First Pass

9 stories from 5 sources

Mega-round ambitions push AI and defense startups to the fore

Day’s Recap

Supporting Articles

4:54 PMPYMNTS

DeepSeek Resumes Funding Round to Raise $8 Billion

Summary

DeepSeek has restarted its second funding round and is seeking nearly $8 billion at a valuation of about $74 billion. The discussions remain ongoing, and the terms could change.

The restart signals that DeepSeek is pursuing capital at a scale normally associated with the

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

A nearly $8 billion raise would make DeepSeek a far more formidable competitor in the race to build and deploy advanced AI.

Link to Story
10:07 AMCNBC

Hadrian valued at nearly $8 billion after fresh funding as money pours into defense tech

Summary

Hadrian has reached a valuation of nearly $8 billion after raising fresh capital. The aerospace and defense manufacturer is benefiting from a broader surge of investment in defense technology, fueled in part by plans to upgrade the U.S. military.

The new valuation shows that investors are pricing defense manufacturing startups as strategic infrastructure, not

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

Defense startups are becoming a major destination for venture capital as military modernization creates a larger commercial market.

Link to Story
8:00 AMTechCrunch

Omilia raises $67M to scale its customer support platform

Summary

Omilia raised $67 million in a Series B to expand its customer support platform. Since its previous funding round in 2020, the company has increased annual recurring revenue tenfold to $60 million.

The funding follows demonstrated revenue growth, giving Omilia more room to scale after reaching $60

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

A tenfold revenue increase gives investors a stronger basis for funding customer support automation even as venture capital remains disciplined.

Link to Story

Other Developments

A curated list of other prominent stories from this day.

1:00 PMTechCrunch

Naïve raises $28.5M to automate the grunt work of setting up and running a company

Summary

Naïve has raised $28.5 million for infrastructure that it says can automate much of the work involved in starting and operating a business, extending the idea of vibe coding beyond software development.

The company is targeting the operational bottlenecks that remain after AI makes software easier to

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

Automation is moving from writing code toward compressing the broader cost and labor required to run a company.

Link to Story
12:35 PMFinextra

Ex-Nubank CTO raises $85m for AI-native wealth advisory platform

Summary

A former Nubank chief technology officer and the founder of AI company Hyperplane have raised $85 million to build a wealth advisory platform designed around artificial intelligence.

The funding gives the founders substantial capital to challenge incumbent wealth managers with software-led advice

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

Large venture funding signals that AI-native wealth management is becoming a serious competitive threat to traditional advisory firms.

Link to Story
9:36 AMCNBC

Family offices back clean energy and sustainability startups in July as dealmaking holds steady

Summary

Investment firms linked to John Doerr and other billionaires backed startups working on geothermal energy, nylon recycling and other sustainability technologies in July. Overall deal activity remained steady.

Family-office capital is continuing to flow into climate technologies despite a broader funding environment that

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

Steady family-office funding gives climate startups an important source of capital as mainstream venture markets remain selective.

Link to Story
9:00 AMTechCrunch

Ex-Spotify employees raise $10M to bring the AI behind its recommendations to e-commerce

Summary

Former Spotify employees raised $10 million for a startup that applies recommendation technology to online shopping. Its platform predicts a shopper's next likely product, builds a broader view of their preferences and updates those predictions from real-time behavior.

The startup is shifting recommendation AI from media discovery to purchase decisions, where better prediction

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

Recommendation systems are becoming a core commerce infrastructure layer rather than a feature limited to streaming platforms.

Link to Story
5:50 AMFortune

Northwood Space’s Bridgit Mendler on the next chapter for space startups

Summary

Bridgit Mendler cofounded Northwood Space in 2022 after earning degrees from Harvard and MIT. The company is pursuing a less visible but essential problem in the space economy: the infrastructure needed to support satellite operations and data flows.

Northwood’s focus reflects a shift toward the space sector’s operational bottlenecks rather than headline-grabbing spacecraft.

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

The next wave of space startups may create value by fixing the ground and data infrastructure that makes orbital assets useful.

Link to Story
5:22 AMFinextra

Ordway secures $20 million in growth capital to support AI roadmap

Summary

Ordway has secured $20 million in additional equity and debt financing. The monetization platform plans to use the capital to accelerate AI product development and broader company growth.

The new funding gives Ordway more room to build AI capabilities while expanding its business.

Unlock the full First Pass Analysis to get a better understanding of why this story matters

Why it matters

Ordway is using fresh capital to make AI a central part of its monetization platform while scaling the business.

Link to Story

Make it yours

Build Your First Pass.

Pick your topics, set your cadence, and receive your personalized First Pass in your inbox. It’s that simple!