30 rounds closed this week for ~$2.3B deployed — down 2% from last week's ~$2.3B across 29. Applied AI took 3 of the 30 checks; when one sector absorbs that share, partners in it answer cold decks faster — deployment pressure is visible. 101 more raises surfaced only in Form D filings, with no press coverage — fresh capital nobody is watching yet. If either is your lane, the window argues for sending your deck this week, not next.
📊 The Week's Deployment
Stage | Rounds | Total deployed |
Pre-seed | 1 | ~$2M |
Seed | 9 | ~$121M |
Series A | 6 | ~$129M |
Series B | 6 | ~$1.4B |
Growth (Series C+) | 2 | ~$245M |
Most active sector: applied AI (3 of 30 rounds). Quietest: climate (1).
✅ Who Wrote Checks
The full list, free, as always — 30 rounds with stage, sector, and lead investor:
Valar Atomics — $1B Series B, led by Sequoia, defense & space · Tectonic Defense |
Mariana Minerals — $310M Series B, led by Khosla Ventures, defense & space · Yahoo Finance |
Moove — $250M Undisclosed stage, lead undisclosed, robotics · TechCrunch Venture |
Zenity — $125M Growth (Series C+), lead undisclosed, cybersecurity · calcalistech.com |
River — $120M Growth (Series C+), lead undisclosed · techcrunch.com |
Decade — $85M Seed, lead undisclosed, applied AI · Yahoo Finance |
Lydian — $43M Undisclosed stage, lead undisclosed · Chemical & Engineering News |
DataBahn — $40M Series B, led by Insight Partners · Dallas Innovates |
Aurelius — $40M Series A, lead undisclosed, defense & space · Tectonic Defense |
JPYC — $38M Series B, lead undisclosed, logistics · CoinDesk |
Sapiom — $35M Series A, lead undisclosed, applied AI · Yahoo Finance |
Multiplier — $35M Series B, lead undisclosed · Yahoo Finance |
Balance Theory — $19M Series A, led by SYN Ventures · Pulse 2.0 |
Wordsmith AI — $14M Series B, lead undisclosed, legal tech · Legal IT Insider |
RWX — $12M Series A, led by Hyde Park Venture Partners · Pulse 2.0 |
HomeRun — $12M Series A, led by Nexus Venture Partners · Entrackr |
Inner Logic — $11.5M Seed, lead undisclosed · AI Insider |
Nibertex — $11M Series A, lead undisclosed · Dealroom |
Mitti Labs — $9.5M Undisclosed stage, led by Aramco Ventures · Startup Story |
Vangrid — $9M Seed, lead undisclosed, climate · Dealroom |
Pinegap — $8M Undisclosed stage, led by Stellaris Venture Partners, applied AI · Indian Startup News |
Avatar Robotics — $6.5M Seed, lead undisclosed, robotics · Yahoo Finance |
Solinas Integrity — $5.5M Undisclosed stage, led by Mela Ventures · Siliconindia |
JIJ — $5.2M Undisclosed stage, led by Global Brain · The Quantum Insider |
CopySight — $3M Seed, lead undisclosed, legal tech · The Global Legal Post |
Hulp — $2.6M Seed, led by Sparrow Capital · bestmediainfo.com |
Aavalynx — £1.5M (~$2M) Pre-seed, led by Omega Ventures, legal tech · Pulse 2.0 |
Majestic Mind Games — $1.5M Seed, lead undisclosed · Dealroom |
Fitting — $1.1M Seed, lead undisclosed, logistics · Dealroom |
FeduAi By Mentalup — $0.8M Seed, led by Fark Labs · Dealroom |
🔍 Investor Spotlight: Sequoia
Sequoia wrote 1 check in the last two weeks — 1 as lead (~$1B deployed). Led: Valar Atomics ($1B Series B). The pattern in the checks: defense & space. One check proves appetite, not pace — but a lead this size is conviction, not clean-up. Worth a well-aimed approach while the thesis is warm.
Fit notes like this on every active firm — matched against your deck — live in Backable. Pitching any of this week’s check-writers?
📄 Filing Watch
6 raises surfaced in SEC Form D filings this week that no outlet has covered. The 6 below are the largest of 101 venture-relevant Form Ds we tracked with no coverage. Quiet raises tell you two things: who has fresh capital without the spotlight, and which investors are moving without press. Both are outreach gold. One caveat: Form D lags some closings — treat it as a signal, not ground truth.
Antora Energy, Inc. — ~$457.6M total offering, Form D filed August 4 · filing |
Oxide Computer Co — ~$445M total offering, Form D filed August 4 · filing |
DriveNets Ltd. — ~$410.3M total offering, Form D filed August 3 · filing |
Jasper Therapeutics, Inc. — ~$132M total offering, Form D filed August 5 · filing |
Augustine Sterling Partners I LLC — ~$100M total offering, Form D filed August 5 · filing |
Emerald AI, Inc. — ~$90.2M total offering, Form D filed August 3 · filing |
💰 Fresh Dry Powder
5 venture funds filed Form Ds for their own new money this week. New funds mean deployment pressure on a clock — a firm that just closed is answering cold decks, not passing on them. Names and filings below.
Elephant Partners VI, L.P. — ~$700M in the filing, Form D filed August 5 · filing |
First Round Capital X-F, L.P. — ~$325M in the filing, Form D filed August 7 · filing |
Magnetar AI Ventures Fund LP — ~$234.9M in the filing, Form D filed August 3 · filing |
Air Street Capital III LP — ~$232.3M in the filing, Form D filed August 4 · filing |
Construct Capital Select Fund II, L.P. — ~$150M in the filing, Form D filed August 5 · filing |
🎯 If You're Raising This Month
Seed is where the volume is: 9 of 30 rounds — 11 last week, 9 this week. Applied AI took 3 of 30 checks overall; if that's your lane, sequence outreach to the firms above this week — momentum begets attention. Climate saw 1; if that's you, plan for a longer conversation and lead with revenue, not narrative.
About to pitch? Don’t send the deck you have — send the deck that survives a partner meeting.
— Martin
Free forever. If this saved you an hour of funding-news archaeology, forward it to a founder who is raising.