Ultrahuman Eyes $40 Million Investment Led by SoftBank

- Skild AI, an AI robotics startup, has secured $300 million in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank, and Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions. - The funds will be used to scale the business model, expand training datasets, and support hiring in AI, robotics, engineering, operations, and security teams. - Co-founded by former Carnegie Mellon University professors Abhinav Gupta and Deepak Pathak in 2023, Skild AI builds AI-powered brains for robots and is now valued at $1.5 billion. - Skild AI's model is trained on significantly more data points than competitors and is designed for general-purpose use in various robots and scenarios. - The startup's team includes experts from Meta, Tesla, NVIDIA, Amazon, Google, and top universities, aiming to bring a GPT-3 moment to the world of robotics.

In a landmark deal, Silicon Valley powerhouse General Catalyst has acquired Venture Highway, a seed-stage investment firm with a track record of backing winners like Meesho and Mobile Premier League. The Deal: - Rare instance of consolidation in the Indian VC market - VH to be rebranded as General Catalyst India - GC plans to invest $500 million to $1 billion in India over the next three years - Acquisition driven by desire to build strong local team and tap into local LP network But the move also raises important questions. Will this trigger a wave of consolidation in the Indian VC market? Will other global firms follow suit and snap up local players to gain a foothold in the country? And how will this influx of foreign capital shape the trajectory of India's startup ecosystem? As the dust settles on this landmark deal, one thing is clear: India's startup scene is entering a new era, one where local innovation and global capital are increasingly intertwined.

Always long on India 🇮🇳 Image Credits: The Arc

That's the market cap of Saudi Arabian Oil Co, or Google + Amazon + Apple https://archive.ph/orZGB

Seems like Ultrahuman had started focusing on the US market (because India is saturated after a point). Oura must've sued them to limit competition, and because a lot of things were too similar. Anyone knows more here?

- Wealthtech firm Neo has secured Rs 400 crore in a funding round led by Japan’s MUFG Bank and New York-based Euclidean Capital LLC. - The funds will be used to expand Neo's wealth-management division and enhance sponsor support for its asset management business. - Neo's equity base now stands at Rs 1,000 crore, marking a significant milestone for the company. - India's wealth management market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.56% during 2025–2029, driven by new-age startups and rising affluent class. - Neo, launched in 2021, manages nearly Rs 35,000 crore in wealth management assets and is seeking an NBFC license to offer short-term loans. Source: [Moneycontrol](https://www.moneycontrol.com/technology/peak-xv-partners-backed-wealthtech-firm-neo-raises-rs-400-crore-led-by-mufg-euclidean-capital-article-12793512.html)

Honestly this sounds a bit low given it is Softbank. It should've been like Softbank trying to raise a $500 billion fund for AI.

- Sarvam AI - $41M (Lightspeed and Peak XV) - Mad Street Den - $67M (Avatar, Peak XV) - Wysa - $25M - Neysa Networks - $20M (Matrix Partners) - Scribble Data - $2.3M (Blume Ventures) - Expertia AI - $1.3M (Chiratae Ventures) - OnFinance - $ 1.1M (Silverneedle Ventures) - Krutrom AI - $50M (Matrix Partners)