Investments

Investments
Morgan Stanley Buys Stake in UK Payments Firm Sokin
July 24, 2024

British payments firm Sokin is planning to expand following an investment by Morgan Stanley. Investment funds managed by the banking giant had purchased a stake in Sokin, the company announced Wednesday (July 24), designed to speed its expansion. “Sokin was founded in 2019 with a...

Investments
Lakera Raises $20 Million to Provide Security for GenAI Applications
July 24, 2024

Lakera has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round to expand its offerings in the real-time generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications security category. This round brings the firm’s total funding to $30 million, and the firm will use the new funding to accelerate...

Investments
Dental-Care AI Startup Pearl Raises $58 Million
July 24, 2024

Pearl, an AI startup focused on the dental industry, has raised $58 million. The company announced its Series B in a news release Wednesday (July 24), saying it would use the funding to expand its line of dental artificial intelligence (AI) products. “At present, Pearl’s...

Investments
Cohere ‘Not Chasing AGI’ as AI Startup’s Value Hits $5 Billion
July 22, 2024

AI startup Cohere has been valued at $5.5 billion following a new funding round. As Bloomberg News reported Monday (July 22), this $500 million round brings Cohere’s total funding to $970 million. According to the report, Canada-based Cohere is the rare artificial intelligence (AI) startup creating massive large language...

Investments
Small Business-Focused FinTech Wamo Raises $5 Million
July 18, 2024

London-based FinTech wamo has raised $5 million to develop small to medium-sized business (SMB)-focused banking solutions. In addition to the growth investment, CEO and founder Yanki Onen said on the company blog Thursday (July 18), wamo has also obtained its Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. “Together, they equip us with the...

Investments
Coast Raises $40 Million to Expand Solutions for Fleet Payments
July 18, 2024

Coast has raised $40 million in new Series B financing to accelerate adoption of its solutions for fleet payments. The company will use the new funding to grow its team, develop its product and partnerships, and expand to other financial services needed by business customers,...

Investments
Google Reportedly Eyes $250 Million Fundraise for India’s Glance
July 18, 2024

India-based mobile content startup Glance is reportedly looking to raise up to $250 million. This funding round would be led by existing investor Google, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (July 18), citing a source familiar with the matter. The round would let Glance — which makes curated screensavers that let users...

Investments
J.P. Morgan Payments Backs B2B Payments Platform Slope
July 17, 2024

Slope has secured $65 million in strategic equity and debt funding to scale its B2B payments platform for enterprise companies. The funding was provided by J.P. Morgan Payments, Y Combinator, Jack Altman and Max Altman’s new fund, Saga, Slope said in a Wednesday (July 17) press release. The company was not...

Investments
Goldman Sachs Unit Invests in Plaid, Databricks Company Stakes
July 15, 2024

Venture capital (VC) firm NEA has reportedly created a $540 million continuation vehicle that has drawn as investors Goldman Sachs Group’s alternatives unit, Industry Ventures, Pathway Capital Management and Goanna Capital. The transaction enables NEA to give its limited partners some liquidity at a time...