VC Funding Top Ten — September 30, 2026: AI Mega-Rounds, Biotech Pipeline, Global Talent

Overview

Wednesday, September 30th, three PM Pacific. Today's biggest check goes to EliseAI, which just locked in a massive three hundred fifty million dollar Series F, pushing its valuation to four billion dollars. That deal co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners is just the start of another big day for AI

In this show

• Wednesday, September 30th, three PM Pacific. Today's biggest check goes to EliseAI, which just locked in a massive three hundred fifty million dollar Series F, pushing its valuation to four billion dollars. That deal co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners is just the start of another big day for AI funding. We'll break down the top ten deals that are shaping the markets. With us today are our Markets and World correspondents. Let's get to the numbers.
• Here is today's snapshot. Wall Street's term-sheet machine printed ten disclosed rounds today, totaling over eight hundred nine million dollars. The hottest category remains AI, accounting for five of the top ten deals. And in the public markets, a notable signal as Ives Ultra AI Opportunities Incorporated priced a two hundred million dollar IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. The story of the day is clear: AI startups continue to command mega-rounds, with EliseAI and General Intuition alone raising a combined five hundred seventy million.
• Thanks. Taking a closer look at our number one deal, EliseAI's three hundred fifty million dollar Series F nearly doubles its 2025 valuation of two point two billion. The company develops an AI platform that automates complex workflows in housing and healthcare, from apartment leasing to patient intake. This massive round comes on the heels of the company surpassing two hundred million dollars in annual recurring revenue, a key milestone that clearly resonated with investors Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer.
• At number two, General Intuition raised a two hundred twenty million dollar late-stage round, pushing its valuation to six point two billion. The company is tackling one of AI's hardest problems: bridging digital reasoning with physical execution. It builds action-foundational models by training AI on billions of action-labeled gameplay videos. This capital, led by Valor Equity Partners, will be used for large-scale GPU acquisitions to accelerate its model training, bringing its total raised to date over six hundred fifty million dollars.
• The biotech sector also saw significant action. At number three, Sagimet Biosciences secured a one hundred fifteen million dollar post-IPO financing led by Commodore Capital. Sagimet is a clinical-stage company developing novel inhibitors for conditions caused by fatty acid overproduction. This fresh capital is earmarked for a critical purpose: funding the Phase 3 clinical trial for its lead product, denifanstat, which is being developed as a treatment for acne, while also advancing other programs in its pipeline.
• Also in biotech, R1 Therapeutics lands at number four with an eighty point five million dollar Series A. This clinical-stage company is developing first-in-class therapies for patients with kidney disease. Their lead asset targets hyperphosphatemia in patients on dialysis. The round, led by Samsara BioCapital, represents a Series A expansion, bringing a new deep-pocketed investor on board as the company marches toward its Phase 2b topline data, which is expected in the first half of 2027.
• At number five, we have AnaCardio, a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on heart failure. They've raised a seventy million dollar Series B co-led by Novo Holdings and the Ljungström family office. The company is developing novel therapies that aim to safely improve cardiac contractility. This new funding is crucial, as it will be used to complete an ongoing Phase 2b study and to fully prepare for a large-scale Phase 3 trial, which is slated to begin by 2028.
• Launching out of stealth at number six is ai3Bio, with a forty-eight million dollar Series A. The round was co-led by UPMC Enterprises and Ziff Capital Partners. This is a biotech company with a unique approach to resetting the immune system. They use proprietary antibody and lipid nanoparticle-based technologies to target and eliminate specific disease-causing cells. The company launched with this funding specifically to advance its two platforms toward first-in-human trials for a range of autoimmune diseases.
• Back to AI at number seven with Atomic, which raised a twelve point five million dollar Series A. Founded by former Tesla supply chain leaders, the company provides an AI-native platform to simulate inventory scenarios and automate purchasing for companies that deal in physical goods. The traction is impressive: since the start of the year, Atomic has quintupled its annual recurring revenue and now automates ninety percent of procurement for key clients like DoorDash's DashMart. The round was led by Klass Capital and Madrona.
• At number eight, we head to India, where Arivihan has raised a ten million dollar Series A led by Accel and Prosus Ventures. The company is building an AI-powered learning platform that provides automated tutoring services for school students. Its specific focus is on reaching students in smaller cities and providing instruction in vernacular languages, a huge and underserved market. This new funding brings the company's total raised to over fifteen million dollars and will be used to expand into new states and strengthen its AI capabilities.
• Rounding out the list are two smaller, but notable, seed rounds. At number nine, London-based AI lab Zenithon raised a ten million dollar seed round to develop AI world models that can simulate extreme physics environments. A seed of this size is significant and shows strong investor appetite for specialized AI infrastructure. And at number ten, MAVI raised a four million dollar seed led by Harlem Capital. It's an AI-powered talent marketplace connecting U.S. companies with vetted global accounting and finance professionals to solve the domestic talent shortage.
• And finally, one thing to watch. Munich-based Invertix, an AI startup building software for energy infrastructure, has been accepted into Y Combinator's latest batch just seven months after its founding. This makes it one of the few European energy AI companies to join the prestigious accelerator. Keep an eye on their demo day, as it could signal a new wave of venture investment into AI-powered grid management and optimization. That's our show for today. We'll be back tomorrow afternoon at three PM Pacific with the next deal flow.