🧑‍🚀 Top Deals You Can’t Miss

1️⃣ Slate Auto – $650 million Series C led by TWG Global, pushing its affordable EV truck toward production.

2️⃣ Sedron Technologies – Up to $500 million strategic investment from Ara Partners to scale waste upcycling nationwide.

3️⃣ Shengshu Technology – $293 million Series B led by Alibaba to build AGI through its Vidu video platform.

🧠 Dopamine Dealflow

🌳 Series B+ & Growth

• Slate Auto, a Warsaw, IN-based modular EV truck manufacturer, raised $650 million in Series C funding. TWG Global led the round and were joined by existing investors including Jeff Bezos.

• Shengshu Technology, a Beijing, China-based AI video and AGI model developer, raised $293 million in Series B funding. Alibaba led the round and were joined by Baidu Ventures and TAL Education.

• Chapter, a New York, NY-based AI-powered Medicare navigation platform, raised $100 million in Series E funding. Generation Investment Management led the round and were joined by Fifth Down Capital, 8VC, Stripes, XYZ Venture Capital, Addition, Narya Capital, Susa Ventures, and Maverick Ventures.

🚀 Series A

• Critical Loop, a Los Angeles-based modular microgrid developer, raised $26 million in Series A funding. Conifer Infrastructure Partners and Hanover led the round and were joined by Better Ventures, Climate Capital, Adapt Nation Capital, and Cyrus Ventures.

• Citra Space Corp, a Colorado Springs, CO-based space tracking technology company, raised $15 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Washington Harbour Partners, and were joined by Industrious Ventures, Reliable Properties, and existing backers including Scout VC, Squadra Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Flex Capital.

🌱 Seed & Early Rounds

• Elorian, a Palo Alto, CA-based visual reasoning AI company, raised $55 million in Seed funding. Striker Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and Altimeter Capital led the round and were joined by NVIDIA and Jeff Dean.

• Pipe, a San Francisco, CA-based embedded finance platform, raised $16 million in an equity round. Fin Capital and MaC Venture Capital led the round.

• Round, a London, UK-based AI finance operations platform, raised $6 million in Seed funding. Alstin Capital led the round and were joined by Backed VC, Love Ventures, and Passion Capital.

• Flora Fertility, a Canada-based fertility insurance platform, raised $5 million in Seed funding. ManchesterStory led the round and were joined by Slauson & Co., TruStage Ventures, BDC Capital, Marathon Fund, and Adara Venture Capital.

• Plume, a Paris, France-based geospatial AI platform for energy, raised $3.9 million in Seed funding. AENU led the round and were joined by Y Combinator, Kima Ventures, RAISE Sherpas, Better Angle, and Collaborative Fund.

🤝 Strategic, M&A & Undisclosed

• Sedron Technologies, a Sedro-Woolley, WA-based waste upcycling company, secured up to $500 million in a strategic acquisition. Ara Partners led the deal.

• The Finnish Long Drink, an RTD beverage brand, was acquired in an undisclosed deal. Mark Anthony Group led the acquisition.

• PopUp Bagels, a Connecticut-based food brand, raised funding at a $300 million valuation. Tiger Global led the round.

📈 IPOs / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• SUJA Life, an Oceanside, CA-based organic beverage company, filed for a $100 million IPO. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies are leading the offering.

💸 VC Funds Raised & Raising

• Collide Capital, a Brooklyn, NY-based venture firm, raised $95 million for Fund II. LPs include University of California Endowment (UC Regents), Accolade Partners, Fairview Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan.

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📚 Read of the Day

🚗 Bezos-Backed Slate Auto Raises $650M to Build America’s Affordable EV Truck

The race to build an EV truck that regular people can actually afford just got real.

Slate Auto raised $650 million in Series C funding led by TWG Global, bringing total funding to roughly $1.4 billion. The company is targeting a mid-$20,000 price point, a segment no major automaker has successfully cracked.

The Product Pitch

Slate’s modular pickup transforms from a two-seat truck into a five-seat SUV, already securing over 160,000 reservations and signaling strong demand.

The Strategy

The company is investing $400 million into a reindustrialized Indiana factory, targeting production in late 2026 with over 2,000 jobs created.

Why It Matters

EV trucks today are priced above $50K. Slate is betting the real market is the $25K–$35K range. If it delivers, it could reset pricing expectations across the entire EV industry.

👉 Read The Whole Story Here

📰 Other News You Don’t Want To Miss

• 🤖 Anthropic Explores Building Its Own AI Chips as Claude Demand Surges Past $30 Billion Run Rate — The company is considering custom silicon to reduce reliance on external chip suppliers.

• 🕶️ Snap Signs Multi-Year Deal with Qualcomm to Power Upcoming Specs AR Glasses — Snapdragon XR chips will power Snap’s standalone AR push ahead of a consumer launch.

• ⚖️ OpenAI Backs Illinois Bill to Shield AI Companies from Lawsuits — AI liability is moving into legislation as companies seek clearer legal protections.

• 📧 Google Rolls Out Gmail End-to-End Encryption on Mobile — Enterprise users can now send encrypted emails directly from mobile devices.