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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QpiAI QpiAI develops quantum-computing systems and AI software for enterprises. | ₹500M | Approved NCD issuance | Hardware · India | InnoVen Capital | |
| SignSplit SignSplit develops tools for licensing human data, creative work and likeness with recorded permissions and usage terms. | Undisclosed | Strategic seed commitment | AI · United States | W Group (lead) | |
| UpSmith UpSmith helps employers address skilled-trade labor needs by sourcing, screening and training workers for essential jobs. | $10M | Series A | Business services · — | Hannah Grey, CIV, Synetro Group, WaterStone Impact Fund | |
| TravClan TravClan provides booking technology and travel supply to travel agents. | Undisclosed | Minority investment | Travel tech · India | Flipkart | |
| Plesh Plesh makes chocolate snacks with no added sugar, using plant fibres in its recipes. | €3.8M | Funding round | Foodtech · Spain | Ibai Llanos (lead), Gerard Piqué (lead) | |
| Rodinia Generation Rodinia Generation develops automated clothing production systems that let fashion brands manufacture short runs close to demand. | €4M | Investment round | Industrial tech · Denmark | Vitamin°C (lead), Climentum Capital, Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) | |
| myTVS myTVS combines vehicle servicing, parts distribution and digital fleet maintenance across India. | $45M | Series D | Mobility · India | Crescent Enterprises (lead) | |
| OneByZero OneByZero is a Singapore-based enterprise AI company that helps businesses apply artificial intelligence to their operations. | $20M | Series A | Enterprise software · Singapore | Jungle Ventures (lead) | |
| Celaid Therapeutics Celaid Therapeutics develops cell therapies using technology that expands blood-forming stem cells outside the body. | ¥400M | Series B second close | Biotech · Japan | Shionogi & Co, Teikoku Ventures | |
| Testbusters Testbusters provides courses, study materials and digital simulations for university entrance exams, using a peer-led teaching model focused on medical and other selective degree programmes. | €1.2M | Minority growth investment | Edtech · Italy | Smart Capital | |
| TAIMATSU TAIMATSU develops Japanese craft, retail and visitor-experience brands for international customers. | Undisclosed | Debt financing | Consumer · Japan | ||
| SensorX Solutions SensorX Solutions develops gas sensing and emissions measurement systems for energy companies and infrastructure operators. | CHF 1.5M | Mixed seed financing | Climate tech · Switzerland | ||
| Declaro Declaro provides Romanian businesses with a dedicated accountant and an application for financial and tax information. | ~€1M | Initial investment disclosed | Business services · Romania | ||
| Ocular AI Provides expert-created training data and evaluations for AI models. | $2M | Pre-seed | AI · United States | MyAsia VC, 1745 Ventures, Drive Capital (lead), Alumni Ventures, Orange Collective, Y Combinator (YC) | |
| SafeWorld SafeWorld develops simulation software for testing robots that operate around people. | $12.2M | Seed | Robotics · United States | Carnegie Mellon University Endowment, SV Angel, Brave Capital, Valkyrie, BoxGroup, Innovation Endeavors, OVO Fund, Alpha Square Group, Founders Future, a16z Speedrun, Shine Capital, Zelda Ventures | |
| TextYess TextYess combines customer records and AI agents to manage retention marketing, messaging and service workflows for ecommerce brands. | €4M | Seed extension | Enterprise software · Italy | Entourage, VC Partners, Italian Founders Fund (lead) | |
| Valon Mortgage-servicing software that combines loan records, accounting, operational workflows and AI agents in one platform. | $150M | Series D | Fintech · United States | Ribbit Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) | |
| Ardeevo Ardeevo combines AI drafting and regulatory expert review to prepare medical-device technical documentation. | €150K | Pre-seed | Healthtech · Italy | ZNEXT | |
| Buntar Aerospace Ukrainian developer of reconnaissance drones and software for unmanned aircraft. | $16M | Undisclosed | Defense tech · Ukraine | Freedom Fund (lead), Gardar, Iron Wolf Capital, Autonomy Capital | |
| RobCo Develops AI-driven robotic systems for industrial automation and autonomy | Undisclosed | Primary investment and employee secondary transaction | Industrial tech · Germany | European Tech Collective, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed, Greenfield Partners, Cherry Ventures, Kindred Capital, Lingotto, Promus Ventures | |
| Zenflow A minimally invasive implant system designed to relieve urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate. | $52M | Series D | Healthtech · United States | F-Prime, Trinity Capital, ClavystBio | |
| Reclinker Reclinker recycles cement paste from demolition waste into new clinker using electric arc furnaces at steel recycling plants. | £10M | Series A | Climate tech · United Kingdom | Zero Carbon Capital, Clean Growth Fund (lead), Kibo Invest, AP Ventures (lead), Development Bank of Wales, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures | |
| Celaid Therapeutics Celaid Therapeutics develops cell therapies using technology that expands blood-forming stem cells outside the body. | Undisclosed | AMED Stage 3 grant support | Biotech · Japan | Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) | |
| Pandektes Pandektes provides legal research software and structured legal data for law firms, businesses and public institutions. | €13.5M | Series A | Enterprise software · Denmark | Scale Capital, PROfounders Capital, Alstin Capital (lead) | |
| Namespace Developer infrastructure that provides fast coding, build and test environments for software teams. | $42M | Series B | Developer tools · — | Burst Capital, New Enterprise Associates, 20VC, Essence VC, Scale Venture Partners (lead), Olivier Pomel, Susa Ventures | |
| Living Optics Living Optics develops computational hyperspectral cameras that capture spectral information for industrial inspection, defence and research. | $20M | Series A extension | Hardware · United Kingdom | Octopus Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Foresight Group, GK Goh, Applied Ventures LLC, BRV Capital Management (lead), British Business Bank, OTIF Ventures, Lam Capital | |
| Toresyoku Rice-husk cellulose materials and research services for replacing part of conventional plastic inputs. | Undisclosed | Strategic investment | Climate tech · Japan | Nishimatsu Construction | |
| Visorway Visorway combines AI and sourcing expertise to deliver procurement advisory services. | Undisclosed | Pre-seed | Business services · Switzerland | ||
| YEN TOWN MARKET YEN TOWN MARKET develops merchandise and licensed products around Japanese music, art and popular culture. | Undisclosed | Strategic JV investment | Media & gaming · Japan | TWIN PLANET | |
| Fleuret AI Fleuret AI builds autonomous agents for penetration testing. | €4M | Pre-seed | Cybersecurity · France | Eric Fourrier, Jean-François Aliotti, Jules Veyrat, Alexandre Andreini, Olivier Pantaleo, Wind Capital, Auriga Cyber Ventures, Better Angle, RAISE Ventures (lead), Georges Lotigier |