Top Startup and Tech Funding News – October 20, 2025

It’s Monday, October 20, 2025, and we’re back with the top startup and tech funding news stories making waves today. From early-stage AI platforms and biotech innovations to Web3 infrastructure and fintech catalysts, investors poured capital into both rising stars and foundation-building companies.

Today’s highlights feature AdsGency’s $12 million seed round to automate advertising workflows, CoMind’s $60 million raise to advance non-invasive brain monitoring technology, and Hyperlayer’s £30 million funding spurt to fuel programmable banking capabilities. Web3 and crypto also upped the ante — Turtle secured $5.5 million to scale its on-chain liquidity network, while Limitless Exchange landed $10 million to broaden its prediction-markets platform. AI, biotech, fintech, and blockchain infrastructure again drew the spotlight.

Funding Highlights

• AdsGency raised $12 million seed to automate paid marketing workflows across enterprises.

• CoMind secured $60 million to commercialize its non-invasive brain-monitoring headset and accelerate U.S. regulatory progress.

• Hyperlayer landed £30 million to help banks and brands launch programmable accounts, loyalty features and embedded finance products.

• Turtle raised $5.5 million seed to expand its multi-chain liquidity-distribution infrastructure for crypto projects.

• Limitless Exchange closed $10 million seed to scale ultra-short-duration prediction-markets contracts on Web3.

Investor Activity

The day’s rounds drew wide participation from traditional VCs, corporate backers and crypto-native funds alike. Strategic participants included global funds, fintech specialists and blockchain institutions — spanning the spectrum from Silverton Partners and Lightspeed to Bitscale Capital and Coinbase Ventures. Their involvement underscores continued conviction across AI infrastructure, biotech/health-tech, fintech and decentralized-finance platforms — sectors that remain magnets for venture capital.

Together, these financings reflect sustained momentum and a broadening of frontiers in technology investing. Here’s the full breakdown. Until tomorrow, have a great evening.

AdsGency Raises $12M in Seed Funding for Agentic Advertising Platform

AdsGency Founder: Bolbi Liu (Credit: Chloe Lyu)

AdsGency, a San Francisco–based AI advertising startup, raised $12 million in seed funding. AdsGency’s platform uses large language models to autonomously run an organization’s entire paid marketing workflow, from creative strategy to ad placement and performance optimization.

The round was led by XYZ Venture Capital, with participation from Streamlined Ventures, HF0, and Hat-Trick Capital. The new capital will allow AdsGency to hire additional engineers and accelerate its product development.

“We’re not just another content generation platform,” said Bolbi Liu, founder and CEO of AdsGency. “Even the most beautiful 8K video ad won’t work if your strategy, targeting, and execution are a miss. We built AdsGency to automate and connect the pieces of the puzzle so that advertisers can access the precision, insights, and speed needed for unmatched ROI. Think Cursor for advertising.”

Funding Details:

• Startup: AdsGency

• Investors: XYZ Venture Capital (lead), Streamlined Ventures, HF0, Hat-Trick Capital

• Amount Raised: $12 million

• Total Raised: $15 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Loyalty Startup Magic Raises $10M in Seed Funding for Hospitality AI CRM

Magic, a New York City startup building AI tools for hospitality and retail, raised $10 million in seed funding. Magic’s flagship product, Loyalist, is an AI-driven CRM and guest engagement platform for restaurants and hotels. It integrates reservation systems, POS data, event calendars and social feeds to deliver personalized marketing and service.

The round was led by Lerer Hippeau, with participation from Bling Capital, Floodgate, and hospitality backers including Major Food Group, VCR Group, Gary Vaynerchuk and David Rodolitz. Magic will use the funds to expand its team and develop additional AI features for the hospitality industry.

“Every aspect of our digital lives has been personalized by AI from how we shop to consume content, but when you walk into a restaurant, hotel, a retail store, the experiences still feel generic,” said Maggie Tang, Founder and CEO of Magic. “The next chapter of AI will happen beyond the chat window – in the real world.”

Funding Details:

• Startup: Magic

• Investors: Lerer Hippeau (lead), Bling Capital, Floodgate, Major Food Group, VCR Group, Gary Vaynerchuk, David Rodolitz

• Amount Raised: $10 million

• Total Raised: $10 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Chatfuel Raises $1.5M in Seed Funding for AI Chat & Workflow Automation

Chatfuel, a San Francisco startup specializing in business communication automation, raised $1.5 million in seed funding on Oct. 20, 2025. Chatfuel’s platform powers billions of AI-driven conversations per month across Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and other channels for over 7 million businesses. It automates sales and support workflows with conversational AI.

The round was led by the “Pre-Seed to Succeed” program (backed by AltaIR Capital, YellowRocks, Smart Partnership Capital and I2BF Ventures), with participation from Alber Blanc Fund and angel investors including Ershad Jamil. Chatfuel plans to use the proceeds to accelerate product development and its global expansion strategy.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Chatfuel

• Investors: Pre-Seed to Succeed (lead), AltaIR Capital, YellowRocks, Smart Partnership Capital, I2BF Ventures, Alber Blanc Fund, Ershad Jamil

• Amount Raised: $1.5 million

• Total Raised: $1.5 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Finster AI Raises $15M in Series A/Seed Funding for Finance AI Platform

Finster AI, a London-based AI startup for finance professionals, raised $15 million in a combined Series A and seed round on Oct. 20, 2025. The Series A was led by FinTech Collective and the seed tranche by Peak XV, with participation from Hoxton Ventures.

Finster’s platform provides an enterprise AI assistant that helps investment banks and asset managers automate analysis and workflows (such as drafting memos and market research). Founder Sid Jayakumar’s team will use the new funding to expand into New York, grow its team, and accelerate data and technology partnerships.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Finster AI

• Investors: FinTech Collective (Series A lead), Peak XV (Seed lead), Hoxton Ventures

• Amount Raised: $15 million

• Total Raised: $15 million

• Funding Stage: Series A/Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Adaptyx Biosciences Raises $14M in Seed Funding for Molecular Monitoring Wearable

Adaptyx Biosciences, a Menlo Park biotech, raised $14 million in seed financing on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by Interlagos Capital, with participation from Overwater Ventures, Starbloom Capital, Stanford University, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, Hyperlink Ventures, Cantos Ventures, Humba Ventures and Seaside Ventures.

Adaptyx is developing a continuous molecular monitoring biowearable (co-founded by Vijit Sabnis, Alex Yoshikawa, and Stanford professor Tom Soh). Its platform uses proprietary chip sensors to detect biomarkers (small molecules, electrolytes, hormones) and AI analytics to provide real-time health insights. The new funding (bringing total raised to $23M) will accelerate R&D, expand its molecular switch pipeline, advance clinical trials and grow the team.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Adaptyx Biosciences

• Investors: Interlagos Capital (lead), Overwater Ventures, Starbloom Capital, Stanford University, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, Hyperlink Ventures, Cantos Ventures, Humba Ventures, Seaside Ventures

• Amount Raised: $14 million

• Total Raised: $23 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Golpo Raises $4.1M in Seed Funding for AI Explainer-Video Platform

Golpo, a San Francisco AI startup founded by teenage brothers Shraman and Shreyas Kar, raised $4.1 million in seed funding on Oct. 20, 2025. Golpo’s platform generates interactive explainer videos from user prompts and documents – producing up to 30 minutes of coherent AI video with frame-by-frame editing and support for technical diagrams.

The round was led by BNVT Capital, with participation from Emergence Capital, Afore Capital, Y Combinator and other investors. The funds will help Golpo expand its engineering team, enhance its AI models, and deepen enterprise integrations of its video-generation technology.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Golpo

• Investors: BNVT Capital (lead), Emergence Capital, Afore Capital, Y Combinator

• Amount Raised: $4.1 million

• Total Raised: $4.1 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Kojo Secures $10M in  Series C Funding Extension Led by Wesco

Kojo, a San Francisco construction tech platform, announced a $10 million extension to its Series C on Oct. 20, 2025. The financing was provided by Wesco International (NYSE: WCC), a B2B distribution company, alongside Kojo’s existing Series C investors.

Kojo’s Series C was originally led by Battery Ventures and included 8VC, Schneider Electric, RXR, Suffolk Construction, Human Capital and BoxGroup. Kojo’s platform helps contractors streamline material procurement and inventory management, connecting project teams, offices, warehouses and suppliers to improve visibility and reduce material waste.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Kojo

• Investors: Wesco International (Series C extension), Battery Ventures (Series C lead), 8VC, Schneider Electric, RXR, Suffolk Construction, Human Capital, BoxGroup

• Amount Raised: $10 million

• Total Raised: Not disclosed

• Funding Stage: Series C (extension)

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Valink Therapeutics Closes $11.8M in Pre-A Funding for Oncology Biotech

Valink Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA biotech, closed an $11.8 million pre–Series A round on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by Redalpine, with new investments from LongeVC and Oxford Science Enterprises and participation from existing backers RV Invest, p53 Invest and Hoxton Ventures.

Valink (co-founded by CEO Arne Scheu) is developing next-generation bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (bsADCs) using its proprietary V-gate™ discovery platform. The funds will advance Valink’s pipeline of first-in-class oncology therapies, addressing gaps in precision and safety.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Valink Therapeutics

• Investors: Redalpine (lead), LongeVC, Oxford Science Enterprises, RV Invest, p53 Invest, Hoxton Ventures

• Amount Raised: $11.8 million

• Total Raised: $11.8 million

• Funding Stage: Pre-A

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Dialogue AI Closes $6M in Seed Funding for Conversational Research Platform

Dialogue AI, a Los Angeles startup founded in 2025, raised $6 million in seed funding on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Seven Stars, Uncommon Projects, The Tornante Company (Michael Eisner’s investment firm) and angels (including a former Discord CPO, a Nextdoor CPO and Match Group CTO).

Dialogue AI’s platform employs a live conversational AI interviewer to automate market research: it can conduct scaled interviews and automatically generate insights and analysis for customer research teams. The new funding will accelerate product development and go-to-market expansion.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Dialogue AI

• Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners (lead), Seven Stars, Uncommon Projects, The Tornante Company, and angel investors (e.g. from Discord, Nextdoor, Match Group)

• Amount Raised: $6 million

• Total Raised: $6 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Fourier Health Raises $8.4M in Seed Funding for Clinician AI Platform

Fourier Health, a Miami, FL startup founded in 2023, raised $8.4 million in seed funding on Oct. 20, 2025. Fourier’s AI platform consolidates fragmented patient clinical data (including faxes, scanned docs and handwritten notes) into concise, case-specific summaries for clinicians.

The round was led by Yosemite, with participation from Innospark Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners and Tau Ventures. Fourier plans to use the funding to refine its R&D infrastructure and grow its engineering, sales and implementation teams.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Fourier Health

• Investors: Yosemite (lead), Innospark Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, Tau Ventures

• Amount Raised: $8.4 million

• Total Raised: $8.4 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Andel Raises $4.5M in Funding to Expand Employer Pharmacy Benefits Platform

Andel, a New York-based employee benefits startup co-founded by Jay Bregman and Ritu Malhotra, raised $4.5 million in funding on Oct. 20, 2025. Andel operates a cooperative pharmacy benefit platform that lets employers provide GLP-1 weight-loss and other medications at below-market prices. By pooling members’ buying power and purchasing directly from manufacturers, the platform enables employers to add these drugs to employee health plans affordably.

Investors in the round included Lightbank, Seedcamp, Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, Houghton Street Ventures, Springboard, Semper Virens, and CityLight. Andel will use the proceeds to expand its operations and scale nationwide, aiming for a broad launch in early 2026.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Andel

• Investors: Lightbank, Seedcamp, Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, Houghton Street Ventures, Springboard, Semper Virens, CityLight

• Amount Raised: $4.5 million

• Total Raised: $4.5 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Avid Raises $6.5M in Seed Funding for AI Fundraising Software

Avid, a Dallas, Texas startup, raised $6.5 million in seed funding led by Silverton Partners. Avid provides an AI-powered “fundraising operating system” for nonprofits, unifying donor management and campaign tools into a single platform. Its software connects existing fundraising workflows into one data-driven interface, reducing friction between strategy and execution.

The company will use the funding to hire additional team members and accelerate innovation across its product, AI features, and go-to-market efforts.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Avid

• Investors: Silverton Partners (lead)

• Amount Raised: $6.5 million

• Total Raised: $6.5 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Logic Raises $4.3M in Seed Funding for No-Code Automation Platform

Logic, a Seattle startup founded in 2024, raised $4.3 million in seed funding on Oct. 20, 2025. Investors included Founders’ Co-op, Audacious, Ali Partovi’s Neo, former Brex executives, Convoy co-founder Dan Lewis and others. Logic offers an AI-driven automation platform that allows business teams to automate recurring review and decision processes without writing any code.

Users describe their process in natural language and Logic automatically generates production-ready APIs or web apps to execute those steps. The platform has already automated over two million decisions across industries like retail, fintech and public safety.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Logic

• Investors: Founders’ Co-op, Audacious, Neo (Ali Partovi’s fund), Dan Lewis (Convoy co-founder), former Brex executives

• Amount Raised: $4.3 million

• Total Raised: $4.3 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

CoMind Raises $60M in Funding to Advance Non-Invasive Brain Monitor

CoMind, a London neurotech startup led by CEO James Dacombe, raised $60 million in funding on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by Plural, with participation from Angelini Ventures, Octopus Ventures and LocalGlobe. CoMind’s flagship device, CoMind One, is a non-invasive headset that uses laser interferometry to continuously monitor multiple brain health metrics – simultaneously measuring cerebral blood flow, autoregulation and intracranial pressure.

The new capital (bringing total raised to $102.5 million) will support U.S. regulatory approval, additional clinical trials, team growth and manufacturing partnerships for CoMind’s brain-monitoring technology.

Funding Details:

• Startup: CoMind

• Investors: Plural (lead), Angelini Ventures, Octopus Ventures, LocalGlobe

• Amount Raised: $60 million

• Total Raised: $102.5 million

• Funding Stage: Funding Round

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Milvus Advanced Raises $6.9M in Seed Funding for Lab-Grown Rare Metals

Milvus Advanced, an Oxford, UK materials startup, closed a $6.9 million seed round on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by Hoxton Ventures, with participation from LQD Ventures, Übermorgen, Tuesday Capital, Mark Leslie Enterprises, the van Den Bosch Dynasty Fund, Bluebirds, MD One, EQT Foundation and Lowercarbon Capital. Milvus designs lab-engineered nanomaterials to replace scarce strategic metals in sectors like clean energy, catalysis and electronics.

By using abundant elements and advanced materials engineering, the company aims to reproduce Earth’s rarest metals in the lab. The funding will expand Milvus’s team, scale production and manufacturing, enter the U.S. market for advanced materials, and deepen R&D into new material systems.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Milvus Advanced

• Investors: Hoxton Ventures (lead), LQD Ventures, Übermorgen, Tuesday Capital, Mark Leslie Enterprises, van Den Bosch Dynasty Fund, Bluebirds, MD One, EQT Foundation, Lowercarbon Capital

• Amount Raised: $6.9 million

• Total Raised: $6.9 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Hyperlayer Raises £30M in Funding to Fuel Programmable Banking Platform

Hyperlayer, a London fintech led by ex-Morgan Stanley executive Rob Rooney, raised £30 million (about $41 million) on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by CDAM, with new investors Mouro Capital, Iona Star and Flintlock Capital, and participation from existing backer Susquehanna Private Equity Investments.

Hyperlayer’s platform integrates with any bank’s core system and enables banks, wealth managers and brands to launch programmable accounts, rewards programs and loyalty features rapidly. The new funding will be used to hire more product and engineering staff and support Hyperlayer’s international expansion.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Hyperlayer

• Investors: CDAM (lead), Mouro Capital, Iona Star, Flintlock Capital, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments

• Amount Raised: £30 million

• Total Raised: £30 million

• Funding Stage: Growth Funding

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Cyclana Bio Raises £5M in Pre-Seed Funding for Women’s Health Biotech

Cyclana Bio, a Cambridge, UK biotech founded by Dr. Léa Wenger and Prof. Kevin Chalut, closed a £5 million (about $6.9M) pre-seed round on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was co-led by NfX and Eka Ventures, with participation from Cocoa VC, Wilbe and angel investors. Cyclana is developing AI-integrated tissue-level disease models to improve women’s health.

Using menstrual fluid samples and advanced modeling, the company aims to identify new drug targets for diseases like endometriosis by capturing cell–extracellular matrix interactions. The funding will accelerate development of functional disease models and Cyclana’s platform technology.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Cyclana Bio

• Investors: NfX (co-lead), Eka Ventures (co-lead), Cocoa VC, Wilbe, angel investors

• Amount Raised: £5 million

• Total Raised: £5 million

• Funding Stage: Pre-Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Entry Raises $1M Pre-Seed in Funding for DeFi Compliance Infrastructure

Entry, a Toronto fintech startup, secured $1 million in a pre-seed round on Oct. 20, 2025. The round was led by Modern Niagara, with participation from Qrecendo and Perrfin. Entry’s protocol provides a compliance-native infrastructure for regulated financial institutions to use DeFi: it combines zero-knowledge identity verification (zkID) with AI-driven audit trails so banks, brokers and governments can transact privately and meet global regulations.

The financing (structured as equity and a token SAFT) aligns with Entry’s go-to-market plan to launch its testnet and initial pilot deployments in regulated environments.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Entry

• Investors: Modern Niagara (lead), Qrecendo, Perrfin

• Amount Raised: $1 million

• Total Raised: $1 million

• Funding Stage: Pre-Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Turtle Raises $5.5M Seed in Funding to Expand Web3 Liquidity Network

Turtle, a crypto liquidity distribution protocol, raised $5.5 million in seed funding to expand Web3 liquidity network. The round drew backing from a broad group of digital-asset investors including Bitscale Capital, Theia Research, Fasanara Digital, Varys Capital, FalconX, Trident Digital, SNZ, GSR, Anchorage and others.

Turtle’s on-chain protocol connects blockchain projects with liquidity providers, currently routing over $5.5 billion in liquidity through its network (across 360,000+ wallets). The new capital (bringing Turtle’s total raised to $11.7M) will be used to scale multi-chain support, expand the team and accelerate development of its “Earn” liquidity distribution infrastructure.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Turtle

• Investors: Bitscale Capital, Theia Research, Fasanara Digital, Varys Capital, FalconX, Trident Digital, SNZ, GSR, Anchorage, and others

• Amount Raised: $5.5 million

• Total Raised: $11.7 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025

Limitless Exchange Secures $10M in Seed Funding for Prediction Markets

Limitless Exchange, a Base-layer Web3 prediction market platform, closed a $10 million seed funding round ahead of LMTS token launch. The round was led by 1confirmation and included major crypto investors such as Collider, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Coinbase Ventures and Arrington Capital.

Limitless has already surpassed $500 million in total trading volume on Base, making it the largest on-chain prediction market there. The new funding will be used to develop new ultra-short-duration markets (e.g. 15-minute, 10-minute and 1-minute contracts) and scale user acquisition globally.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Limitless Exchange

• Investors: 1confirmation (lead), Collider, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Coinbase Ventures, Arrington Capital

• Amount Raised: $10 million

• Total Raised: $10 million

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Oct 20, 2025