Top 10 Startup and Tech Funding News – September 22, 2025

It’s Monday, September 22, 2025, and we’re back with the top startup and tech funding news stories shaping today’s market. From billion-dollar wearables to fintech banking platforms, cybersecurity, biotech, and deep-tech aerospace, investors kept capital flowing into both late-stage leaders and fast-moving early-stage disruptors.

Today’s highlights include Oura Health’s $875 million Series E at an $11 billion valuation, AppZen’s $180 million Series D to expand its AI finance automation suite, and Tide’s $120 million raise that cements its place among global fintech unicorns. Biotech and deep-tech also made headlines, with Until Labs securing $58 million to push organ cryopreservation toward clinical reality and Chakr Innovation closing $23 million to scale energy storage breakthroughs.

Funding Highlights

• Oura Health is raising $875 million in Series E financing, valuing the company at $11 billion as it scales wearable health products.

• AppZen secured $180 million in Series D funding to expand its AI finance automation for enterprises.

• Tide raised $120 million at a $1.5 billion valuation to accelerate global SME banking growth.

• Until Labs closed $58 million in Series A funding to pioneer organ preservation technology.

• Chakr Innovation landed $23 million in Series C capital to advance clean-tech and energy storage solutions.

• Shield and Unit 221B each raised $5 million seed rounds in crypto payments and cybersecurity, respectively.

• SpaceFields secured $5 million to develop aerospace propulsion systems, while OnFinance AI raised $4.2 million for BFSI compliance AI tools.

• All Things People (ATP) added ~$0.7 million in seed capital to build its HR analytics platform.

Investor Activity

The day’s financings drew participation from major institutional investors, corporate backers, and deep-tech funds. Riverwood Capital backed AppZen’s late-stage growth, while TPG and Apax Digital doubled down on Tide. Founders Fund and Lux Capital fueled biotech innovation at Until Labs, and Iron Pillar led Chakr Innovation’s clean-tech scale-up. At the seed and pre-Series A levels, funds such as J2 Ventures, Peak XV Surge, and Globaz Technologies anchored early-stage bets in cybersecurity, compliance, and aerospace.

Together, these financings illustrate the breadth of capital deployment — from wearables and fintech unicorns to frontier biotech and aerospace — underscoring investor conviction across consumer health, enterprise AI, and deep-tech innovation.

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

Shield Raises $5M in  Seed Funding for Crypto Payments

Shield, a San Francisco–based crypto neobank, announced Monday that it has closed a $5 million seed round led by Giant Ventures. The company’s platform enables exporters and importers to conduct cross-border transactions using U.S. dollar stablecoins, with built-in compliance screening for sanctions and money laundering. Since pivoting to payments last year, Shield has processed over $100 million in transactions through its platform.

The new funding will be used to expand banking partnerships and enhance its compliance infrastructure, helping more businesses in underserved regions access fast, compliant international payments.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Shield

• Investors: Giant Ventures (lead); additional participants include a16z’s crypto accelerator (Factor Capital), Coinbase, Bank of America

• Amount Raised: $5 million

• Total Raised: $7 million to date

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Unit 221B Raises $5M in Seed Funding for Cybersecurity Threat Platform

Cybersecurity startup Unit 221B has raised a $5 million seed round from J2 Ventures to expand its fight against digital crime. Based in New Jersey, the company was founded by veteran threat intelligence experts Lance James and May Chen-Contino, who built the eWitness platform to identify and disrupt advanced hacking groups—many of them run by young, highly skilled adversaries.

The new funding will speed up the development of eWitness, giving law enforcement and enterprise clients more precise data to track and stop the hackers behind major attacks. One backer described Unit 221B as the “missing puzzle piece” in attributing and dismantling today’s most dangerous cyber threats.

Unit 221B works with enterprises, government agencies, and law enforcement to investigate threat actors and dismantle criminal ecosystems. The founders, frustrated by an industry where defenders are often outgunned, built the company on integrity and measurable outcomes.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Unit 221B

• Investors: J2 Ventures (lead)

• Amount Raised: $5 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

AppZen Lands $180M in Series D Funding for AI Finance Automation

AppZen, an AI platform for enterprise finance teams, announced a $180 million Series D round on Monday. The growth financing was led exclusively by Riverwood Capital. AppZen’s technology automates expense auditing, accounts payable, and card workflows for back-office finance teams; its customers include Amazon, Salesforce, and JPMorgan Chase, among hundreds of others.

This raise brings AppZen’s total funding to $290 million. The San Jose company plans to use the capital to further scale its agentic AI product suite and support a larger customer base worldwide.

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

Oura Health Raises $875M in Series E Funding at ~$11B Valuation

Oura Health, maker of the Oura smart rings, is reported to be raising approximately $875 million in a Series E round at an implied valuation near $11 billion. The financing is expected to close by the end of this month and could exceed $900 million. Since its 2013 founding, Oura has sold over 5 million rings and is projecting more than $1 billion in revenue for 2025.

The company plans to use the new funds to scale manufacturing, expand international sales, and develop next-generation wearable health products.

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

UK Fintech Startup Tide Raises $120M in Funding at $1.5B Valuation

Tide, a London-based business banking platform for small and medium enterprises, has raised $120 million in new funding, propelling it into unicorn status at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by private equity firm TPG, with existing backer Apax Digital Funds also participating.

Tide says the funding (a mix of primary and secondary investment) will fuel international expansion and further product development, with a special focus on integrating agentic AI features into its services. The company, founded in 2017, already supports over 1.6 million business customers globally and will use the capital to extend its UK success into markets like India, Germany, and France.

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

Until Labs Announces $58M in Series A Funding for Organ Cryopreservation

Until Labs, a biotech startup aiming to “pause biological time,” announced a $58 million Series A round led by Founders Fund. Lux Capital and Field Ventures also participated in the round. Until Labs is developing technology to cryopreserve human organs through perfusion and controlled rewarming, to extend organ viability for transplants.

This funding will help the San Francisco company scale its multi-disciplinary team and build out its organ-scale preservation infrastructure. The round brings Until’s total investment to over $100 million to date.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Until Labs

• Investors: Founders Fund (lead), Lux Capital, Field Ventures

• Amount Raised: $58 million

• Total Raised: > $100 million to date

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Chakr Innovation Raises $23M in Series C Funding in Deep-Tech Materials & CleanTech

Chakr Innovation, a New Delhi–based deep-tech startup in material science, announced it has raised $23 million in a Series C round led by Iron Pillar, with participation from SBI Cap Ventures, ONGC, Indian Angel Network (IAN), and Inflexor. The funds will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, accelerate international growth, enable backward integration, and fuel R&D in energy storage technologies to reduce dependence on lithium-ion chemistry.

The startup, founded in 2016, also works on emission control retrofits and other clean-tech solutions, and reports having over 5,000 installations and 2,000 customers. With this round, Chakr Innovation’s total raised is now about $30 million.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Chakr Innovation

• Investors: Iron Pillar (lead); SBI Cap Ventures, ONGC, IAN, Inflexor

• Amount Raised: $23 million

• Total Raised: ≈ $30 million

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

OnFinance AI Bags $4.2M in Pre-Series A Funding for BFSI-Focused Compliance & Risk AI Tools

OnFinance AI, based in Bengaluru, raised about $4.2 million in a pre-Series A round led by Peak XV’s Surge, with additional participation from Shyamal Hitesh Anadkat (of OpenAI), Groww Founders’ Fund, MarsShot VC (Razorpay Founders’ Fund), Climber Capital, and from existing backers including Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Silverneedle Ventures (SNV).

The startup builds generative-AI tools for Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), especially focused on regulatory compliance, audit automation, and risk workflows. The new capital will go toward expanding its proprietary AI models, ramping up R&D and engineering hiring, and entering international markets, including MENA and the U.S. The company previously raised about $1.05 million in a seed round.

Funding Details:

• Startup: OnFinance AI

• Investors: Peak XV’s Surge (lead); Shyamal Hitesh Anadkat, Groww Founders’ Fund, MarsShot VC, Climber Capital, IAN, Silverneedle Ventures

• Amount Raised: $4.2 million

• Total Raised: ≈ $5.25 million

• Funding Stage: Pre-Series A

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

SpaceFields Raises $5M in Pre-Series A Funding to Power Indian Deeptech Aerospace Propulsion

SpaceFields, a deep-tech startup in Bengaluru working on rocket propulsion systems and solid propellants, secured $5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Globaz Technologies, co-led by Rockstud Capital and Venture Catalysts, with participation from Rainmatter, Burla Angel Network, Faad Capital, SIDBI, O2 Angels, and MeitY Startup Hub.

The capital will be used to scale manufacturing, obtain regulatory certifications, and expand team strength in engineering, operations, and business functions. Founded in 2021 and incubated at IISc Bengaluru, SpaceFields has won contracts under India’s iDEX defence initiative and filed multiple patents.

Funding Details:

• Startup: SpaceFields

• Investors: Globaz Technologies (lead); Rockstud Capital, Venture Catalysts, Rainmatter, Burla Angel Network, Faad Capital, SIDBI, O2 Angels, MeitY Startup Hub

• Amount Raised: $5 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Pre-Series A

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

All Things People (ATP) Secures $0.7M in Seed Funding for HR-Tech Analytics Platform

All Things People (ATP), an HR technology startup in India, has raised Rs 7 crore (about $0.7 million) in a seed round via an angel syndicate made up of global industry leaders, family-and-friends investors, and several executives with deep HR or enterprise backgrounds.

The funds will be allocated toward developing its first product (“atp|reflect”), boosting advanced analytics capabilities, growing the team in technology and customer success, and expanding marketing and partnerships. ATP was founded in 2024.

Funding Details:

• Startup: All Things People (ATP)

• Investors: Angel syndicate of global industry executives, family & friends (including Varun Alagh, Amit Dalmia, Alex von Behr, among others)

• Amount Raised: Rs 7 crore (~$0.7 million)

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: September 22, 2025

Tech Funding Summary Table