Cognex to acquire RealSense for $500 million, Snorkel AI raises $350 million, and more - AI Funding Brief #84

September 29, 2026 - AI Funding Brief
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AI investment activity spans security, infrastructure, healthcare and enterprise software this week. Cyera raised $400 million, Basecamp Research raised $140 million for AI designed therapeutics, and Brahma AI secured $150 million, while Nscale is planning a proposed $3 billion IPO.

The edition also covers acquisitions and early stage rounds, including Cognex's planned $500 million acquisition of RealSense, Baselayer's $35 million Series A for AI agent identity infrastructure, and funding for companies applying AI to mortgage lending, supply chains, procurement and compliance.
Heidi raises $340 million at a $900 million valuation
Heidi, a Melbourne based healthcare AI company, raises $100 million in Series C funding and secures $240 million in growth financing. The company plans to expand its clinical documentation tools and develop AI agents for healthcare providers. Read more
Everpure gives fiscal 2028 revenue outlook of $7.0 billion to $7.3 billion
Everpure projects fiscal 2028 revenue of $7.0 billion to $7.3 billion and non-GAAP operating income of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance and cited growth across its AI, data software and hyperscale businesses. Read more
Dextr AI raises $6.7 million for hospitality AI agents
Dextr AI raises a $6.7 million seed round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from Foundation Capital. The company plans to expand its AI agents for hotel, resort and spa operations, including into India. Read more
Lightspeed targets $250 million India AI fund
Lightspeed is raising $250 million for Lightspeed India Partners V, an early stage fund for AI startups in India and Southeast Asia. The fund has secured 80% of its target and plans to begin investments within two months. Read more
Tabby automates real time bookkeeping for small businesses
Tabby uses AI and Plaid to import financial data, manage paperwork and provide real time profit and loss information for small businesses. The company reports 5,500 customers and is raising $1 million in seed funding. Read more
Hunt Scanlon Ventures invests in millionways behavioral AI lab
Hunt Scanlon Ventures invests in New York based behavioral AI lab millionways. The company develops its Thorsten 4 Large Psychology Model for analyzing human behavior in AI governance, hiring, talent management and enterprise decision making. Read more
Searchable acquires Meridian in seven figure deal
Searchable acquires New York based AI search visibility startup Meridian Tech in a seven figure deal. Meridian customers, including APL, MedCline and VKTRY, will move to Searchable's platform as its product is integrated, while the company plans a Salt Lake City office. Read more
Adlib Software acquires Paperbox for AI insurance intake
Adlib Software agrees to acquire Paperbox, combining its governed data platform with Paperbox's AI based insurance intake and workflow tools. The deal is intended to reduce manual triage and improve data traceability for insurers, MGAs and TPAs, subject to closing conditions. Read more
Cognex to acquire RealSense for about $500 million
Cognex plans to buy depth sensing camera and robotic perception provider RealSense for about $500 million in cash. RealSense will separate its Facial Authentication product line before the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Read more
Nexstrom raises $12 million for 12 inch 2D semiconductor platform
Nexstrom raises a $12 million seed round led by Xora Innovation, with participation from Foothill Ventures and SEEDS. The Singapore based company will use the funding to commercialize 12 inch wafer scale 2D semiconductor materials for AI, data center and high performance computing applications. Read more
Baselayer raises $35 million for AI agent identity infrastructure
Baselayer raises a $35 million Series A led by M13 and launches its Agentic Identity Suite for identifying, authorising and assessing autonomous AI agents. The company says its infrastructure supports more than 2,300 financial institutions and payments companies. Read more
Statecraft acquires Daybreak for US federal AI workflows
Statecraft acquires Daybreak LLC to expand auditable AI workflow deployments for US federal agencies. Daybreak contributes expertise in AI applications, data analytics, geospatial analysis, computer vision and agentic AI, while CEO Manik Rath and the leadership team remain involved during the transition. Read more
Sela AI raises $21 million for mortgage voice agents
Sela AI raises $21 million in Seed and Series A funding led by Costanoa, with participation from Emergence Capital. The company says its voice agents support mortgage originations exceeding $1 billion each month and will expand into other consumer finance services. Read more
xtraCHEF founders launch Tandem AI agents for restaurants
xtraCHEF co founders Andrew Schwartz and Bhavik Patel launch Tandem, which develops AI agents to connect restaurant software, analyze operations and automate workflows. The company has secured seed funding and is piloting its products at 100 restaurant locations. Read more
Ande raises more than $52 million for corporate entertainment platform
Ande raises more than $52 million in seed and Series A funding for its AI native corporate entertainment platform. The company combines bookings, approvals, contracts, payments and expense management, and reports processing more than $400 million in annual spending for over 60 enterprises. Read more
Snorkel AI raises $350 million at a $3.5 billion valuation
Snorkel AI raises $350 million in a Series E funding round co led by Insight Partners and S32, valuing the company at $3.5 billion. The funding will support its agentic data factory, enterprise AI products, research, and AI training and evaluation data capacity. Read more
Nscale plans $3 billion IPO amid reliance on Microsoft and Anthropic
Nscale, a British AI cloud company, plans a New York Stock Exchange listing that could raise $3 billion at a $35 billion valuation. Regulatory filings show that about 85% of its contracted revenue comes from Microsoft and Anthropic, while it reported a $1.02 billion net loss in the first half of 2026. Read more
Noxtua raises €100 million as C.H. Beck takes majority stake
Noxtua raises about €100 million in a Series C round, with German legal publisher C.H. Beck becoming its majority shareholder. MANZ also invests, while CMS and Dentons exit their holdings but remain anchor clients as Noxtua expands its legal AI technology across Europe. Read more
American Arbitration Association and Jus Mundi find AI trust rises with use
A survey of 557 U.S. arbitration professionals finds regular AI users report greater trust in the technology than nonusers. Accuracy and hallucinations remain the leading concerns, while respondents expect AI to support document review and legal research. Read more
Everpure named a Leader in Gartner's 2026 infrastructure services Magic Quadrant
Everpure is named a Leader in Gartner's 2026 Magic Quadrant for Infrastructure Platform Consumption Services for a second consecutive year. Gartner positioned the company highest for execution and furthest for vision. Read more
Limitless Labs partners with SACHEU on AI customer research
Limitless Labs and cosmetics brand SACHEU use Social Mirror Audiences to analyze customer reviews and social videos. The research will inform product decisions using customer and creator feedback, with SACHEU retaining final decision making. Read more
F-Secure survey finds 70% of AI users do not regularly verify answers
A F-Secure survey of 1,500 AI users in the US and UK finds that 70% only sometimes, rarely, or never verify AI generated answers. The results also show that many users rely on AI for significant decisions despite recognising the need for verification. Read more
Duqu raises €1.5 million for invoice advances and AI underwriting
Duqu, an Amsterdam fintech, raises €1.5 million in pre seed funding from Curiosity VC and No Such Ventures. The company provides invoice advances and uses an AI underwriting engine to automate about 95% of credit assessments, while also offering the technology to financial institutions. Read more
Basecamp Research raises $140 million for AI designed therapeutics
Basecamp Research raises $140 million in a Series C round led by S32 to train biological AI models and advance therapeutics toward clinical development. The company will initially focus on in vivo cell therapy and expand pharmaceutical partnerships. Read more
Vertiv agrees to acquire King Environmental Services
Vertiv agrees to acquire Ireland based King Environmental Services, a provider of fluid management, commissioning and load testing services for liquid cooled data centers. The deal will expand Vertiv's thermal management support across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Read more
Chamelio raises $26 million Series A for AI legal platform
Chamelio raises $26 million in Series A funding led by Entrée Capital, with participation from Work-Bench, Emerge Ventures and Bright Pixel Capital. The AI platform for in house legal teams plans to develop its legal action model, grow its team and improve onboarding. Read more
NewMod Fearn launches AI native patent law firm after $5.5 million raise
NewMod Fearn launches an AI native patent law firm for startups after raising $5.5 million from Kindred Ventures, a16z Speedrun and other investors. The firm uses proprietary AI models alongside patent attorneys and technical experts to support patent filing and prosecution. Read more
Axya raises C$17 million for AI procurement platform expansion
Axya, a Canadian procurement software company, raises C$17 million in a Series A led by McRock Capital. The funding will support AI development, hiring, expansion across North America and international markets, and additional ERP partnerships. Read more
Mech-Mind Robotics reports 54.7% first half revenue growth
Mech-Mind Robotics reports RMB237.3 million in first half 2026 revenue, up 54.7% from a year earlier. New order value rose 75.3% to RMB335.4 million, while its adjusted loss narrowed despite increased research and development spending. Read more
Cyera secures $400 million investment from Goldman Sachs
Cyera raises a $400 million Series G extension from Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, led by Evolution Equity. The company plans to expand its data and identity access governance platform for people, machines and AI agents. Read more
RiskScout raises funding led by LiveOak Ventures
RiskScout raises a funding round led by LiveOak Ventures, with participation from Castle Creek Launchpad, Bankers Helping Bankers Fund, Alloy Labs, Brue2 and C3 Ventures. The AI compliance platform will use the funding to expand its team, automation capabilities, integrations and work with banks and credit unions. Read more
Anthropic IPO Prospectus Warns of AI Existential Risks
Anthropic's IPO prospectus outlines risks that its AI models could resist shutdown, manipulate information, blackmail people or create existential threats. The filing also reports more than $8 billion in operating losses on nearly $4.6 billion in 2025 revenue, alongside $518 billion in planned infrastructure spending. Read more
Modulate raises $25M for voice analysis platform
Modulate raises $25 million in a round led by Future Ventures, with participation from Hyperplane and Lakestar. The company provides voice analysis tools for transcription, fraud and compliance monitoring, emotion and intent analysis, and deepfake and AI generated music detection. Read more
Nauticus Robotics signs LOI for up to $50 million investment
Nauticus Robotics signs a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed private placement investment of up to $50 million. The transaction remains subject to due diligence, approvals and definitive agreements, with no guarantee it will close. Read more
Modal Labs nears $750M round at $15.75B valuation
Modal Labs, a New York based AI inference provider, is reportedly nearing a $750 million funding round led by Accel. The round would value the company at $15.75 billion, up from $4.65 billion four months earlier. Read more
Atomic raises $12.5 million for AI supply chain platform
Atomic raises $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Klass Capital and Madrona. The company plans to expand its Nucleus AI supply chain planning platform and support larger enterprise deployments. Read more
Feldera raises $21.5M for database compute platform
Feldera raises $21.5 million through a Series A and seed round led by Inovia Capital and Costanoa Ventures. The company says its incremental view maintenance platform can reduce redundant database processing and lower compute costs for enterprise data and AI applications. Read more
AI Hospitality Group launches AI native hotel operator
AI Hospitality Group launches a Dallas based hotel operating company that combines autonomous back office agents with human hotel teams. The company begins with partnerships involving The Ameswell Hotel and two Parable Hospitality properties, supported by $7.5 million in seed funding led by Rackhouse Venture Capital. Read more
Outmarket AI raises $34.5M Series B for insurance platform
Outmarket AI raises $34.5 million in a Series B led by SignalFire, bringing its total funding to $56.5 million. The insurance software company also introduced an AI workflow for creating ACORD certificates and plans to expand to carriers later this year. Read more
Instinct raises $1B Series C at $10B valuation
Instinct raises $1 billion in a Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital and Coatue, valuing the AI assistant startup at $10 billion. The company is developing an AI agent for tasks including travel bookings, grocery orders, subscription cancellations and phone calls. Read more
CloudZero launches AI Signals for AI cost tracking
CloudZero launches AI Signals, a platform for tracking AI spending and usage across models and providers. It provides cost attribution, spending dashboards, anomaly alerts and inference monitoring, while keeping customer usage data within the customer’s VPC. Read more
MetaOptics launches OTCQX ADR programme with J.P. Morgan
MetaOptics establishes a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt programme on the US OTCQX market, with J.P. Morgan as depositary bank. The programme does not involve new shares or capital raising, and its ordinary shares will continue trading on the SGX Catalist board. Read more
Brahma AI raises $150 million led by Multiples
Brahma AI raises $150 million through a preferred share offering, including $100 million from Multiples Alternate Asset Management. The company plans to fund research, global market expansion and a larger presence in Silicon Valley. Read more
Healthcare Triangle signs LOI to acquire Roboticom assets for up to $30 million
Healthcare Triangle signs a non-binding letter of intent to acquire selected assets from Italian industrial robotics company Roboticom for up to $30 million in cash and equity. The proposed deal includes intellectual property, trademarks, customer contracts and business assets, with Roboticom reporting about $14.1 million in fiscal 2025 revenue. Read more
Fuel Cycle opens Mumbai center for AI and product development
Fuel Cycle will open a Global Capability Center in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, on September 23, 2026. The site will initially support 50 employees working on AI, engineering, product development, data infrastructure and research technology. Read more
AI data center demand boosts climate tech funding
Growing demand for AI data centers is directing climate technology funding toward energy, grid infrastructure and building efficiency. Some founders warn that other climate sectors could receive less attention, while others see the investment as support for durable businesses. Read more
HiringCafe limits AI Agent access to US users
HiringCafe makes its AI Agent available only to users in the United States. Users in other regions can continue using its standard job search or join a waiting list for future access. Read more
Nscale raises $3.36 billion in pre IPO financing
Nscale raises $3.36 billion through convertible loan notes led by Third Point, with participation from NVIDIA, Apollo managed funds and Citadel. The company plans to expand its AI cloud infrastructure, including power plants, liquid cooled data centers and GPU clusters. Read more
SoftBank Group issues US$10 billion and €1 billion bonds for OpenAI investment
SoftBank Group is issuing US$10 billion and €1 billion in senior unsecured notes, partly to fund the third tranche of its US$10 billion follow on investment in OpenAI. The offering is expected to replace a US$10 billion bridge loan when it settles on September 29. Read more
HCLSoftware plans to acquire Robotiq.ai for enterprise RPA
HCLSoftware plans to acquire Croatia based Robotiq.ai to add enterprise robotic process automation capabilities to HCL UnO Agentic. The deal is expected to close in November 2026. Read more
AIxCrypto Holdings signs term sheet to acquire Faraday Future robotics business for $200 million
AIxCrypto Holdings signs a nonbinding term sheet to acquire Faraday Future Intelligent Electric's robotics business in an approximately $200 million all stock transaction. The proposed deal remains subject to due diligence, financing, approvals and definitive agreements. Read more
Bird.com launches communications platform for AI agents
Bird.com launches its Agentic Harness platform, giving AI agents tools to send messages, make calls, manage email and obtain eSIM plans without custom integrations or human logins. The company also secures $450 million in debt financing led by J.P. Morgan. Read more
USD.AI announces $128.9 million GPU financing facility
USD.AI provides a $128.9 million asset backed loan to fund 32 NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 systems in British Columbia, Canada. The facility is secured by the GPU infrastructure and supported by a multiyear enterprise cloud contract. Read more
Enveda raises $311 million for AI discovered nature derived drugs
Enveda raises $311 million in a Series E funding round led by Catalio Capital Management, valuing the biotech company at $2 billion. The company uses AI to identify drug candidates from plants and microbes, including treatments for severe skin conditions and weight maintenance after GLP 1 use. Read more
Ando launches messaging platform for humans and AI agents
Ando launches a messaging platform where AI agents can hold identities, join channels, send messages and participate in calls with human workers. The company also reports $20 million in pre seed and seed funding from Accel, Index Ventures and Emergence. Read more
Overlord Labs closes $4.35 million Seed extension
Overlord Labs raised a $4.35 million Seed extension led by Band of Angels, bringing its total funding to $10 million. The company will use the funding to validate its GENESIS Battery Intelligence IC and prepare for production in the first half of 2027. Read more
Ault & Company invests $55 million in Hyperscale Data
Ault & Company invests $55 million in Hyperscale Data through convertible preferred stock, giving it and its affiliates about 62% beneficial ownership. Hyperscale Data, which operates an AI data center in Michigan, could receive up to $96 million more subject to market conditions and legal requirements. Read more
Pearson to acquire Workera for AI skills assessment
Pearson agrees to acquire Workera, an AI skills assessment platform serving enterprise and government customers. Workera will join Pearson's Enterprise Learning & Skills business, with the deal expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to approvals. Read more
AMD to acquire World Labs for $8.2 billion
AMD will acquire physical AI startup World Labs in an $8.2 billion all stock transaction. Co-founder Fei-Fei Li will join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist after the deal closes, which is expected by the end of 2026, pending regulatory approval. Read more
Flatkey and Realset AI raise $10M Series A
Flatkey and Realset AI raise $10 million in Series A funding after more than 10,000 developers adopted Flatkey in the two months following its July 2026 launch. The companies will use the funding to expand infrastructure and add official models and tools to the platform. Read more
Ema raises $77 million Series B led by Creaegis
Ema raises $77 million in a Series B led by Creaegis, bringing its total funding to $140 million. The AI startup plans to expand sales, marketing, and operations in APAC and EMEA for its workflow automation products. Read more

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