💸 Lu Zhang's Fusion Fund Closes $190M Fund IV
FemWealth Issue #200
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded and led by Lu Zhang, Palo Alto-based Fusion Fund closed a $190 million Fund IV in an oversubscribed round. The firm invests in early-stage startups across connected industries (robotics, mobility), network technologies (connectivity, security), artificial intelligence (computer vision, NLP), and digital health/medical devices.
“As an entrepreneur, we quickly learn and evolve and do better. Don’t be obsessed with the Fund I size. Just quickly raise and build up the portfolio. If you start to deploy capital, you're in the game and you’ll be able to validate your methodology.” - Liu Zhang (via Forbes)
Read more: Fusion Fund Raises $190 Million To Back The Next Tech Giant
FemWealth Favourites ❤️
Startups: Anthropic raises $3.5B to fuel its AI ambitions - Co-founded by Daniela Amodei, Anthropic secured a $3.5 billion Series E round at a $61.5 billion post-money valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round, with additional contributions from Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco Investments, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, Jane Street, Menlo Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures.
Bluebird Kids Health raises $31.5M Series A (Axios Pro $) - Co-founded by Elizabeth Larsen and Rachel Wilson, Bluebird Kids Health operates pediatric health clinics. The Boston-based startup raised $31.5 million in Series A funding co-led by F-Prime and .406 Ventures, with additional support from AIF and Juxtapose.
TRIMTECH Therapeutics raises €28.6 million for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases - Led by Nicki Thompson, Trimtech Therapeutics develops treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The Cambridge, UK-based biotech raised €28.6 million in Seed funding co-led by Cambridge Innovation Capital and SV Health Investors and joined by Pfizer Ventures, M Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, and Start Codon.
ReSource closes $15M from Khosla, VC arms of Mitsubishi and Chevron - Co-founded and led by Aanindeeta Banerjee, ReSource Chemical transforms CO₂ and agricultural waste into high-performance, sustainable alternatives to traditional plastics. The US company raised $15 million led by Khosla Ventures, with Chevron Technology Ventures and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. participating.
Anna Patterson’s Ceramic.ai looks to help enterprises build AI models faster and more efficiently - Co-founded and led by Gradient Ventures founder Anna Patterson, Ceramic.ai provides foundational AI training infrastructure for enterprises. The San Francisco-based company raised $12 million in a Seed round led by NEA and joined by IBM, Samsung Next, and Earthshot Ventures.
Crypto prime brokerage August raises $10 million in round led by Dragonfly Ventures - Co-founded and led by Aya Kantorovich, August is a crypto-focused prime brokerage firm. The New York City-based startup raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Dragonfly Ventures, with SCB Limited, 6th Man Ventures, and Foresight Ventures also joining.
Regenerative brand GoodSAM Foods raises $9m to build up its ‘direct trade’ model with farmers - Founded and led by Heather K. Terry, GoodSAM Foods is a US-based regenerative and natural products company. It raised a $9 million Series A round co-led by Acumen Latam Impact (ALIVE) Ventures and Desert Bloom. LATAM Impact Fund, Promotora Social Mexico, One Small Planet, and Connecticut Innovations also contributed.
This startup says AI is better when it doesn’t pretend to be human - Co-founded and led by Stav Levi Neumark, Alta provides an AI revenue workforce. The Tel Aviv-based startup raised $7 million in Seed funding co-led by Entrée Capital and Target Global.
Digital mental health startup HelloBetter secures €6M and eyes French market entry - Co-founded by Dr Hanne Horvath and Dr Elena Heber, HelloBetter is a digital mental health care platform. The Berlin-based startup raised €6 million in capital and media for equity funding. Mutuelles Impact led the round, with additional support from MMV, HealthCap, Expon, and DVH Ventures.
Proptech startup Telescope €3.7M Seed to turn climate risk compliance into strategy advantage for real estate owners - Co-founded by Marit Bjerkreim, Telescope is a sustainability risk platform for real estate companies. The Norwegian startup raised €3.7 million in Seed funding co-led by Scale Capital and Dreamcraft Ventures, with additional contributions from Curiosity VC and OBOS Oppstart.
Dubformer Raises $3.6M to Revolutionize AI Dubbing with Emotion Transfer Technology - Co-founded by Elena Chernysheva, Dubformer offers AI dubbing for media content. The Amsterdam-based startup raised $3.6 million in Seed funding led by Almaz Capital and joined by s16vc, FinSight, and angel investors.
Cino cracks bill-splitting at the moment of payment, raises seed round - Co-founded by Elena Churilova and Lina Saleh, Cino is a real-time shared payment app that enables a group to split the bill and pay their share directly from the bank account or wallet they choose. The Tallinn, Estonia-based startup raised €3.5 million in Seed funding led by Balderton Capital, with Connect Ventures and Tera Ventures also joining.
Nonprofit tech platform Humanitru secures $3m to enhance AI-driven fundraising - Co-founded by Megan Newman, MHA, Humanitru provides an engagement platform for nonprofits. The US startup raised $3 million in funding led by Dogwood Ventures, with participation from Meeting Street Capital, The 98, I2BF, Front Porch Venture Partners, and Team Ignite Ventures.
UK’s Citizens of Soil raises £1.8M for premium olive oil production - Co-founded and led by Sarah Vachon, Citizens of Soil produces olive oil sourced from regenerative farms. The British startup raised £1.8 million in Seed funding led by Figr Ventures.
Ocean Ledger secures €900k to increase accuracy of coastal risk management - Co-founded and led by Paige Roepers, Ocean Ledger provides high-resolution geospatial analytics for coastal risk assessment and environmental impact analysis. The London-based startup raised a €900k Pre-Seed round led by Ananda Impact Ventures and Silverstrand Capital.
VC: Foundation Capital, an early backer of Solana and Cerebras, raises $600M fund - Co-led by General Partner Joanne Chen, Palo Alto-based Foundation Capital raised a $600 million eleventh flagship fund. It will focus on the fintech, enterprise, and crypto industries.
African VC LoftyInc Capital launches third fund for seed and Series A, reaches $43M first close - Co-led by General Partner Mariam Kamel, Lagos-based LoftyInc Capital reached the first close of its third fund, LoftyInc Alpha, at $43 million. The fund will target late-Seed and Series A startups across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Francophone Africa.
Araya Ventures’ solo GP closes in on first fund of £20m - Founded and led by solo GP Rupa Popat, London-based Araya Ventures raised £18.2 million for its first fund to back UK B2B SaaS and consumer startups at Pre-Seed and Seed stages. It will write cheques of £150k-450k in around 60 companies across healthtech, fintech, commerce and the future of work.
“I genuinely believe that this is the moment of solo GPs, where we’re being welcomed into the market. Founders love having exited founders as their investors.” - Rupa Popat (via Sifted)
Raisewell Ventures Shakes up Legacy VC Model, Convening World’s Top Thinkers and Doers to Drive Lasting Returns Beyond Tech and Venture - Led by Jeep Kline, Berkeley, California-based Raisewell Ventures launched as a multi-stage venture capital firm connecting Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia investors and entrepreneurs.
It took Anu Duggal 700 meetings to launch Female Founders Fund. Now she’s investing in women with a ‘chip on their shoulder’ to deliver outsized returns - Features Anu Duggal, Founding Partner at Female Founders Fund
Invest In Women Daily And Change The Equation–For Everyone
“Women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchasing decisions—meaning they are the market. Yet, despite this, women receive just 2% of venture capital funding and less than 1% of corporate procurement dollars. That’s not a meritocracy—it’s a market failure. It’s time to fund the best talent, period. And that means ensuring investment decisions reflect the marketplace and the reality of consumer influence, not outdated biases.” - Shelley Zalis, Founder & CEO of The Female Quotient
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Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth