Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded and led by Jesse Draper, US-based Halogen Ventures launched a $30 million fund to invest in its new thesis: the future of family.
“There are over 80 million families in the United States alone and yet Venture Capital has overlooked this market. We are both deeply passionate and data driven about this space and believe there are a wealth of high potential opportunities that will help parents and families at scale.” - Jesse Draper, Founder and General Partner at Halogen Ventures
The firm’s third fund will invest in early-stage startups with at least one female founder, building solutions across five verticals: Childcare, Education/EdTech, FamTech (Family Technology), Child & Youth Services, and the Digital Workplace.
Halogen Venture’s portfolio includes the baby registry platform Babylist, the childcare marketplace Upwards, the women’s health company Teal Health, and the transportation company HopSkipDrive.
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: Co-founded by Luana Lopes Lara, Kalshi operates a regulated prediction market where users can bet on elections, weather, and sports. The New York City startup secured a $185 million Series C round at a $2 billion post-money valuation. Paradigm led the round, joined by Multicoin Capital, Sequoia, Neo, and Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao.
Co-founded by Monica Valadez, Tacta Systems develops dextrous intelligence to give robots human-level tactile skills and spatial awareness. The Palo Alto-based startup raised $75 million in combined Seed and Series A funding led by America’s Frontier Fund and SBVA. Matter Venture Partners, B Capital, EDBI, Sojitz, CDIB -TEN Capital, Yazaki Innovations, B5 Capital, Tyche Partners, and Woven Capital also joined.
Co-founded and led by Nami Baral, Niural operates a full-stack global professional employer organization (PEO) that automates payroll, benefits, vendor payments, and compliance in over 150 countries. The US startup raised $31 million in Series A funding led by Marathon Management Partners and joined by M13, Inspired Capital, and Newform Capital.
Co-founded by Yoona Kim, PharmD, PhD and Penjit Moorhead, Arine is an AI-powered medication optimization platform that aims to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. The San Francisco startup raised a $30 million Series C round led by Town Hall Ventures, with Kaiser Permanente Ventures also participating.
Co-founded by Chief Science Officer Anna Herr, Snowcap Compute develops AI computing chips using superconducting technology. The Palo Alto-based company raised $23 million in Seed funding led by Playground Global and joined by Cambium Capital and Vsquared Ventures.
Co-founded and led by Miranda Wang, Novoloop upcycles waste plastic. The California-based startup raised $21 million in Series B led by Taranis.
Co-founded by Stephanie Vaughan, Veda is a DeFi vault infrastructure platform. The New York City-based startup raised an $18 million round led by CoinFund and joined by Coinbase Ventures, GSR, Maelstrom, Animoca Ventures, Mantle EcoFund, BitGo, Credibly Neutral, Draper Dragon, Heartcore, PEER VC, and Relayer Capital.
Co-founded by Nithya Nareshkumar, DataBahn is an AI-powered data pipeline platform for security and telemetry data. The US startup raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Forgepoint Capital and joined by S3 Ventures and GTM Capital.
Co-founded and led by Valentina Ratner, AllSpice is a collaboration platform for electrical engineering teams. The San Francisco-based startup closed $15 million in Series A funding led by Rethink Impact and joined by L’attidude Ventures, GingerBread Capital, DNX Ventures, Root Ventures, Benchstrength, and Flybridge.
Led by Noel Goddard, Qunnect deploys quantum entanglement-based protocols over commercial fiber. The New York City-based company secured a $10 million Series A extension round led by Airbus Ventures, with support from Cisco Investments and Quantonation.
Co-founded by Xu Rui, Klutch develops AI agents for the construction industry. The Seattle-based startup raised $8 million in Seed funding led by Bling Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. Brick and Mortar Ventures, Original Capital, Anthology Fund, and angel investors also participated.
Co-founded and led by Madeline Fraser, Gemist aims to modernize the shopping experience for fine jewelry. The Los Angeles-based startup raised a $6 million round from Entrada Ventures, Artemis Fund, and Collide Capital.
Co-founded by Nandini Mullaji, Sitch is an AI-powered matchmaking app. The New York City-based startup raised $5 million in Seed funding led by M13 and joined by a16z SpeedRun.
Co-founded by Carolyn Quinlan, Juniper Genomics, a Toronto, Canada-based IVF tech startup, raised $4.6 million in Seed funding. Company Ventures led the round, joined by Innospark Ventures, MBX Capital, Amboy Street Ventures, Dria Ventures, and Blue Collective.
Founded and led by Maria Jensen, Antler Bio develops gene expression technology focused on boosting dairy productivity. The Dublin-based startup raised $4.3 million in funding led by First Thirty Ventures and joined by Endgame Capital and Generation-RE.
Co-founded by Elli Rader and Missy Bemm, Blank Metal is a US-based AI-native engineering company partnering with enterprises to deliver production AI. It raised $3 million in Seed funding from Rally Ventures, Traction Capital, and Pure Play Partners.
Co-founded by Julia Sabitova, CloEE develops an AI platform that integrates with manufacturing systems to track and improve equipment efficiency, energy use, and output quality. The Helsinki-based startup raised $600,000 in Pre-Seed funding led by angel investor Miro Vertanen and the Innovestor Angel Co-fund, with participation from Cariplo Iniziative and members of the Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN).
CPG: Co-founded by actor Jennifer Garner and Cassandra Curtis, baby food company Once Upon a Farm confidentially filed to go public in New York.
VC, PE & Growth Equity: Co-led by Partner and Managing Director Malin Posern, Project A, a Berlin and London-based firm, closed its fifth fund with $373 million in capital commitments to back early-stage European startups in defense, AI, fintech, and supply chain software.
Founded and led by Huda Al-Lawati, Oman-based Aliph Capital, the Gulf’s first female-led PE firm, closed a $200 million debut fund.
Co-founded and co-led by Jackie Dunklau, Aria Growth Partners, a New York growth equity firm that backs consumer brands across food, beauty, personal care, supplements, and household products categories, raised $152 million for its second fund.
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Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth