Nvidia; Abstract Ventures; Mantis Ventures; Frank Slootman; Nikesh Arora; Aaron Levie

• Amount Raised: $50 million

• Total Raised: $50 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Zerohash Raises $104M in Series D Funding for Crypto Infrastructure

Zerohash, a Chicago-based blockchain infrastructure startup, raised $104 million in an extended Series D round, pushing its valuation to $1 billion. The round was led by Interactive Brokers, with backing from Morgan Stanley, SoFi, Apollo, and other strategic investors who are also Zerohash customers.

Zerohash provides “rails” for institutions to integrate blockchain-based financial products (e.g., stablecoin issuance, crypto trading, tokenization). The fresh capital will help Zerohash expand across its core verticals – crypto trading, stablecoins, and tokenization – and deepen partnerships with major banks and brokerages. (Founded in 2015, Zerohash has now raised ~$277M to date.)

Funding Details:

• Startup: Zerohash

• Investors: Interactive Brokers Group (lead), Morgan Stanley, SoFi, Apollo

• Amount Raised: $104 million

• Total Raised: ~$277 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series D (extended)

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Inspiren Raises $100M in Series B Funding for Senior Living AI Ecosystem

Inspiren, a New York–based healthtech startup building an AI-driven platform for senior living communities, announced a $100 million Series B round. The financing was led by Insight Partners, with participation from Avenir, Primary Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Story Ventures, Third Prime, and Studio VC.

Inspiren’s platform unifies resident safety, care planning, staffing, and emergency response into a single AI-powered ecosystem. The new capital (bringing total funding to $155M) will enable Inspiren to accelerate its development of advanced analytics, expand its ecosystem to more communities nationwide, and improve outcomes (such as reducing falls and optimizing staffing) in senior care facilities.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Inspiren

• Investors: Insight Partners (lead), Avenir, Primary Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Story Ventures, Third Prime, Studio VC

• Amount Raised: $100 million

• Total Raised: $155 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: September 25, 2025

Tech Funding Summary Table