Weekly funding picks, October 5–11: Waymo borrows $5bn; Zenflow pairs funding with distribution
Waymo adds debt for robotaxi expansion, Zenflow secures financing alongside a US distribution agreement, and Living Optics brings commercial collaborators onto its cap table.
Waymo closed its first debt financing on October 8. The $5 billion term loan will support autonomous ride-hailing expansion in the US and internationally, following a separate $16 billion equity investment earlier in the year. PIMCO, Blackstone and Sixth Street led the syndicated lending.
Zenflow ties a $52 million financing to a route into clinics
Zenflow announced a $52 million Series D on October 5 alongside an exclusive US distribution agreement with Cook Medical. The proceeds support commercialisation of its Spring System, an implant for urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate. Cook brings an established urology sales network to the launch.
Living Optics brings camera customers into its investor group
Living Optics secured a $20 million Series A extension led by BRV Capital Management. Lockheed Martin Ventures, Applied Ventures and Lam Capital invested as the camera maker expands its work with their parent companies. The financing supports US expansion and deployment of hyperspectral cameras that reveal material information beyond ordinary colour images.
The selected financing announcements
Sources
All rounds in this edition
| Company | Amount | Round | Sector · country | Investors | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NeoFleet Capital NeoFleet Capital finances and manages professional mobility fleets in emerging markets. | $4M | Pre-seed | Fintech · Cyprus | DMTech VC, Mark Loughran | |
| PSV Tech Fund II A Nordic venture fund backing technology founders before product-market fit. | €56M | Fund II, final close October 2026 | Fintech · Denmark | Stig Myken, Danish Society of Engineers (IDA), Henrik Printzlau, Niels Ebbe Ebbesen, Nordea-fonden, Christian Lund, Morten Ebbesen, Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), ATP Pensions, Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, Sebastian Knutsson | |
| Sharp Performance Sharp Performance provides confidential coaching and software for police officers, firefighters and paramedics. | $18M | Series A | Healthtech · United States | Ford Foundation, Hidden Variable (lead), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Commonweal Ventures, Wolfson Group, FJ Labs | |
| Vesta A mortgage loan-origination system with AI agents that work on applications, underwriting and closing documents. | $30M | Series B | Fintech · United States | Navitas, Zigg Capital, First American, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Citi Ventures, New American Funding, nbkc bank, FirstKey Mortgage, Conversion Capital (lead), Pennymac | |
| MAM Telecom MAM Telecom develops payment and settlement infrastructure for mobile-money agents and financial-service providers. | $250K | Grant | Fintech · Uganda | ||
| DailyObjects DailyObjects designs and sells technology and lifestyle accessories. | Undisclosed | Series C | Consumer · India | Axiom Asia Private Capital (lead), Xponentia Capital Partners (lead), Sattva Family Office, Anicut Capital (lead) | |
| Iribits The Italian parent of Golbriak Space, a maker of aerospace laser communication systems. | €4M | Seed | Space tech · Italy | PhotonVentures (lead), Join Capital (lead), Takeoff Accelerator | |
| Seishin GLOCAL Steel pipe piling, ground engineering and foundation support for construction projects. | Undisclosed | Strategic stake investment | Industrial tech · Japan | JAPAN PILE CORPORATION | |
| Mana Battery Mana Battery develops anode-free sodium-ion cells and proprietary electrolytes for battery manufacturers. | Undisclosed | Seed financing (investment amount undisclosed) | Climate tech · United States | Buff Gold Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Voyager Ventures (lead) | |
| Manus Manus develops AI agents that use cloud computers to carry out research, coding and other multi-step tasks. | >$500M | Undisclosed | AI · Singapore | ZhenFund, IDG Capital (lead), Boyu Capital (lead), Tencent, HSG | |
| Voltus Voltus helps energy users and distributed resource owners earn revenue by providing flexible capacity to electricity markets. | $225M | Series D | Climate tech · United States | Vitol (lead), Activate Capital (lead), Broadscale Group, Climate Investment, All Aboard Fund, Generation Investment Management (lead), NGP, Ajax Strategies | |
| NC Pioneer NC Pioneer is a Japanese project company financing a portfolio of seven grid-connected battery-storage facilities. | Undisclosed | Battery-storage project finance | Climate tech · Japan | SMTB Leasing | |
| Yazen Yazen provides digital obesity care through a clinical team, medical treatment and ongoing lifestyle support. | €50M | Growth funding | Healthtech · Sweden | Verdane (lead), Evli Growth Partners | |
| Neela Biotech Neela Biotech develops microbial processes that turn organic waste into feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel. | £2.1M | Pre-seed | Climate tech · United Kingdom | Elbow Beach (lead), Ascension, Ventures Together, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures | |
| IMMIX IMMIX provides direct foreign exchange liquidity for stablecoin payments beyond the US dollar. | $3.5M | Undisclosed | Fintech · United Kingdom | BTSE, Crane Venture Partners, Portfolio Ventures | |
| Innercrowd Fan engagement and ambassador marketing software for festival organisers. | €750K | Undisclosed | Enterprise software · Netherlands | Hans Scheffer | |
| Hone Persistent AI systems that learn company workflows and work toward ongoing business goals. | $60M | Seed | AI · United States | Index Ventures (lead), Benchmark (lead) | |
| Doris Labs Doris Labs organises sales information into shared business context for revenue teams and AI agents. | $600K | Pre-seed | Enterprise software · United Kingdom | Manchester Angels, Fuel Ventures (lead) | |
| Universal Quantum Modular trapped-ion quantum computers built by connecting small quantum chips. | >$100M | Series A | Hardware · United Kingdom | Hostplus Superannuation Fund, SiteGround Capital, David Baszucki, EdenBase, Nauta Capital, Integral GlobalTech Partners, Artal Group, DCVC (lead), NGS Super, Eigenstate Holdings, Full Disclosure, The Venture Collective, IAG Capital Partners, Main Sequence, EDBI, Firgun Ventures (lead) | |
| Atlas Atomics Atlas Atomics develops nuclear energy technology. | ~$400M | Series A | Climate tech · United States | Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst (lead) | |
| TODAY AI agents that handle administrative work for financial and insurance advisors. | €2.8M | Seed | AI · Denmark | Pierre Dubosq, Lucid Capital, Herbert Rogenhofer, High-Tech Gründerfonds (lead), Insurtech Gateway (lead), SeedX | |
| Cofrai Operations software for fire protection installation and maintenance companies. | €2.6M | Funding round | Enterprise software · Spain | Swanlaab II, DFF Ventures (lead) | |
| Elvy Elvy supplies solar panels, batteries and heat pumps to Swedish homeowners through a monthly energy subscription. | Undisclosed | Additional close | Climate tech · Sweden | Leonardo DiCaprio | |
| TailBlaze Longevity TailBlaze Longevity sells wet dog food and pet-care products, with meal plans and delivery for owners feeding their dogs at home. | $300K | Pre-seed | Consumer · India | Comma Capital (lead) | |
| Persona Persona develops a personal AI assistant accessed through messages and a planned wearable band. | $10M | Undisclosed | AI · United States | Vine Ventures (lead), Collective Global, Cory Levy | |
| NABVENTURES Fund II A venture fund investing in technology businesses across Indian agriculture and rural markets. | ₹4.5B | First close | Agritech · India | National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development | |
| Arena Arena evaluates AI models through comparisons and observations of how people use them in real tasks. | $200M | Series B | AI · United States | The House Fund, Dell Technologies Capital, Khosla Ventures (lead), Lightspeed (lead), 01 Advisors, Endeavor Catalyst, AMP PBC, Salesforce Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Panos Madamopoulos, Felicis, Acrew Capital, QuantumLight | |
| VEIR VEIR designs superconducting power delivery systems for AI data centers. | $110M | Series C | Industrial tech · United States | Matter Venture Partners (lead), Piva Capital, VXI Capital, Engine Ventures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Tyche Partners (lead), Congruent Ventures, Hui Capital, Galvanize, Gates Frontier | |
| Mothium Mothium designs electric commercial vehicles and software for managing professional fleets and aftersales operations. | €1M | Funding round | Mobility · Spain | Impacto Andalucía Innovación y Desarrollo, Fundalogy | |
| Besso Besso analyses trade regulations and shipment data to help multinational companies identify tariff savings and manage cross-border compliance. | CHF 4M | Seed | Enterprise software · Switzerland |