🧠 Dopamine Dealflow

🚀 Seed & Early Rounds

• Continua (New York City, NY) – $8M seed; social AI platform enabling dynamic conversations.

• Thread (New York City, NY) – $8M seed led by Integr8d Capital, with Headline; AI-powered service desk for managed service providers.

• Coverd.us (New York City, NY) – $7.8M seed led by Yolo Investments, with a16z Speedrun, Volt Capital, WndrCo, Arbitrum Gaming Catalyst, Tusk Ventures, and others; gamified financial wellness platform.

• Refold AI (San Mateo, CA & Bengaluru, India) – $6.5M pre-seed/seed co-led by Eniac Ventures and Tidal Ventures, with Better Capital, Ahead VC, Karman Ventures, and Z21; AI-native infrastructure replacing outsourced service work.

• Infinity Loop – $5M seed led by Glasswing Ventures and TIAA Ventures; AI-native contract intelligence platform.

• Qloud Games (Sydney, Australia) – $5M seed led by BITKRAFT Ventures and GFR Fund, with Andreessen Horowitz, 1UP Fund, and Gaingels; multiplayer online game Loftia.

• Levr Bet (Costa Rica) – $3M funding co-led by Blockchain Capital and Maven 11; blockchain-based sports betting exchange with leveraged betting and in-game trading.

• HolmesAI (Hong Kong) – $3M Seed+ from Bitrise Capital, Waterdrip Capital, and CGV Fund; persona-based AI agent service platform.

• Better Medicine (Tartu, Estonia) – €1M pre-seed; AI-powered diagnostic tools for radiology.

• Aeronero (Chennai, India) – $1.5M first funding round led by Callapina Capital; air water solutions.

• Computle (London, UK) – £500K pre-seed; high-performance remote cloud workstations for architecture, engineering, and design.

• LawPro.ai (Los Angeles, CA) – Undisclosed seed; persona-based AI agent platform for legal tech in injury claims.

🌱 Series A

• Protege (New York City, NY) – $25M Series A led by Footwork, with CRV, Bloomberg Beta, Flex Capital, Shaper Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, and others; secure exchange of proprietary data for AI training.

• National Renewable Network (Sydney, Australia) – $11.1M Series A plus $32.7M debt from Investible, Virescent Ventures, Electrifi Ventures, Planet Fund, and Australian Ethical Infrastructure Debt Fund; solar and battery solutions for homeowners.

• Onerway (London, UK) – $10M Series A+ led by Yunqi, with Lanchi Ventures, Eminence Ventures, and Enlight Growth Partners; cross-border payments infrastructure.

• Evertune (New York City, NY) – $15M Series A led by Felicis Ventures; AI marketing and generative engine optimization.

🌳 Series B+ & Growth

• Cerebras (Sunnyvale, CA) – In market to raise $1B led by Fidelity; wafer-scale chips and AI computing systems for high-performance AI workloads.

• Celestial AI (Santa Clara, CA) – $255M Series C1 with VentureTech Alliance and Samsung Catalyst Fund; optical interconnect technology for AI systems.

• Gameto (New York City, NY) – $44M Series C led by Overwater Ventures, with Insight Partners, RA Capital, Two Sigma Ventures, and others; stem cell-based reproductive health therapies.

• Appcharge (Tel Aviv, Israel) – $58M Series B led by IVP, with Playrix, Creandum, Play Ventures, Glilot Capital Partners, Smilegate Investment, Moneta Ventures, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Corundum; DTC payment and store systems for mobile game publishers.

• Titan (New York City, NY) – $74M funding led by General Catalyst; IT services roll-up integrating AI to automate routine tasks.

• Plancraft (Hamburg, Germany) – €38M Series B; SaaS construction tech platform.

• Fountain Life (Naples, FL) – $18M Series B led by EOS Ventures; longevity centers offering early detection health screenings and regenerative therapies.

• Transak (Miami, FL) – $16M funding co-led by Tether and IDG Capital; fiat-to-crypto infrastructure.

• Inclined Technologies (San Francisco, CA) – $8M Series B led by HSCM Ventures, with Northwestern Mutual; liquidity solutions for whole life insurance policyholders.

💸 VC Funds Raised & Raising

• GoalVest Venture Capital (New York City, NY) – Announced first close of GoalVest Venture Growth Fund II, targeting $50M; female-founded boutique RIA and venture capital firm.

• Hatteras Venture Partners (Durham, NC) – Closed two human medicine-focused funds with over $200M in LP commitments.

Founders: Want to be featured on @tradedvc? → traded.co/submit/vc

📚 Read of the Day

US Embeds Trackers in AI Chip Shipments to Catch Diversions to China 🇺🇸 🕵️ 🇨🇳

Because Even Chips Can’t Be Trusted
In a move that feels equal parts national security and spy movie subplot, the U.S. has begun hiding location trackers in certain AI server chip shipments—like Dell and Super Micro units stocked with Nvidia and AMD processors—to make sure they don’t mysteriously “study abroad” in China. The trackers, which might be in the packaging or the servers themselves, are essentially AirTags for billion-dollar tech policy.

Export Rules Meet Big Brother
The trackers allow authorities to follow shipments in real time, spot suspicious detours, and collect evidence against export law violators. It’s an old enforcement tactic—just updated for the age where even semiconductors get babysitters.

Who’s Pulling the Strings
The Bureau of Industry and Security is reportedly running the op, with Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI helping out. Companies named in the process have clammed up, and China’s foreign ministry insists it’s never heard of such a thing.

Why It Matters
AI chips are now treated like rare art or nuclear launch codes—central to both innovation and military ambitions. Tracking them isn’t just about security; it’s the latest episode in the U.S.-China tech drama, where every shipment could be a plot twist.

Read The Whole Story Here

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