Top Startup and Tech Funding News – January 22, 2025

cIt’s Thursday, January 22, 2026, and we’re back with today’s top startup and tech funding news. Today’s rounds showcase a sharpened investor appetite for next-gen AI inference, tokenized finance, and automated infrastructure—from deep-tech photonics to conversational platforms for dealerships. With capital concentrating on execution-stage platforms in cloud, crypto, and space, this cycle continues to reward teams that turn technical insight into scaled systems.

AI infrastructure remained a dominant theme. Inferact secured $150 million to commercialize vLLM model inference, while Neurophos landed $110 million to bring light-based AI chips to market. The fintech rails story broadened as Superstate raised $82.5 million to tokenize regulated securities, and Indonesia’s UangCermat brought in fresh capital to scale “phygital” lending across underserved markets.

Enterprise SaaS, commercial real estate, and cloud orchestration also saw momentum. Railway raised $100 million to expand its developer-first AI cloud platform, while Cambio and Mia Labs applied AI to legacy workflows in property underwriting and automotive sales. Europe’s D‑Orbit and Zebedee reflected continued investor conviction in space and crypto infrastructure, while biotech heavyweight Corxel raised $287 million to advance an oral GLP-1 obesity therapy.

Tech Funding News

Funding Highlights

• Inferact raises $150M seed to commercialize open-source vLLM model inference
• Neurophos lands $110M Series A to build light-based AI processors
• Corxel secures $287M Series D1 to develop oral GLP-1 obesity drug
• Railway raises $100M Series B for AI-native cloud infrastructure
• Superstate raises $82.5M Series B to bring securities on-chain
• D‑Orbit locks in $53M Series D to expand in-space data processing
• Zebedee raises $40M Series C to scale bitcoin payments for gaming
• Cambio raises $18M Series A to modernize commercial real estate analysis
• Mia Labs secures $20M Series A to automate auto dealership workflows
• UangCermat raises $6.4M Series A equity + $20M credit to grow lending in Indonesia

Investor Activity

Across AI, crypto, and vertical SaaS, today’s financings featured a mix of platform VCs, sector-focused growth firms, and corporate strategics. The largest rounds reflected investor appetite for enabling infrastructure—whether in optical computing, blockchain-native asset rails, or real-world AI deployments. As the pace of funding stays elevated for companies operating at the core of AI, money, and compute, investors appear more focused than ever on durable advantages at the systems layer.

Here’s the full breakdown of January 22’s most significant startup and tech fundings.

Neurophos Raises $110M Series A Funding to Build Optical AI Inference Chips

Neurophos, an Austin-based AI startup spun out of Duke University, is developing tiny optical processors for AI inference. Its proprietary metasurface modulator acts as a photonic tensor core, enabling thousands of light-based computing “neurons” on a single chip. On Jan. 22, 2026, the company announced it had raised $110 million in a Series A round led by Gates Frontier (Bill Gates’s fund), with participation from Microsoft’s M12, Carbon Direct, Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures, and others.

The latest funding will accelerate Neurophos’s work on ultra-fast, energy-efficient AI accelerators that could dramatically speed up machine learning inference while reducing power consumption.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Neurophos

• Investors: Gates Frontier (lead); M12, Carbon Direct, Aramco Ventures, Bosch Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Space Capital, others

• Amount Raised: $110M

• Total Raised: $110M (Series A)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Inferact Raises $150M in Seed Funding to Commercialize vLLM Inference

Inferact, the commercial startup behind the open-source vLLM project, secured $150 million in seed funding on Jan. 22, 2026. Co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, the round valued Inferact at about $800 million. Inferact is focused on AI model “inference” – running large language models (LLMs) in production – by making them faster and more cost-efficient.

Technologies like vLLM (and a peer project, SGLang) are attracting heavy investment as companies shift focus from training to deploying AI models. Inferact’s co-founder and CEO has said that major cloud users (including Amazon Web Services) are already testing its inference platform. The new capital will help Inferact build production versions of vLLM and scale deployments for enterprise customers seeking lower-latency, lower-cost AI inference.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Inferact

• Investors: Andreessen Horowitz (lead), Lightspeed Venture Partners (co-lead)

• Amount Raised: $150M

• Total Raised: $150M (Seed)

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Railway Raises $100M in Series B Funding to Build AI-Native Cloud Platform

Railway, an Austin-based cloud platform for AI infrastructure, announced a $100 million Series B on Jan. 22, 2026. Led by TQ Ventures, the round also included investment from FirstPath, Redpoint Ventures, and Unusual Ventures. Railway provides a developer-friendly platform to manage cloud infrastructure, billing, and networking for ML workloads. With a surge in AI projects, Railway says it’s addressing the “data and networking bottlenecks” that hinder the scaling of large AI models.

Prior to this round, Railway had raised roughly $24 million; the new funding brings its total to about $124 million. The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its team and launch new products for hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud AI deployments, targeting hyperscalers and enterprises deploying massive AI clusters.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Railway

• Investors: TQ Ventures (lead), FirstPath Venture, Redpoint Ventures, Unusual Ventures

• Amount Raised: $100M

• Total Raised: $124M (including prior rounds)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Zebedee (ZBD) Raises $40M in Series C Funding to Power Blockchain Game Payments

Zebedee (ticker ZBD), a crypto-fintech startup based in New Jersey, raised $40 million in a Series C round on Jan. 22, 2026. The round was led by Blockstream Capital, the venture arm of Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream, which invested $36 million. Zebedee builds Bitcoin-based payment rails for the gaming industry, enabling players to earn and spend Bitcoin (and sats) through in-game purchases and rewards.

Zebedee will use the fresh capital infusion to scale Zebedee’s bitcoin payments platform to more game developers and virtual economies. Blockstream’s involvement (and the fact that Zebedee already processes billions of dollars in gaming transactions annually) underscores the momentum behind integrating crypto payments into gaming. The new funding brings Zebedee’s total raised to around $75 million over three rounds, positioning it to expand infrastructure and partnerships in the NFT and Web3 gaming sector.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Zebedee (ZBD)

• Investors: Blockstream Capital (lead)

• Amount Raised: $40M

• Total Raised: ~$75M (across Series A–C)

• Funding Stage: Series C

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Cambio Raises $18M in Series A Funding to Bring AI to Commercial Real Estate

Cambio, a San Francisco startup applying AI to commercial real estate, raised $18 million in a Series A funding. The round was led by Maverick Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Adverb, and angel investors from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Notion, among others. Cambio’s software ingests and analyzes vast amounts of unstructured building data (spreadsheets, PDFs, audit reports) using large language models, instantly converting it into “investment-grade” insights for institutional investors.

This is a major upgrade over the months of manual work usually required to vet properties. Investors see a huge opportunity in Cambio’s approach, given the roughly $20 trillion U.S. commercial real estate market. The new funds will help Cambio scale globally – it has already expanded into 35 countries – and accelerate R&D on its AI-powered asset management platform.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Cambio

• Investors: Maverick Ventures (lead); Y Combinator, Adverb Ventures, OpenAI angels, Anthropic angels, Notion angels

• Amount Raised: $18M

• Total Raised: $22M (including prior seed)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Mia Labs Raises $20M Series A to Automate Auto Dealerships

Mia Labs, an Austin-based startup building AI tools for car dealerships, closed a $20 million Series A on Jan. 22, 2026. The round was led by Permanent Capital Ventures and brings Mia’s total funding to $29 million to date. Mia’s platform integrates with dealerships’ existing systems to turn manual processes (lead tracking, scheduling, pricing) into AI-driven workflows, acting like an “AI super employee” for sales and service teams.

The company says its software has already helped dealerships process over 1 million customer interactions. With the new capital, Mia plans to expand its product features and grow its 50-person team. This funding will accelerate the rollout of Mia’s conversational AI tools to more automotive clients, addressing a market hungry for automation to improve customer experience and sales efficiency.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Mia Labs

• Investors: Permanent Capital Ventures (lead)

• Amount Raised: $20M

• Total Raised: $29M (including prior seed)

• Funding Stage: Series A

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

D‑Orbit Raises $128M in Series D Funding to Power In‑Space Computing

D‑Orbit, an Italian space logistics and technology company, has raised $53 million in new capital as part of a broader $128 million commitment from Italy’s Azimut Group. The investment includes a $75 million secondary transaction to acquire shares from an existing D‑Orbit investor and marks the first tranche of the company’s Series D round.

D‑Orbit’s specialized satellites perform on-orbit data processing and relay functions, effectively turning space into a distributed data center. The new capital will support the expansion of its space-based infrastructure and position the company for potential acquisitions. The round follows D‑Orbit’s $168 million Series C in 2024 and strengthens Azimut’s role as a strategic backer in the company’s next phase of growth.

CEO Luca Rossettini said this capital will fund the launch of new “space data center” satellites by 2028 to provide broadband and compute services from orbit. With governments and companies seeking edge computing and assured connectivity from space, D‑Orbit aims to become a key player in the emerging space infrastructure market. The round (the first tranche of its Series D) positions D‑Orbit to continue building out its satellite constellation and to potentially acquire other space tech assets.

Funding Details:

• Startup: D‑Orbit

• Investors: Azimut Group (lead)

• Amount Raised: $53M (Series D, first tranche)

• Total Raised: $53M (current round; further close expected)

• Funding Stage: Series D

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Superstate Raises $82.5M in Series B Funding to Tokenize Securities on Blockchain

Superstate, a London-based tokenization platform, raised $82.5 million in Series B funding on Jan. 22, 2026. Co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global, with participation from Haun Ventures and Galaxy Digital, the round will expand Superstate’s infrastructure for issuing on-chain, SEC-registered securities. Superstate already manages over $1.1 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasury funds; the new capital will fuel its “Opening Bell” platform, enabling public companies to issue tokenized stock on Ethereum and Solana.

This move reflects growing institutional interest in digital securities – by tokenizing stocks and bonds, firms aim for faster settlement, on-chain dividend payments, and seamless integration with decentralized finance. Investors say Superstate’s funding signals a shift from theoretical crypto use cases to real-world assets on blockchain rails.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Superstate

• Investors: Bain Capital Crypto (lead), Distributed Global (lead); plus Haun Ventures, Galaxy Digital

• Amount Raised: $82.5M

• Total Raised: $82.5M (Series B)

• Funding Stage: Series B

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Corxel Pharmaceuticals Raises $287M in Series D1 Funding for Oral Obesity Drug

Corxel Pharmaceuticals, a biotech startup developing an oral GLP-1 obesity drug, announced a $287 million Series D1 on Jan. 22, 2026. The New Jersey-based company licensed its lead therapy (an oral version of a GLP-1 agonist) from China’s Vincentage in 2024. Corxel said the funding will accelerate global testing of the pill, which aims to offer weight-loss efficacy comparable to injectable GLP-1 drugs.

This investment round included SR One (the life sciences arm of GlaxoSmithKline), TCGX Holdings, RA Capital Management, RTW Investments, and others. It comes amid a surge of biotech investments in China-sourced drug candidates. Corxel plans to launch a global Phase 2 study in diabetes and prepare for late-stage trials, betting that its “differentiated” oral therapy can capture market share as obesity and diabetes treatments move increasingly toward pills.

Funding Details:

• Startup: Corxel Pharmaceuticals

• Investors: SR One, TCGX Holdings, RA Capital, RTW Investments, Hengdian Group Capital (among others)

• Amount Raised: $287M

• Total Raised: $287M (Series D1)

• Funding Stage: Series D1

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

UangCermat Raises $6.4M in Series A Funding to Expand Lending in Indonesia

UangCermat, an Indonesia-based “phygital” fintech startup, announced on Jan. 22, 2026, that it raised $6.4 million in Series A equity (co-led by Cocoon Capital, NP Consulting, and IFP Securities) alongside a $20 million structured credit facility provided by SixPoint Capital. UangCermat targets underserved workers by offering payroll-linked installment loans via a combination of digital underwriting and a network of local agents.

The new funding will enable the rapid growth of its payroll loan portfolio and fintech-as-a-service platform for banks and microfinance firms in Indonesia. UangCermat says the equity will strengthen its balance sheet while the credit line will directly fund new loans. The capital injection comes as Indonesian fintech lenders face a funding squeeze; UangCermat’s leadership argues that responsible expansion (with conservative underwriting) can drive broader financial inclusion among blue-collar workers.

Funding Details:

• Startup: UangCermat

• Investors: Cocoon Capital, NP Consulting, IFP Securities (co-leads) (plus SixPoint Capital as credit provider)

• Amount Raised: $6.4M equity + $20M credit facility

• Total Raised: $26.4M (equity + debt)

• Funding Stage: Series A (plus debt financing)

• Funding Date: Jan. 22, 2026

Tech Funding Summary (Jan. 22, 2026)