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TL;DR
Redbud raised a $25M Fund II to continue backing outsider founders with $250k-$500k Pre-Seed checks
Accelerator picks 📋 for 2026: Techstars brings the nationwide mentor + alumni machine, PearX is the longer SF runway with operator-heavy support and bigger pre-seed/seed checks, and a16z Speedrun is the SF sprint with a $1M check and partner-level support.
Non-dilutive boosts 🔋 you can actually use: Amber Grant drops $10K every month, DigitalOcean Hatch adds $100K in compute credits with priority support, and Awesome Foundation keeps the $1K monthly micro-grants flowing via local chapters.
Pre-seed/seed 🌱🧶trends showing up in raises: no-code AI apps on edge devices, experimental fintech/blockchain hybrids, proptech/living innovation, and healthcare/insurance AI tools.
Series A+ is split between “space-scale”🧗🏻♀️ and “compute-scale” 💻: Vast’s $500M Series A for orbital habitats, big momentum in AI for financial advisors, enterprise AI applications, and GPU/compute infrastructure.
Who’s actively deploying capital🚀💰: early-stage checks are coming from Primary, Outlander, and Precursor, while General Catalyst, Lightspeed, and Index keep leading larger Series A/B rounds across 2026.
Accelerators + Grants
🚀 Accelerators
$120K investment for 6% equity ; 3-month mentorship-driven accelerator across various US cities; cohorts of 10-15 startups per program, access to 10,000+ mentors/alumni, Demo Day; multiple programs with applications open/rolling into 2026.
$250K–$2M checks (pre-seed to seed via accelerator); 6-9 month program in San Francisco for highly selective teams; small cohorts (~20 per batch), hands-on operator support from Pear partners, product/market fit focus, fundraising prep, and Demo Day; very selective with applications open for S26 cohort.
$1M investment directly from a16z; 3-month program in San Francisco for early-stage tech and games startups with hands-on support and mentorship from partners; small cohorts, Demo Day for investor pitches; highly selective with applications opening for 2026 cohorts.
💰 Grants
$10,000 monthly cash grant (non-dilutive) for women-owned businesses/startups in any category (including non-profits); one winner per month, with additional $50,000 year-end awards for monthly winners; simple application telling your business story; applications open monthly/rolling, cutoff end of each month.
$100,000 in compute credits to cover infrastructure services like Droplets, App Platform, Managed Databases, Kubernetes, GPU Droplets, and more; includes priority technical support, mentorship, access to a founder community, co-marketing opportunities, and additional partner perks; focused on early-stage startups; highly suitable for cloud-heavy or AI ventures.
$1,000 micro-grants awarded monthly by local chapters across the US for creative projects, including startup ideas, prototypes, or small business initiatives; no strings attached, non-dilutive; applications rolling via local chapters.
Roladex Venture Studios
Roladex provides hands-on support with fundraising, product development, and marketing—plus the team, network, and resources to launch and scale your business👇
PreSeed + Seed
Notable companies that recently raised:
1️⃣ Cloneable — raised $4.7M (Seed)
Description: Raleigh, NC-based startup offering a no-code platform to deploy intelligent AI applications on edge devices (drones, robots, IoT), targeting inspection, field intelligence, and industrial use cases.
Investors: Not specified in detail; regional Southeast investors prominent in February rounds.
2️⃣ Kash — raised $2M (Pre-Seed)
Description: US-based startup combining blockchain, finance, AI, FinTech, and gambling elements for innovative payment or decentralized finance tools.
Investors: Not specified; part of emerging pre-seed lists in early 2026.
3️⃣ Aspyr Living — raised $3M (Seed)
Description: Fort Lauderdale, FL-based startup developing innovative living solutions or proptech tools, focused on urban/residential enhancements.
Investors: Regional VC participants in February 2026 Southeast rounds.
4️⃣ Level AI — raised undisclosed (Pre-Seed)
Description: healthcare AI startup focused on B2B software and insurance applications, building tools for improved diagnostics, claims, or patient management.
Investors: Early-stage backers in AI/health verticals per funding trackers.
💸 Active Investors & New Funds
1️⃣ Primary Ventures — New York, NY
$5M–$10M checks; seed-focused but goes pre-seed, nationwide investments in high-growth tech; plans 40-50 deals over 3 years, very active post-fund close in early 2026.
2️⃣ Outlander VC — US based
$500K–$2.5M checks; pre-seed and seed generalist with focus on founder quality, Software, AI/ML, Robotics & Autonomy, Industrial Tech, Defense; long-term partner backing idea-phase founders, very active in 2026 pitches.
3️⃣ Precursor Ventures — San Francisco, CA ✨
$100K–$500K checks; first institutional check specialist for pre-seed, focusing on underrepresented founders, people-first approach over products; highly active with 30–40 investments/year, including pre-seed; closed recent fund and deploying actively across US and global.
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Series A+
Notable companies that recently raised:
1️⃣ Vast — raised $500M (Series A)
Description: Space tech startup focused on orbital habitats, modular space stations, and infrastructure for long-duration space missions and commercial space economy.
Investors: Led by Balerion Space Ventures; announced early March 2026.
2️⃣ Jump — raised $80M (Series B)
Description: AI platform for financial advisors automating tasks, providing insights, and enhancing wealth management workflows with intelligent tools for the fintech sector.
Investors: Led by Sorenson Capital, with Allianz Life Ventures, Insight Partners, Pelion Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital Partners, and Peterson Partners.
3️⃣ Cogent — raised $42M (Series A)
Description: AI or enterprise software startup (details on advanced reasoning or data tools emerging from early 2026 rounds), focused on scalable AI applications.
Investors: Led by Bain Capital Ventures; announced February 18, 2026.
4️⃣ PaleBlueDot AI — raised $150M (Series B)
Description: Palo Alto-based GPU marketplace and compute platform providing scalable AI infrastructure, GPU access, and global compute resources for training and inference at scale.
Investors: Led by B Capital, with other participants; valued at $1 billion post-round.
💸 Active Investors & New Funds
1️⃣ General Catalyst — Cambridge, MA / San Francisco, CA
$10M–$50M checks; active multistage investor leading Series A in AI, healthtech, and enterprise; prominent in 2026 rounds (e.g., AI legal tech and big data); focus on transformative tech with operational backing and new commitments in high-growth areas.
2️⃣ Lightspeed Venture Partners — Menlo Park, CA
$10M–$100M+ checks; multistage firm topping active lists in early 2026 with major Series A leads; focus on AI, enterprise software, consumer, and deep tech; deploying from large funds with strong momentum in infrastructure and high-growth tech.
3️⃣ Index Ventures — San Francisco, CA / New York, NY ✨
$10M–$50M checks; leading Series A investor in AI, software, fintech, and healthtech; very active in 2026 with notable leads (e.g., $100M+ Series A in AI reasoning startups); thesis on scalable tech with global reach, consistently leading high-conviction rounds.
Thanks for spending a few minutes with us this week. We’ll keep tracking the programs worth applying to, the non-dilutive wins, and the funding shifts that matter—so you can stay sharp and keep momentum on your side. See you in the next edition. 😄
- Michael Marra, Founder & CEO of Entre
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