VC Funding Top Ten — September 22, 2026: AI Infra, Nuclear Energy, Deep Tech

Overview

Tuesday, September twenty-second—today's biggest check goes to SiliconFlow, which just locked in a massive four hundred thirty-three million dollar Series C. A huge day for AI infrastructure. Overall, a diverse slate of deals across stages, from pre-seed to a major SPAC debut. We'll break down the top ten rounds, from

In this show

• Tuesday, September twenty-second—today's biggest check goes to SiliconFlow, which just locked in a massive four hundred thirty-three million dollar Series C. A huge day for AI infrastructure. Overall, a diverse slate of deals across stages, from pre-seed to a major SPAC debut. We'll break down the top ten rounds, from AI and energy to the future of financial audits. With me are our Markets and World correspondents. Let's get into the numbers.
• Across the board, we tracked ten disclosed rounds today, totaling nine hundred forty-five point three million dollars. The largest round was SiliconFlow's four hundred thirty-three million Series C. AI was the hottest category, accounting for five of the top ten deals. And in public markets, newcleo, a developer of advanced modular reactors, is set to begin trading on Nasdaq today after completing its two hundred forty-seven million dollar SPAC deal. The story of the day is clear: continued investor confidence in innovative AI and deep tech.
• Diving into that top deal, AI infrastructure player SiliconFlow raised a four hundred thirty-three million dollar Series C led by China Mobile Chain Leader Fund. The company provides AI model inference optimization services, a critical 'middle-layer' for managing the explosion in token demand against limited computing power. This significant funding highlights the growing market for inference optimization as a key part of the AI value chain, especially as the company gears up for a planned IPO in Hong Kong. It's a pure-play bet on the scaling of AI worldwide.
• In the energy sector, newcleo completed its two hundred forty-seven million dollar SPAC deal, valuing the company at two point four billion dollars pre-money. The company, which is developing advanced modular nuclear reactors and mixed oxide, or MOX, nuclear fuel, will begin trading on Nasdaq today. This public listing provides the substantial capital needed to advance the development and licensing of their lead-cooled fast reactors. This is a major step forward for next-generation nuclear technology as a potential solution for clean energy.
• The AI infrastructure space saw another huge raise today. Verda, formerly known as DataCrunch, secured one hundred eighty-nine million in a Series B led by Emergence Capital. This round pushes the company's valuation past one billion dollars, officially granting it unicorn status. Verda operates an AI cloud platform that offers GPU-based infrastructure for training and deploying models. Its success underscores the high demand for specialized AI cloud providers that can serve as viable alternatives to the major hyperscalers.
• Looking at the global venture landscape, Forty.5 Ventures announced the launch of a new thirty million dollar fund. This new firm will focus on pre-seed and seed stage startups in Southeastern Europe, while maintaining a presence in the US and Asia Pacific. The fund's target sectors include vertical AI, fintech, and cybersecurity. The launch signals growing international investor interest in the burgeoning startup ecosystem of Southeastern Europe, a region that's increasingly producing high-potential tech companies.
• In Enterprise SaaS, AI-native recruitment platform Spott closed a twenty-one million dollar Series A led by Balderton Capital. Spott is building an operating system for recruitment agencies designed to automate administrative tasks and candidate sourcing. The goal is to shift the role of human recruiters away from repetitive work and towards strategic relationship management. This funding will fuel the company's international expansion and the development of more proactive AI capabilities to predict hiring needs.
• A significant development in healthtech today, as Dialybrid raised a sixteen million dollar Series A led by XGEN Venture. The company is developing a novel vascular access solution for hemodialysis patients using a patented hybrid material. This funding follows the successful first-in-human implant of their Silkothane® Arteriovenous Graft. The capital will be used to advance clinical trials for what could be a more durable and easier-to-use solution for patients with end-stage kidney disease, a huge quality-of-life improvement.
• The application of AI in retail continues to attract capital. Thri5, an AI-powered retail technology platform, raised a five point four million dollar seed round co-led by Whitecap Venture Partners and Mistral Venture Partners. Their platform helps physical stores connect central planning with on-the-floor execution, improving operational efficiency. Following a successful pilot and rollout with Wild Fork Foods, this seed funding will help Thri5 expand its solution to more retailers looking for data-driven decision-making tools.
• And now for a look at how technology is rebuilding traditional services from the ground up. Benford, a tech-native financial audit firm, has raised five point three million in a pre-seed round. The company integrates its proprietary 'AuditOS' software with a licensed audit practice to serve the European mid-market. By becoming the auditor of record and automating much of the process, Benford is directly challenging the traditional audit model, which could significantly disrupt mid-tier accounting firms.
• At the earliest stages, two pre-seed rounds point to the future of human-machine interaction. TacnIQ.ai raised three million dollars to build tactile-AI foundation models, enabling robots to interpret the sense of touch. This could unlock new capabilities in manufacturing and logistics. Meanwhile, Demoverse raised six hundred thousand dollars for its AI platform that lets consumers co-create products with brands, starting with fashion. Both are betting on AI to create a more intuitive and responsive physical and commercial world.
• That's the top ten for today. Looking ahead, the theme of tech-native service firms, like Benford in the audit space, is one to watch. We're seeing startups that aren't just selling software to incumbents, but are building fully-integrated, tech-first versions of those services themselves. This could be the next wave of disruption for established sectors. We'll be tracking that trend, along with an anticipated fund close from a major climate tech investor later this week. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon at three PM Pacific with the next deal flow.