Top Startup and Tech Funding News – January 15, 2025

It’s Thursday, January 15, 2026, and we’re back with today’s top startup and tech funding news. Today’s deals highlight escalating investor conviction in infrastructure-scale AI, secure autonomous systems, and deep-tech platforms that are shaping human–machine integration. From AI-native video creation to defense-grade robotics and brain-computer interfaces, the funding landscape spans transformative bets on intelligence, automation, and security.

Enterprise AI and hardware defined the day, with Etched AI securing nearly $500 million to challenge Nvidia in AI chips, and Parloa raising $350 million to automate global customer service operations. In defense and autonomy, Harmattan AI secured $200 million to accelerate European air combat drone development, while Defense Unicorns crossed the billion-dollar mark, modernizing U.S. military software deployment. Breakthroughs at the intersection of neuroscience and computation took center stage as Merge Labs emerged with $252 million to pursue non-invasive brain-computer interfaces.

Industrial automation and logistics continued to attract capital, with Mytra and Tulip each raising $120 million to bring AI-driven orchestration to warehouses and factories. On the frontier of blockchain and cybersecurity, Project Eleven secured funding to future-proof crypto against quantum threats. Meanwhile, generative video unicorn Higgsfield and stellarator fusion startup Type One Energy underscored investor appetite for platform-scale AI and energy innovation.

Tech Funding News

Funding Highlights

• Parloa raises $350M Series D to scale AI customer service
• Harmattan AI lands $200M Series B for autonomous defense drones
• Merge Labs emerges with $252M seed to pursue brain-computer interfaces
• Etched AI secures ~$500M Series C to challenge Nvidia in AI hardware
• Tulip grabs $120M Series D to digitize and automate factories
• Mytra raises $120M Series C to accelerate warehouse robotics
• Higgsfield adds $80M Series A+ to scale generative video platform
• Defense Unicorns locks in $136M Series B to modernize military software delivery
• Project Eleven raises $20M Series A for post-quantum crypto security
• Type One Energy adds $87M bridge round to advance stellarator fusion reactor

Investor Activity

Today’s rounds drew deep-pocketed global players across sectors—from aerospace and defense OEMs to frontier tech funds and infrastructure-focused VCs. The capital mix spanned late-stage growth equity, strategic corporate investment, and oversized seed rounds, reflecting strong multi-stage appetite for AI-native platforms and national tech capability builders.

Here’s the full breakdown of January 15’s most majorstartup and tech funding news stories.

Parloa raises $350M in Series D funding to expand AI customer service platform

German AI startup Parloa secured a $350 million Series D round, tripling its valuation to $3 billion. Parloa’s no-code platform automates enterprise customer service tasks such as order tracking and returns, helping large companies handle surging support inquiries with AI-powered voice and chat agents. The eight-year-old company counts Microsoft, KPMG, and Booking.com among its clients, and its annual recurring revenue has now surpassed $50 million as businesses turn to AI to cut costs and improve customer experience.

Investors are betting big on Parloa as demand for generative AI in customer support surges. Co-founder and CEO Malte Kosub noted that 2025 marked a turning point when enterprises realized that AI agents could reliably boost service efficiency and ROI. With this new funding, Parloa plans to open offices in San Francisco and Madrid to fuel expansion in the U.S. and across Europe, and to grow its team from 380 to about 600 employees this year. The latest raise brings Parloa’s total funding to over half a billion dollars, positioning it as one of Europe’s leading AI software scale-ups.

• Startup: Parloa (AI-driven customer service automation platform)

• Investors: General Catalyst (lead), EQT Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Durable Capital Partners

• Amount Raised: $350M

• Total Raised: $560M+

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: January 15, 2026

Harmattan AI lands $200M in Series B funding to build autonomous defense drones

Paris-based Harmattan AI has attained unicorn status with a $200 million Series B financing led by French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation. The defense tech startup, founded in 2024, develops AI-enabled autonomous systems for military use — including intelligent mission software and unmanned combat drones. This partnership will see Harmattan’s technology embedded in Dassault’s next-generation fighter jets and drone programs, bringing advanced artificial intelligence to European air combat systems. The new round values Harmattan at about $1.4 billion, underscoring its rapid rise as a “European Anduril” in the defense sector.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the deal as a win for Europe’s strategic autonomy and technological edge in AI-powered defense. Harmattan’s growth comes amid intensifying geopolitical tensions and a race to modernize military capabilities with AI. The startup has already collaborated with Ukraine’s drone industry and is expanding to the U.S. market. With fresh capital, Harmattan plans to scale manufacturing of its autonomous platforms for surveillance, electronic warfare, and drone interception, helping NATO forces keep pace with the fast-evolving drone tactics seen in global conflicts.

• Startup: Harmattan AI (France-based developer of AI-powered defense drones and systems)

• Investors: Dassault Aviation (lead), with support from French defense ministry partners

• Amount Raised: $200M

• Total Raised: Not disclosed (Series B follows earlier government-backed funding)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: January 12, 2026

Merge Labs emerges from stealth with $252M in seed funding to advance brain-computer interfaces

A new brain-computer interface venture, Merge Labs, launched out of stealth with a massive $252 million in seed funding. Structured as a long-term research lab rather than a typical product startup, Merge Labs is backed by Bain Capital Ventures as lead investor, with OpenAI participating and tech luminary Gabe Newell (Valve’s co-founder) also joining the round. The Los Angeles-based lab was co-founded by a team of neuroscience and tech heavyweights — including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a personal capacity and Caltech professor Mikhail Shapiro — to develop less invasive, high-bandwidth methods for connecting computers to the human brain.

Merge Labs’ mission is to dramatically increase the number of neurons that can be interfaced without surgical implants, leveraging innovations such as ultrasound techniques and molecular sensors. By combining AI with novel BCI approaches, the lab hopes to unlock new possibilities for medical treatments and human–AI interaction. The unusually large seed funding reflects the ambitious scope: Merge is looking far beyond today’s brain implants, betting that breakthroughs in neural interfaces will be critical to the future of computing. The capital will support fundamental research and talent recruitment as Merge Labs attempts to push the boundaries of what brain-computer technology can do.

• Startup: Merge Labs (brain-computer interface research company)

• Investors: Bain Capital Ventures (lead); OpenAI; Gabe Newell and other angels

• Amount Raised: $252M

• Total Raised: $252M (initial seed round)

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: January 15, 2026

Etched AI raises $500M in funding to take on Nvidia in AI chips

In one of the largest startup financings of the year, AI chip maker Etched AI has raised approximately $500 million in a new funding round to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in artificial intelligence hardware. The massive round was led by growth firm Stripes and included participation from billionaire Peter Thiel and other investors. The fresh capital values San Francisco-based Etched at around $5 billion. Founded by chip industry veterans, Etched is designing specialized processors optimized to run transformer-based AI models with significantly higher efficiency.

As demand for AI computing explodes, investors are pouring money into potential Nvidia alternatives. Etched claims its upcoming “Sohu” chip can match the performance of dozens of high-end GPUs while consuming less power. The startup plans to use the funding to ramp up development and manufacturing of its AI accelerators and bring them to market. Although the company has kept a low profile, this blockbuster round signals growing confidence that new entrants like Etched could carve out a place in the booming AI infrastructure market by offering faster, lower-cost chips tailored to generative AI workloads.

• Startup: Etched AI (developer of specialized AI accelerator chips)

• Investors: Stripes (lead); Peter Thiel; Positive Sum; Ribbit Capital

• Amount Raised: ~$500M

• Total Raised: ~$565M (estimated, including prior rounds)

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: January 13, 2026

Tulip grabs $120M in Series D funding to bring factories into the AI age

Manufacturing software startup Tulip has raised $120 million in a Series D round led by Mitsubishi Electric, valuing the company at about $1.3 billion. Based in Boston, Tulip provides a “platform for the connected factory.” Its cloud-based system helps manufacturers digitize their operations, empowering frontline factory workers with real-time data, interactive work instructions, and AI-driven analytics. The four-year-old company’s low-code apps are used on production floors to improve efficiency and quality in sectors from pharmaceuticals to automotive.

This funding crowns Tulip as the latest industrial tech unicorn and highlights the push to modernize legacy factories with Industry 4.0 tools. By taking strategic investment from Mitsubishi Electric, a global industrial giant, Tulip gains a powerful partner to expand in Asia and other markets. The new capital will fuel product development in areas like AI-driven predictive maintenance and robotics integration, as well as global sales growth. As manufacturers face labor shortages and complex supply chains, Tulip’s human-centric automation platform aims to bridge the gap between skilled workers and advanced AI insights on the shop floor.

• Startup: Tulip (industrial operations platform for factory automation)

• Investors: Mitsubishi Electric (lead); participation from earlier investors (Underscore, NEA, etc.)

• Amount Raised: $120M

• Total Raised: ~$220M (estimated)

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: January 15, 2026

Mytra raises $120M in Series C funding to scale supply chain automation

Logistics automation startup Mytra has closed a $120 million Series C round to accelerate its vision of an “operating system” for supply chains. The financing, led by Avenir Growth, brings the four-year-old California company’s total funding to over $200 million as it pursues unicorn status. Mytra builds software-defined industrial robotics solutions designed to automate heavy lifting and material handling in warehouses. Its robotic platforms can move pallet-sized loads up to 3,000 pounds, helping warehouse operators and retailers boost throughput and resilience amid labor shortages.

Mytra’s technology integrates autonomous robots with a cloud management system, allowing customers – from Fortune 100 logistics firms to regional grocers – to optimize their warehouse operations. With demand for warehouse automation surging post-pandemic, the new funding will enable Mytra to meet growing order backlogs and invest in talent. CEO Chris Walti said the company will double down on deploying systems for existing clients while expanding its engineering team. The round’s participation from strategics like Lineage Logistics (via its venture arm) and RyderVentures underscores the industry’s commitment to modernizing supply chains through robotics and AI.

• Startup: Mytra (software-defined industrial robotics for warehouse automation)

• Investors: Avenir Growth (lead); Kivu Ventures; Greenoaks; D. E. Shaw; Eclipse Ventures; RyderVentures (strategic)

• Amount Raised: $120M

• Total Raised: $210M+

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: January 15, 2026

Higgsfield hits $1.3B valuation with $80M funding to grow AI video platform

San Francisco-based Higgsfield, a generative AI video startup, has raised $80 million in new funding, valuing the company at over $1.3 billion. The capital comes as an extension of Higgsfield’s Series A and includes investors Accel, GFT Ventures, and Menlo Ventures. Founded in 2023, Higgsfield’s browser-based platform allows users – largely social media marketers – to create and orchestrate AI-generated marketing videos with customized virtual actors and scenes. The startup has seen explosive uptake, reaching an estimated $200 million in annual revenue run rate within months of launch as brands embrace AI for content creation.

Higgsfield plans to use the funding to expand its enterprise sales efforts, extend its platform internationally, and invest heavily in R&D. Rather than build its own foundation models, Higgsfield smartly integrates models from OpenAI and others, adding a proprietary “reasoning engine” that keeps AI-generated characters on-brand and consistent across videos. CEO Alex Mashrabov says the goal is to “minimize the production tax so better stories win” – essentially using AI to lower video production costs and barriers. With the race heating up in generative video, Higgsfield’s rapid growth and unicorn valuation underscore investors’ enthusiasm for startups applying AI to creative industries.

• Startup: Higgsfield (AI-powered video generation platform)

• Investors: Accel; GFT Ventures; Menlo Ventures

• Amount Raised: $80M

• Total Raised: Not disclosed (Series A extension)

• Funding Stage: Series A+

• Funding Date: January 15, 2026

Defense Unicorns secures $136M in funding to modernize military software

True to its name, Defense Unicorns has become a unicorn. The Colorado-based startup, which provides secure software delivery tools for U.S. defense systems, announced a $136 million Series B round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities. The financing vaults Defense Unicorns’ valuation above $1 billion as it tackles a pressing problem for the military: deploying software updates and applications to weapons systems operating in disconnected, high-security environments. The company’s platform, called Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS), enables fast, air-gapped software updates across everything from submarines and jets to remote bases, ensuring mission-critical systems can run the latest software even without internet connectivity.

Defense Unicorns has seen 300% year-over-year growth in adoption as the Pentagon pushes to modernize its aging IT infrastructure. The startup, founded by Air Force veterans, is already profitable and will use the new capital to scale its product suite and serve more defense and allied customers. Along with Bain, the round included participation from Sapphire Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and former CIA director David Petraeus. With geopolitical tensions rising, investors are increasingly backing defense tech upstarts like Defense Unicorns that apply commercial cloud and DevOps innovations to military needs — in this case, making battlefield software updates as seamless as app updates on a phone.

• Startup: Defense Unicorns (U.S. provider of secure software delivery for defense systems)

• Investors: Bain Capital Tech Opportunities (lead); Ansa Capital; Sapphire Ventures; Valor Equity; (Advisor: Gen. David Petraeus)

• Amount Raised: $136M

• Total Raised: Not disclosed (Series B follows prior Series A)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: January 13, 2026

Project Eleven raises $20M in funding to secure crypto for the quantum era

London-based Project Eleven has raised $20 million in Series A funding to protect cryptocurrency and blockchain networks from the future threat of quantum computing. The startup is developing tools that help digital asset platforms and enterprises migrate to quantum-proof cryptography, ensuring that today’s encryption—vulnerable to tomorrow’s quantum computers—can be upgraded before it’s too late. The round was led by DG Lab Fund, with participation from prominent blockchain investors including Solana Ventures. Project Eleven’s solutions support multiple blockchain protocols (such as Solana) to implement post-quantum signature schemes and key management, helping safeguard assets against quantum-enabled attacks that could crack standard encryption.

This funding comes as governments and industry begin to worry that quantum computers could eventually break the cryptographic algorithms underpinning cryptocurrencies, banking systems, and other critical infrastructure. By raising capital now, Project Eleven intends to stay ahead of the curve by expanding its engineering team and partnering with additional blockchain platforms to integrate quantum-safe security. The company’s mission is to future-proof the crypto ecosystem, and investors are betting that as quantum hardware advances in the coming years, demand for Project Eleven’s expertise will surge.

• Startup: Project Eleven (post-quantum cryptography startup for blockchain security)

• Investors: DG Lab Fund (lead); Solana Ventures; Goldman Sachs (participation via alumni investors)

• Amount Raised: $20M

• Total Raised: $25M+ (including prior seed funding)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: January 15, 2026

Type One Energy snags $87M in funding to advance fusion power reactors

Fusion energy startup Type One Energy has brought in $87 million in new financing as it develops a next-generation nuclear fusion reactor. The funding, structured as a convertible note, adds to backing from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and others, bringing the Madison, Wisconsin-based company’s total venture investment to over $160 million. Type One is developing a stellarator design for fusion power, using magnetic fields to confine superheated plasma. Unlike nuclear fission, fusion promises abundant clean energy without long-lived radioactive waste or meltdown risk — but it’s a notoriously challenging science that has yet to achieve commercial viability.

Type One Energy is raising a larger $250 million Series B round at a nearly $1 billion pre-money valuation to accelerate its roadmap. The startup has already inked a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority to host its first pilot power plant at a former coal site. If successful, Type One’s “Infinity Two” fusion plant could generate 350 MW of electricity by the mid-2030s. The latest bridge funding signals investor confidence that recent advances in fusion technology and rising power demand from data centers could make this the decade that fusion energy breaks through. The proceeds will support ongoing R&D and the assembly of prototype high-temperature superconducting magnets critical to the stellarator reactor design.

• Startup: Type One Energy (fusion power company developing stellarator reactors)

• Investors: Prime Movers Lab; Breakthrough Energy Ventures; (convertible note investors undisclosed)

• Amount Raised: $87M

• Total Raised: $167M (approximate)

• Funding Stage: Convertible Note (pre-Series B)

• Funding Date: January 14, 2026

Tech Funding Summary Table