Lumilens Inc., a startup developing optical networking chips and transceivers for AI data centers, has launched publicly with over $700 million in new funding, bringing its total raised to more than $900 million and valuing the company at $5.51 billion. The company's technology converts electrical signals to light for fiber-optic data transmission in AI infrastructure.
AI customer service startup Omilia secured $67 million in Series B funding led by Expedition Growth Capital to expand its voice-first customer experience platform globally. The funding comes amid a wave of AI adoption in customer support, with competitors like Sierra, Decagon, and Parloa also raising capital, though customer satisfaction concerns persist.
SoftBank Group reported an 18% drop in fiscal first quarter profit as higher costs offset investment gains, though the company received a significant boost from Intel's tripled share price during the quarter. The results highlight mixed performance in the technology investor's AI-focused portfolio.
Zenity, an Israel-based cybersecurity platform specializing in AI agent security and governance, has raised $125 million in Series C funding led by Norwest, with participation from SoftBank, Hitachi, and LG. The round brings the company's total funding to $185 million as enterprises race to secure the growing deployment of autonomous AI agents.
San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup Horizon3 announced a $250 million Series E funding round that values the company at over $2 billion, more than tripling its $650 million valuation from June 2025. The company specializes in autonomous penetration testing and AI-driven security solutions.
Etched, an AI chip startup founded by three Harvard dropouts in 2022, has closed a $300 million Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital, more than doubling its valuation to $10.3 billion. The company specializes in chips optimized for transformer-based AI models.
Tiger Global led a $180 million Series B valuing Augustus at $1 billion, funding its bid to become a federally chartered stablecoin clearing bank, Augustus Bank, N.A., with OCC conditional approval secured in May 2026.
London-based Humanoid secured $152 million in Series A funding at a $1.35 billion post-money valuation, led by Prime Movers Lab with participation from Bosch and Schaeffler. The two-year-old company, which develops industrial humanoid robots including its HMND 01 model, has now raised $270 million total.
Europe's largest-ever defense startup funding round, with Munich-based Helsing securing $1.8 billion in Series E capital at an $18 billion valuation, led by Dragoneer and Lightspeed, with participation from Goldman Sachs Alternatives, ICONIQ, JPMorgan Chase, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son announced plans to remain CEO for another decade or more, abandoning his retirement plan and setting a bold $6.189 trillion net asset value target built on AI promises.
Stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings led a $1.4 billion Series C funding round for German startup Neura Robotics, which develops AI-powered humanoid robots. The round also included participation from Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Amazon, marking one of the largest investments in physical AI and humanoid robotics to date.
Shield AI was selected by the Pentagon for a low-cost drone program as Iran war accelerates demand for affordable drones, following the company's recent $1 billion funding round that valued it at $12.7 billion.
Enterprise AI company Unframe secured $50 million in new funding led by Highland Europe, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures, TLV Partners, and Third Point Ventures, after achieving $100 million in contract value.
Anthropic has agreed to terms on a $30 billion fundraise that would value the Claude AI developer at $900 billion pre-money, according to Financial Times reporting. The round could close soon and involves OpenAI-linked investors.
Andreessen Horowitz's crypto division announced its fifth dedicated crypto fund with $2.2 billion raised, marking one of the largest crypto venture funds launched in 2026 and bringing total commitments across all a16z crypto funds to over $7 billion.
Space security startup True Anomaly raised $600 million in the largest defense technology funding round of the week, leading multiple large defense tech deals. The funding reflects continued strong investor interest in AI-enabled defense and aerospace applications.
