It's 64°F and sunny, and let's dive into last week's updates and funding action.
🎯 BLUF: Bottom Line Upfront
Grammarly's $1B Boost: Secured non-dilutive $1B funding from General Catalyst to expand AI productivity tools.
Rime Raises $5.5M: Enterprise-grade lifelike speech AI startup funded by Unusual Ventures.
Bito Bags $5.7M: AI-driven developer tool for automated code reviews expands funding.
Context Closes $11M: AI-first productivity suite with local-first security secures significant seed funding.
Oncade Scores $4M: Gaming platform turning communities into revenue engines funded by a16z CSX.
DreamPark Secures $1.1M: Mixed reality theme parks expand immersive real-world experiences.
🚀 Big Moves in Tech
✍️ Grammarly's $1B Non-Dilutive Boost
Grammarly has secured a $1B non-dilutive investment from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund to further position itself as a leader in AI-driven workplace tools. This capital will allow Grammarly to expand into becoming a comprehensive AI productivity platform. It recently acquired Coda in January of 2025. Currently, Grammarly has over 40M daily users, and its revenue exceeds $700M.
Personally, I can't live without Grammarly, as it's a fantastic product that helps me ensure my emails sound good and are free of errors. Try it out here!
🧠 AI & Productivity Startups
🗣️ Rime's $5.5M Seed Round
Rime is developing enterprise-level speech tools with lifelike voice AI technology. It raised $5.5M in seed funding with the round being led by Unusual Ventures. Rime wants to bring authenticity to AI-generated speech by building tech that delivers sub-200ms speech latency on the cloud and under 100ms on-premise.
🧑💻 Bito's $5.7M Seed Extension
Bito provides an AI platform to help software devs with code reviews. It raised $5.7 million in a seed extension round led by Vela Partners to bring its total seed-stage funding to about $8.8M. Bito’s flagship AI Code Review Agent integrates right into your code repositories to give you line-by-line feedback, detect issues, and suggest fixes for code changes.
📄 Context's $11M Seed Funding
Context is building an AI-first office productivity suite. The round was led by Lux Capital to raise $11M in seed funding. Context is building its tools for enterprise and government users to give them the power of both generative AI and robust security.
🎮 Gaming & Mixed Reality
🎮 Oncade's $4M Seed Funding
Oncade is building a game distribution platform that turns gaming communities into revenue engines. It raised $4M in seed funding with the round being led by a16z CSX (crypto-specific fund). Oncade wants to revolutionize game distribution by enabling community members to earn money by promoting, creating, or selling in-game items directly to other users.
🎢 DreamPark's $1.1M Seed Funding
DreamPark is a developer specializing in mixed reality (XR) theme parks that aims to transform real-world spaces into immersive mixed-reality entertainment venues. It secured $1.1M in seed funding to expand, including forming partnerships with established recognizable brands and growing its development team.
💸 In Other Funding News
Here’s a roundup of notable recent funding rounds across various sectors:
🧠 AI & Data Infrastructure
Chalk – Raised $50M Series A led by Felicis to enhance real-time AI data integration for enterprises.
CompLabs – Secured $2.65M in pre-seed funding from Alt Capital to develop AI-driven high-fidelity simulation tools.
Creatify AI – Closed a $15.5M Series A co-led by WndrCo and Kindred Ventures to advance its AI video advertising platform.
Deccan AI – Received an undisclosed seed investment from Prosus Ventures to scale its AI training data services.
General Counsel AI – Announced a Series A round led by Sound Ventures to expand its AI solutions for in-house legal teams.
Greenlite – Raised $15M Series A led by Greylock to bolster AI-driven banking compliance solutions.
GridCARE – Secured $13.5M in seed funding led by Xora Innovation to develop AI-powered solutions for data centers.
🔧 Industry & Infrastructure
Heron Power – Raised $38M Series A from Capricorn Investment Group to enhance clean power grid connectivity.
Leeta Materials – Closed a $4.45M seed round to advance sustainable manufacturing technologies.
Neuron Factory – Secured $6M in seed funding from Activant Capital to develop AI tools for construction project coordination.
🧬 Health & Wellness
Maxiom Labs – Raised $2M in seed funding from Conscious Venture Partners to develop an AI health and fitness coach.
Vivodyne – Closed a $40M Series A led by Khosla Ventures to produce lab-grown 3D human tissues for drug testing.
WellTheory – Secured $5M in seed funding from Accel, BoxGroup, and Samsung NEXT to provide virtual autoimmune care.
💼 Enterprise & Compliance
Rillet – Raised $25M Series A from Sequoia Capital to develop an AI-native ERP platform.
Spott – Secured $3.2M in seed funding from Base10 Partners and Y Combinator to automate AI recruiting processes.
Unbound Security – Closed a $4M seed round from Race Capital to enhance AI governance and compliance platforms.
🌐 Consumer & Connectivity
Bezel – Received a $670K seed investment from Hyperspace Ventures to expand its luxury watch marketplace with authentication services.
Noxi – Raised $28K in pre-seed funding from Startupbootcamp to develop unlimited internet solutions with satellite backup.
📊 Week in Numbers
This week, we found 24 early-stage deals totalling $252.9M without counting Grammarly. This included 20 deals in the Bay Area with 7 Series A rounds, 13 Seed rounds, and 2 pre-seed rounds. Wednesday happened to be the busiest day, with two-thirds of the companies mentioned having AI critical to their tech.
Please note that we're still working on building our data pipelines to identify pre-seed rounds as they come.
🔍 What Stands Out
AI Dominance: AI still remains a significant focus, with substantial investments in apps for infrastructure, productivity tools, and specialized fields.
Enterprise Software Surge: There is a growing demand for enterprise AI tools that enhance productivity and compliance within large organizations.
Diverse Sector Growth: Beyond AI, sectors like gaming, mixed reality, and sustainable manufacturing are also experiencing substantial investment activity.
🌟 Editor's Note
At Startup Intros, our mission is to bring the latest founder-investor news straight to your inbox, keeping you ahead in the fast-paced world of Silicon Valley. Our free weekly newsletter delivers curated insights, deals, and trends to help you navigate the startup ecosystem.
Stay tuned for our upcoming paid daily newsletter, packed with deeper dives, plus weekly spotlights on top VCs, investors, and founders, and practical tips for raising your next round.
💭 Closing Thoughts
That’s a wrap for this week! Whether you're building, investing, or just exploring the AI space, we hope these stories sparked new ideas. Catch you next week with more updates from the Bay Area's fast-moving startup scene.
Till next time,
Dev Chandra
CEO @ Startup Intros
Associate @ Context VC
LinkedIn: /in/devchandra
Tim Hsia
Investor @ Context VC
Co-Founder @ Startup Intros
LinkedIn: /in/timhsia
P.S. Raised this week, and we missed you? Want to be featured? Have tips or funding questions? Reply or DM us as we’re here to help.
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