VC Funding Top Ten — October 2, 2026: AI Cyber, AI Infra, Fintech

Overview

It's Friday, October second, and today's biggest check belongs to Armadin. The AI cybersecurity firm just locked in a massive $255.5 million Series B, pushing its valuation past $2.5 billion just seven months after launch. This deal leads a busy day in venture, with AI dominating the deal flow. Here to break it all dow

In this show

• It's Friday, October second, and today's biggest check belongs to Armadin. The AI cybersecurity firm just locked in a massive $255.5 million Series B, pushing its valuation past $2.5 billion just seven months after launch. This deal leads a busy day in venture, with AI dominating the deal flow. Here to break it all down are our Markets and World analysts. Let's get to the numbers.
• Here is today's snapshot. Ten disclosed rounds brought in a total of $723.5 million. The hottest category was AI, accounting for seven of the top ten deals. In public markets, BRC Group Holdings announced plans to acquire Sangoma Technologies for $204 million. But the private market story of the day remains the meteoric rise of Mandiant founder Kevin Mandia's new venture, Armadin, and its massive capital injection co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Accel.
• Let's start with that number one deal. Armadin raised a $255.5 million Series B at a valuation over $2.5 billion. The company develops an AI-native cybersecurity platform using autonomous agents to test and secure networks. This round brings Armadin's total funding to an incredible $445 million just seven months after its launch. It's a massive signal of investor conviction in using AI for offensive, proactive security measures, moving beyond just defense.
• Coming in at number two, PaleBlueDot AI secured a $200 million Series C, valuing the company at $3.2 billion. Led by ComputeCore, PaleBlueDot provides critical intelligence infrastructure. Their platform combines self-owned GPU clusters, a marketplace for GPU access, and serverless inference for enterprise-scale AI deployment. This funding underscores the relentless, high-stakes race for AI compute resources and the foundational infrastructure needed to power the next generation of large models.
• At number three, fintech platform Jeeves raised a $110 million growth round led by CoinFund. Jeeves offers a corporate payments and expense management platform designed for businesses that operate across multiple countries. What makes this deal significant is the company's focus on expanding its stablecoin-based products. It's a clear indicator of a broader trend: the integration of cryptocurrency and blockchain solutions into the core of traditional corporate finance.
• In the fourth spot is a major biotech deal. AnaCardio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, closed a $70.5 million Series B. They are developing an oral therapy for patients suffering from chronic advanced heart failure, a condition with significant unmet medical needs. This new capital is earmarked to advance their lead candidate, called AC01, through its critical Phase IIb development trials, bringing a potential new treatment one step closer to reality.
• Number five is Flow Engineering, which raised a $50 million Series B, reaching a $750 million valuation. The round was led by notable investors Antonio Gracias and Gavin Baker. Flow provides an agentic AI platform specifically for hardware development, aiming to dramatically accelerate the design and verification of complex physical products. With a client roster that already includes General Motors, Rivian, and Anduril, they are proving the growing power of AI in heavy industry and engineering.
• Moving to the consumer space at number six, Heartbeats landed a $15 million Series C led by Artemis Ventures. The company is building a digital trading card system and fan engagement platform for live sports and media. In an increasingly crowded attention economy, platforms that can create real-time, interactive experiences for fans are gaining traction. This funding will help Heartbeats expand its offerings and deepen its partnerships within the sports technology market.
• At number seven, we see the convergence of crypto and AI. PERPTools raised an $8 million Seed round at an $80 million valuation. The round was co-led by DEXTools Ventures and Orderly Network. They are building a decentralized perpetual futures trading platform that uniquely includes a marketplace for AI trading agents. This move to integrate sophisticated, AI-driven tools directly into a decentralized exchange highlights a key evolutionary trend in crypto trading infrastructure.
• The number eight deal shows continued interest in sustainable food supply chains. Farm to People, an online grocery delivery service, raised a $5 million venture round led by New Fare Partners. The company partners directly with small farms to deliver fresh produce to households across New York. This investment signals that even in a competitive grocery market, there is a strong appetite from both consumers and investors for business models focused on localized and transparent food sources.
• Rounding out our top ten today are two seed-stage companies building critical infrastructure. At number nine, Walapay raised a $4.6 million Seed round from Generative Ventures. They're building a global payments API to simplify moving money across currencies, particularly by integrating with local payment systems in emerging markets. And at number ten, Photon closed a $4.5 million Seed round led by Gradient Ventures and A*. They are developing an open-source framework for deploying conversational AI agents into apps like iMessage and WhatsApp.
• And finally, one thing to watch heading into the weekend and beyond is Anthropic's IPO ambitions. The AI research company is reportedly targeting a massive public debut before Thanksgiving. Prospective investors are suggesting a valuation between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion. The company could begin its roadshow as early as the week of November ninth, setting the stage for what could be a monumental event for the entire AI sector. That's the deal flow for today. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon at three PM Pacific with the next term sheets.