Top Startup and Tech Funding News – January 21, 2025

It’s Wednesday, January 21, 2026, and we’re back with today’s top startup and tech funding news. Today’s funding slate shows capital continuing to concentrate around infrastructure and execution-heavy categories where scale creates defensibility: AI compute and networking, autonomous logistics, clinical decision support, and enterprise-grade voice systems. This wasn’t a “small checks everywhere” day. It was big money backing the pipes and platforms that make AI usable in the real world, as well as the hard problems that sit underneath it.

AI infrastructure was the dominant theme, but it appeared in different forms: national-scale data center buildouts, data center networking optimized for AI workloads, next-gen CPU architectures, and production-ready Voice AI. Healthcare also stayed hot as OpenEvidence raised another major round to deepen its footprint among clinicians. Meanwhile, Zipline’s latest raise signals that autonomous delivery is moving from pilots to city-by-city rollouts.

Tech Funding News

Funding Highlights

• Zipline raises $600M to expand autonomous drone delivery across U.S. markets
• Humain secures up to $1.2B to build AI data center capacity in Saudi Arabia
• OpenEvidence raises $250M Series D to expand AI-driven clinical decision support
• Upscale AI lands $200M Series A to tackle data center networking bottlenecks for AI
• Deepgram secures $130M Series C to scale real-time voice AI infrastructure
• Preply raises $150M Series D as tutoring platforms lean further into AI personalization
• AheadComputing raises $30M Seed to build a new class of RISC-V CPU cores
• Shield Space raises £2M seed to harden satellites against jamming and interference
• RiskFront AI raises $3.3M pre-seed to automate fraud and compliance workflows
• PraxisPro raises $6M seed to train life-sciences sales teams with AI coaching

Investor Activity

Today’s rounds attracted a mix of growth giants, infrastructure-focused backers, strategic investors, and state capital. The largest checks clustered around foundational capacity: compute, networking, and logistics at scale. On the venture side, the pattern was familiar: fund the platform layer first (chips, networks, voice, clinical intelligence), then fund the distribution engines that can turn that infrastructure into daily usage. Across early-stage bets and late-stage expansions, investor behavior signaled conviction in one idea: the next wave of value accrues to companies building the rails that everyone else runs on.

Here’s the full breakdown of January 21’s most significant startup and tech fundings.

Upscale AI Raises $200M in Series A Funding to Re-Architect Networking for AI

Upscale AI, a Santa Clara startup, today announced a $200 million Series A funding led by Tiger Global, Premji Invest, and Xora Innovation. The round (oversubscribed, after a prior $100M seed) brings total funding to over $300M. Upscale AI is developing specialized data-center networking hardware and software (the SkyHammer system) to overcome scaling bottlenecks for large-scale AI workloads.

As cloud and AI infrastructure grow, Upscale argues that “traditional network architectures…are fundamentally unsuited for the AI era”. The new capital will accelerate product development and commercial deployment of Upscale’s open AI networking platform.

• Startup: Upscale AI (Santa Clara, CA) – developer of high-performance AI networking systems.

• Investors: Tiger Global (lead), Premji Invest, Xora Innovation, Maverick Silicon, StepStone Group, Mayfield, Prosperity7 Ventures, Intel Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures.

• Amount Raised: $200 million

• Total Raised: $300+ million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

Zipline Raises $600M in Funding to Expand Autonomous Drone Delivery

Zipline, the California-based drone delivery startup, secured $600 million in new funding to accelerate its U.S. expansion. The round (valuing the company at $7.6 billion) included Fidelity Management, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global among its backers. Zipline’s integrated platform (drones, logistics software, and ground systems) already operates in Africa, Japan, and parts of the U.S. The fresh capital will fund launches in Houston, Phoenix, and other states in 2026.

Founded in 2014, Zipline first gained fame delivering blood and medical supplies in Rwanda. Today, it’s drones that carry food, retail, and health products; last year, the company’s deliveries doubled from 1 million to over 2 million. This latest investment underpins Zipline’s goal to make autonomous delivery “an everyday staple” in new markets, as CEO Keller Rinaudo has said.

• Startup: Zipline (South San Francisco, CA) – autonomous logistics and drone delivery network.

• Investors: Fidelity Management & Research (lead), Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Tiger Global, and other existing and new investors.

• Amount Raised: $600 million

• Total Raised: (Round specifics not disclosed)

• Funding Stage: Growth funding (late stage)

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

AheadComputing Raises $30M Seed Round to Reimagine CPU Architecture

AheadComputing, a Portland chip startup, raised $30 million in a “Seed2” round for its high-performance CPU core designs. The financing was co-led by Eclipse Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and Cambium Ventures, with participation from Corner Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, EPIQ Capital, MESH Capital, and Stata Venture Partners. This brings AheadComputing’s total funding to about $53 million. The company is building RISC-V-based microprocessors aimed at data center and AI workloads, targeting much higher performance per core.

AheadComputing says its breakthrough architecture can meet forecasts (roughly 70% of data-center work will be AI by 2030) that call for much faster CPUs. The new funds will accelerate chip design, software tools, and hardware prototypes, as AheadComputing’s ex-Intel team races to “develop the fastest high-performance, general-purpose CPU” for the AI era.

• Startup: AheadComputing (Portland, OR) – developer of next-gen RISC-V CPU cores for AI/data centers.

• Investors: Eclipse Ventures (lead), Toyota Ventures, Cambium Ventures (co-leads); plus Corner Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, EPIQ Capital, MESH Capital, Stata Venture Partners.

• Amount Raised: $30 million

• Total Raised: $53 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Seed (follow-on Seed2)

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

Deepgram Raises $130M in Series C Funding to Scale Real-Time Voice AI

Deepgram, a provider of real-time voice AI infrastructure, has raised $130 million in a Series C at a $1.3 billion valuation. The round was led by AVP (a global tech investment platform), with all major existing investors participating alongside new institutional and strategic backers. Deepgram’s cloud API enables enterprises to build live, low-latency Voice AI applications (transcription, conversational agents, etc.) at scale.

The startup plans to use the funding for product expansion, strategic acquisitions, and international growth, including the launch of a new Voice AI collaboration hub. Backers in the round include venture and corporate investors such as Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger Global, Wing, Y Combinator, BlackRock, as well as industry partners like Twilio Ventures, ServiceNow Ventures, SAP, and Citi Ventures.

• Startup: Deepgram (San Francisco, CA) – real-time voice AI transcription and speech API platform.

• Investors: AVP (lead); existing backers Alkeon, In-Q-Tel, Madrona, Tiger Global, Wing, Y Combinator, BlackRock; new investors include Alumni Ventures, Princeville Capital, Twilio Ventures, ServiceNow Ventures, SAP, Citi Ventures and university funds from University of Michigan and Columbia University.

• Amount Raised: $130 million

• Total Raised: (Previous undisclosed rounds; current valuation $1.3B)

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

Shield Space Raises £2M in Seed Funding to Protect Satellites from Jamming

Shield Space, a British space-defense startup, raised £2 million in seed funding to develop its autonomous satellite defense system. The financing round was led by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II (via Mercia Ventures) and included Twin Path Ventures, ROI Ventures, and P3A Ventures. Shield Space’s AI-driven guidance tech will allow satellites to detect threats (jamming or debris) and maneuver in real time without waiting for ground commands.

The new capital will fund the company’s first in-orbit test (planned for 2027), as well as hiring and lab expansion. This UK team — founded in 2025 by former RAF and Space Command specialists — aims to help protect critical space infrastructure, which UK Space Command notes is increasingly under threat.

• Startup: Shield Space (Lincoln, England) – develops AI-guided satellite protection and autonomy systems.

• Investors: Midlands Engine Investment Fund II / Mercia Ventures (lead); Twin Path Ventures; ROI Ventures; P3A Ventures.

• Amount Raised: £2 million

• Total Raised: £2 million (seed round)

• Funding Stage: Seed Round

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

Humain Secures Up to $1.2B in Government Funding for AI Infrastructure

Humain, a Saudi state-backed AI infrastructure startup, secured financing of up to $1.2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s National Infrastructure Fund. Announced at Davos, the agreement will underwrite Humain’s plan to build roughly 250 megawatts of new AI data center capacity (powering tens of thousands of GPUs) across the kingdom.

Chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and led by tech executive Tareq Amin, Humain is explicitly the centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s push into AI; officials have said the goal is to reduce oil dependence by growing an AI-driven economy. The massive backing signals Saudi ambitions to become a global AI infrastructure hub, with Humain positioned as the country’s “digital backbone” for AI and cloud services.

• Startup: Humain (Saudi Arabia) – national AI infrastructure and data center developer.

• Investors: Saudi National Infrastructure Fund (lead; state-owned).

• Amount Raised: Up to $1.2 billion (financing agreement)

• Total Raised: $1.2 billion (to date)

• Funding Stage: Infrastructure Financing

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

OpenEvidence Raises $250M in Series D Funding to Power AI-Driven Healthcare Insights

OpenEvidence, often dubbed “ChatGPT for doctors,” closed a $250 million Series D round led by Thrive Capital and DST Global. The Miami-based health-tech startup provides an AI chatbot trained on medical literature and clinical data to help physicians make decisions at the point of care. The new funding — which pushed OpenEvidence’s valuation to $12 billion — follows a rapid funding run: about $700 million raised in under a year (including $75M at a $1B valuation in Feb and $150M at a $6B valuation in Oct).

Veteran healthcare investors (Kleiner Perkins, Nvidia, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Google Ventures, etc.) joined Thrive and DST in the round. OpenEvidence says it will use the capital to expand its product, add strategic capabilities, and deepen adoption in hospitals and clinics.

• Startup: OpenEvidence (Miami, FL) – AI-driven clinical decision support platform.

• Investors: Thrive Capital, DST Global (co-leads); additional backers including Google Ventures, NVIDIA, Kleiner Perkins, Craft Ventures, Mayo Clinic Ventures, and others.

• Amount Raised: $250 million

• Total Raised: ~$700 million (to date)

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

RiskFront AI Raises $3.3M in Pre-Seed Funding to Tackle Financial Crime

RiskFront AI, a Los Angeles startup building AI agents for regulatory compliance, raised $3.3 million in pre-seed funding to tackle the $114B problem of financial crime. The round was led by Lytical Ventures, with Flint Capital and Oceans Ventures also participating. RiskFront’s platform uses AI “operating system” agents to automate tedious compliance tasks — from scanning transaction data and open-source research to summarizing risks.

The founders say their system dramatically cuts analysts’ research time, allowing experts to focus on high-level judgment. The new capital will accelerate development of RiskFront’s core product (named Airos) and expand the team, as the company prepares pilots with financial institutions.

• Startup: RiskFront AI (Los Angeles, CA) – developer of AI agents for financial crime compliance.

• Investors: Lytical Ventures (lead), Flint Capital, Oceans Ventures.

• Amount Raised: $3.3 million

• Total Raised: $3.3 million (pre-seed round)

• Funding Stage: Pre-Seed

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

PraxisPro Raises $6M in Seed Funding to Coach Medical Sales Reps with AI

PraxisPro, a New York sales training startup, closed a $6 million seed round led by AlleyCorp. The platform uses AI models to help life sciences and pharmaceutical companies train their medical sales representatives on product knowledge and regulatory compliance. AlleyCorp led the round, with Flybridge, South Loop Ventures, and Zeal Capital Partners joining.

The fresh funding will support product development and go-to-market efforts as PraxisPro expands its platform to more healthcare clients. Founders say their AI-driven coaching tool can improve patient outcomes by ensuring sales reps communicate treatments and data effectively to healthcare providers.

• Startup: PraxisPro (New York, NY) – AI-powered sales coaching for life-sciences companies.

• Investors: AlleyCorp (lead), Flybridge, South Loop Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners.

• Amount Raised: $6 million

• Total Raised: $6 million (seed round)

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

Preply Raises $150M in Series D Funding to Accelerate AI-Driven Tutoring

Preply, a language-learning marketplace with origins in Ukraine, raised $150 million in Series D funding at a $1.2 billion valuation. The round was led by WestCap (Laurence Tosi’s growth fund). Preply connects students to online tutors across languages and subject areas, and has been profitable for the past year while integrating AI features to improve matching and lessons.

Earlier backers include Horizon Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Techstars Berlin. The new capital will be used to grow Preply’s product and AI capabilities across its global offices (Barcelona, London, New York, and Kyiv) and continue supporting its large Ukrainian workforce despite challenging conditions.

• Startup: Preply (New York, NY) – online tutoring and language-learning platform.

• Investors: WestCap (lead); previous investors Horizon Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Owl Ventures, Techstars Berlin.

• Amount Raised: $150 million

• Total Raised: (previous rounds not disclosed)

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: January 21, 2026

Tech Funding Summary