VC Funding Top Ten — July 30, 2026: Energy AI, Fintech Mega-Rounds, Crypto Institutional

Overview

Thursday afternoon, July thirtieth, three PM Pacific. Today's biggest check is a massive one-point-two-billion-dollar Series A for Ant International, valuing the fintech giant at over ten billion dollars. That's just the start of a huge day for venture capital, with ten rounds totaling over three-point-four billion dol

In this show

• Thursday afternoon, July thirtieth, three PM Pacific. Today's biggest check is a massive one-point-two-billion-dollar Series A for Ant International, valuing the fintech giant at over ten billion dollars. That's just the start of a huge day for venture capital, with ten rounds totaling over three-point-four billion dollars. We have mega-deals in fusion energy, thermal storage, and a landmark institutional round in crypto. Let's break down the day's deal flow with our Markets and World analysts.
• Here is today's snapshot. Venture firms disclosed $3.43B across 10 rounds. The largest, as mentioned, was Ant International's one-point-two-billion-dollar Series A. The hottest category was AI, accounting for five of the top ten deals. On the exit front, Nscale acquired Anyscale for a reported one-point-six-five billion, and fast-food chain Jersey Mike's priced a one-billion-dollar IPO. The story of the day: The AI boom is fueling a massive capital injection into next-generation power infrastructure, with mega-rounds in fusion and thermal storage leading the charge.
• Let's start with that top deal. Ant International, the Ant Group spin-off, locked in a one-point-two-billion-dollar Series A co-led by its parent and Alibaba Group. The deal sets an eleven-point-two-billion-dollar valuation. The company operates a global cross-border payments platform, and this capital is earmarked for a massive global expansion of its payment infrastructure. The goal is to compete head-on with established giants in both the enterprise and small business payments space, leveraging its deep roots in Asia to build a worldwide network.
• The second billion-dollar deal of the day goes to Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which raised a one-billion-dollar equity round. While the lead investors were not disclosed, the participants include institutional investors, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. This is the largest funding round for a fusion company since Commonwealth's own last major raise in 2021. The capital will directly accelerate the development of its first commercial-scale fusion power plant, a project named ARC, which is set to be built in Virginia, signaling a major step towards clean, limitless energy.
• Sticking with the energy-for-AI theme, Antora Energy raised a five-hundred-fifty-million-dollar Series C, reaching a two-point-four-seven-billion-dollar valuation. The round was led by G2 Venture Partners and Eclipse. Antora manufactures thermal batteries that store renewable energy as heat, providing zero-emissions power for heavy industry and, critically, for power-hungry AI data centers. This funding is explicitly aimed at scaling manufacturing to meet that surging demand, positioning thermal storage as a key component for decarbonizing the industrial and tech sectors.
• In crypto, a major strategic move from Crypto.com. The company raised its first institutional funding round in its ten-year history, securing four hundred million dollars led by Citadel Securities. The deal values the exchange at twenty billion dollars. This isn't just about growth capital; it signals a significant strategic push to expand beyond retail crypto trading and into tokenized securities and derivatives. It's a clear attempt to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the world of digital assets, bringing institutional-grade products to market.
• Back to fintech, Lumin Digital raised one hundred fifteen million dollars in a growth equity round led by existing backer Light Street Capital, pushing its valuation to one-point-six billion dollars. Lumin provides a cloud-native platform for banks and credit unions to deliver modern digital banking services. The fact that existing investors are doubling down underscores strong customer confidence in their platform. The new capital will be used to expand its product suite further into AI-powered services, payments, and lending tools for its financial institution clients.
• In cybersecurity, Inforcer closed a fifty-million-dollar Series C led by Insight Partners. The company develops a platform for managed service providers, or MSPs, to secure their clients' Microsoft 365 environments. Reporting three-hundred-percent year-over-year growth, Inforcer is tapping into a critical need for small and medium-sized businesses. The funding will be used to build out 'Shadow AI' detection and response tools—addressing the growing security risk of employees using unsanctioned AI applications with sensitive company data.
• Next up is AI infrastructure player DataBahn, which raised a forty-million-dollar Series B, also led by Insight Partners. The company provides what it calls an 'agentic data control plane' to manage and orchestrate data for enterprise AI systems. As companies deploy more AI agents and copilots, the cost and complexity of managing the underlying data is exploding. DataBahn's funding addresses this critical pain point, aiming to build a new, intelligent infrastructure layer that gives enterprises better control over their data in the age of AI.
• A significant deal in European defense tech today. Agon raised a thirty-million-dollar seed round from a stacked list of investors including Lakestar, Lux Capital, and Northzone. This is one of the largest defense tech seed rounds in Europe. Agon is building a synthetic, AI-powered environment to train and validate autonomous weapons systems. Essentially, it's creating the core AI infrastructure to support algorithmic warfare capabilities for Western governments, a field seeing a rapid acceleration in investment and development.
• Rounding out the top ten are two more AI-powered plays. First, Healthtech company Qureight raised a twenty-million-dollar Series B led by Molten Ventures. They provide an AI imaging platform to improve clinical trials. The funds will help build out its 3D chest imaging Foundation Model to accelerate disease research. And second, Dili, an AI compliance platform for large construction projects, raised a fifteen-million-dollar Series A led by Khosla Ventures. Dili helps massive infrastructure projects comply with complex labor and environmental rules, a growing need for federally funded initiatives.
• Looking ahead, the major theme to watch is the 'Energy-AI Nexus.' Today's billion-dollar raises for Commonwealth Fusion and Antora Energy show this is no longer just climate tech; it's now fundamental AI infrastructure. Expect a surge in venture funding for next-gen energy sources, storage, and grid tech as data center power consumption continues to soar. On the public markets, all eyes will be on the debut of Jersey Mike's following its one-billion-dollar IPO pricing. That's the deal flow for today. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon at three PM Pacific with the next top ten.