Tag: biotech

  • AI Infrastructure, Biotech, and Enterprise Startups Secure Major Funding This Week

    AI Infrastructure, Biotech, and Enterprise Startups Secure Major Funding This Week

    This week’s venture capital activity demonstrates that investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence extends well beyond foundational models. Five startups spanning optical connectivity, drug discovery, procurement, enterprise workflows, and retail automation collectively raised significant funding, highlighting a broadening of AI investment into infrastructure and practical applications.

    PicoJool Raises USD 27.5 Million for AI Optical Connectivity

    PicoJool, a developer of optical connectivity products for AI data centers, closed a USD 27.5 million Series A round led by Socratic Partners, with participation from Hudson River Trading. The company’s total funding now stands at USD 39.5 million, following an earlier USD 12 million seed round. PicoJool’s portfolio includes 200G VCSELs, microVCSELs, and optical links designed for hyperscale AI workloads. The new capital will be used to expand teams and facilities in the United States and Taiwan, as well as to boost manufacturing capacity to meet demand from hyperscalers and data-center operators.

    BigHat Biosciences Closes USD 75 Million Series C for AI-Designed Therapeutics

    Biotech startup BigHat Biosciences secured a USD 75 million Series C round co-led by DFJ Growth and Premji Invest, bringing its total funding to USD 223 million. The company leverages an agentic data platform to design protein therapeutics using artificial intelligence. Its pipeline includes BHB810, an antibody-drug conjugate currently in Phase 1 trials. BigHat plans to use the fresh capital to advance its clinical-stage pipeline and further develop its protein-design data generation platform.

    Axya Lands USD 17 Million CAD to Expand AI Procurement Platform

    Montreal-based Axya raised USD 17 million in Series A funding, led by McRock Capital with participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures and existing investors. The company offers AI-powered procurement software for manufacturers, covering sourcing and purchasing workflows. Axya intends to invest the proceeds in product development, AI capabilities, geographic expansion, and scaling its engineering and go-to-market teams.

    Ema Adds USD 77 Million in Series B for Enterprise AI Agents

    Enterprise AI company Ema raised USD 77 million in a Series B round led by Creaegis, with additional investments from Accel, Section 32, and Prosus. This brings Ema’s total funding to USD 140 million. The company’s platform deploys AI agents to automate corporate functions such as HR, IT, and finance, helping enterprises streamline operations.

    Thri5 Secures USD 5.4 Million Seed Round for Retail AI Execution

    Retail-focused startup Thri5 closed a USD 5.4 million seed round co-led by Whitecap Venture Partners and Mistral Venture Partners. Its AI execution platform converts retail data and recommendations into actionable in-store actions. A nine-week pilot with Wild Fork Foods reportedly delivered gains in sales, profit, and inventory accuracy, leading the retailer to expand the deployment.

    Together, these deals reflect a maturing AI funding cycle where capital is moving beyond model development into the hardware, data, biotech, and enterprise workflows that make AI operational. For startups, the challenge remains turning investment into products that deliver measurable, real-world results.

  • Zomato Founder Deepinder Goyal Bets on Brain Health with New Wearable Startup Temple

    Zomato Founder Deepinder Goyal Bets on Brain Health with New Wearable Startup Temple

    Deepinder Goyal, the visionary behind India’s food-tech giant Zomato, is making a bold pivot from food delivery to brain health. His latest venture, Temple, is developing a wearable device that tracks brain blood flow in real time. The startup recently raised $54 million in its first funding round, achieving a valuation of around $190 million—a striking vote of confidence in an unproven technology.

    From Canteen Menus to Forehead Patches

    Goyal’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2008 when he and a colleague noticed office workers queuing to see lunch menus. That observation led to Foodiebay, which later became Zomato—a public company and India’s first consumer tech unicorn. In early 2026, just weeks after stepping down as Zomato’s CEO, Goyal appeared on a podcast wearing a small forehead device called Temple. It wasn’t a gimmick; it was the prototype of his new startup.

    How Temple Works

    Temple’s product is a small, patch-like wearable that sticks to the temple or forehead. It claims to continuously monitor cerebral blood flow, similar to how fitness trackers measure heart rate or Oura rings track sleep. The ultimate goal: to help slow down aging by improving brain blood flow. Goyal has shared this theory online, but the science remains unverified and has not been peer-reviewed. Medical experts are skeptical, but investors are willing to bet on Goyal’s track record.

    Investor Confidence and Risks

    The $54 million round was led by Goyal’s long-time backers—Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India), Info Edge, Steadview Capital, and Nikhil and Nithin Kamath of Zerodha. These investors saw Goyal turn a simple menu directory into a multi-billion-dollar business. Now they’re backing his foray into biotech and longevity, a field far riskier than food delivery. Goyal himself describes the move as “higher-risk exploration and experimentation.”

    A New Chapter for Indian Tech

    Temple is still in development. The company is running third-party studies to validate its metrics and recruiting early adopters to refine the technology. A consumer launch is expected within months. If successful, Temple could revolutionize how athletes monitor performance and how everyday people track brain health. If it fails, it will still be a landmark story—the moment one of India’s most celebrated founders bet his reputation not on food, but on the flow of blood through the human brain.

    Temple operates independently from Goyal’s other ventures, including Continue (a health-tech project), LAT Aerospace, and Zomato’s parent company Eternal. As Indian tech evolves, Temple signals that the next big innovation may not come from delivery apps but from a small device that sticks to your forehead and tries to read your brain.