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TL;DR
5 high-signal accelerators still open (most close this month – links below)
2 fresh US tech grants for $50K–$150K equity-free
Recent Pre-seed raises: CERPRO (€2M), SereneDB ($2.1M), RebuilderAI ($3.4M)
Series A+ spotlight: Aaru ($50M), Yoodli ($40M), Gradial ($35M)
10 active US funds writing checks right now from $250K pre-seed to $60M Series B
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Accelerators + Grants
🚀 Accelerators
$220K ($20K for 5% upfront + $200K uncapped MFN SAFE; 3-month mentorship-driven program, lifetime network access, demo day with 500+ investors.
€15K funding for 6-8% + corporate pilots; 3-month hybrid program, expert mentors, global investor intros, AI/Web3/Fintech/Health focus.
$150K for 6% equity; 4-month Silicon Valley program, growth curriculum, global demo day, 2.8K+ alumni network.
No equity taken; 12-week program, direct corporate partnerships & pilots (PayPal, Google, etc.), 20+ vertical batches.
AI2 Incubator (Allen Institute for AI)
Up to $600K on SAFE ($10M cap); typical first check $100K solo / $200K team founders; 6 months technical deep-dive, AWS credits, world-class AI research mentorship, Seattle-based.
💰 Grants
Equity-free $3,000–$150,000 for 1-year projects advancing internet tech like Wi-Fi, cybersecurity, AI streaming, or quantum computing; open to US technologists/researchers/startups with innovative proposals.
Equity-free up to $50,000 for early-stage tech startups (e.g., software, AI, hardware) with initial traction/revenue under $250K; supports scaling in North Carolina (US-wide eligible); next deadline Feb 23, 2026.
Roladex Venture Studio
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 CERPRO — raised €2M (Pre-Seed)
Description: AI-powered SaaS for industrial quality assurance, using computer vision to detect defects in manufacturing.
Investors: seed + speed Ventures (Lead), D11Z (co-lead), EIT Manufacturing, Techstars
2️⃣ SereneDB — raised $2.1M (Pre-Seed)
Description: Innovative database platform redefining search and analytics with simplified, high-performance querying for real-time data.
Investors: Entourage (Lead), High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
3️⃣ AllScale — raised $5M (Seed)
Description: Fintech platform creating a stablecoin bank tailored for microbusinesses, enabling seamless crypto payments and treasury management.
Investors: YZi Labs (Lead), Informed Ventures, Generative Ventures
4️⃣ Tenzai — raised $75M (Seed)
Description: Autonomous AI "hacker" for cybersecurity, simulating attacks to identify vulnerabilities in real-time.
Investors: Battery Ventures (Lead), Greylock Partners, Lux Capital, Swish Ventures, Jibe Ventures
5️⃣ RebuilderAI — raised $3.4M (Seed)
Description: AI-driven 3D reconstruction and modeling tool for architects and designers, automating complex spatial data processing.
Investors: Not disclosed in announcement
💸 Active Investors & New Funds
1️⃣ Beta Boom — Salt Lake City, UT
$250K–$1M checks; pre-seed specialist for diverse founders in fintech, digital health, edtech with heavy founder support.
2️⃣ Forum Ventures — New York, NY
$100K–$500K tickets; B2B SaaS pre-seed/seed powerhouse, strong in agentic AI and fintech + ops platform.
3️⃣ Better Tomorrow Ventures — San Francisco, CA
$500K–$3M first checks; fintech + AI pre-seed/seed leader, extremely active in 2025.
4️⃣ Boost VC — San Mateo, CA
$500K for 7% equity; deep tech pre-seed (AI, space, bio, robotics) + 3-month accelerator.
5️⃣ Reciprocal Ventures — New York, NY
$500K–$2M checks; early-stage crypto & blockchain infrastructure specialist, portfolio includes Stripe, Chime, Ramp alums.
Wall Street Isn’t Warning You, But This Chart Might
Vanguard just projected public markets may return only 5% annually over the next decade. In a 2024 report, Goldman Sachs forecasted the S&P 500 may return just 3% annually for the same time frame—stats that put current valuations in the 7th percentile of history.
Translation? The gains we’ve seen over the past few years might not continue for quite a while.
Meanwhile, another asset class—almost entirely uncorrelated to the S&P 500 historically—has overall outpaced it for decades (1995-2024), according to Masterworks data.
Masterworks lets everyday investors invest in shares of multimillion-dollar artworks by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso.
And they’re not just buying. They’re exiting—with net annualized returns like 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5% among their 23 sales.*
Wall Street won’t talk about this. But the wealthy already are. Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…
*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.
Series A+
Notable companies that recently raised:
1️⃣ Aaru — raised $50M (Series A)
Description: AI synthetic research platform simulating user behavior for near-instant customer insights and market testing.
Investors: Redpoint Ventures (Lead), General Catalyst, Accenture Ventures, Abstract Ventures
2️⃣ Ostium Labs — raised $20M (Series A)
Description: Onchain perpetual swaps protocol enabling crypto-finance for traditional markets and tokenized assets.
Investors: General Catalyst (Co-lead), Jump Crypto (Co-lead)
3️⃣ Yoodli — raised $40M (Series B)
Description: AI roleplay tool for communication training, simulating sales calls and interviews with personalized coaching.
Investors: WestBridge Capital (Lead), Neotribe, Madrona Venture Group
4️⃣ Gradial — raised $35M (Series B)
Description: Agentic AI platform automating enterprise marketing ops, content creation, and workflows.
Investors: VMG Partners (Lead)
💸 Active Investors & New Funds
1️⃣ Index Ventures — San Francisco, CA
$10M–$50M checks; Series A/B leader in software/SaaS and AI, just raised $2.3B in new venture/growth funds in 2024 (active into 2025), high-growth international tech with hands-on ops support.
2️⃣ New Enterprise Associates (NEA) — Chevy Chase, MD
$15M–$40M tickets; Series A/B broad bets on cloud, AI/ML, and infra, just closed $6.2B in new early/growth funds in 2024 (largest in firm history, active 2025), supporting companies from early through growth stages.
3️⃣ Kleiner Perkins — Menlo Park, CA
$10M–$30M first checks; Series A/B specialist in diverse tech like energy, AI, and enterprise tools, just raised $2B across new flagship (KP21) and opportunity funds in late 2024 (active 2025), focusing on paradigm-shifting innovations.
4️⃣ Revolution — Washington, DC
$20M–$60M checks; Series A/B diversified investor across tech and emerging US hubs, actively investing in 2025 (e.g., recent rounds in Scythe Robotics, Fountain), sector-agnostic with strategic scaling guidance.
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!
We’re excited to kick this off and continue providing founders with the insights and resources they need to succeed in today’s startup ecosystem. We’ll catch you all on the next one ✌️
- Michael Marra, Founder & CEO of Entre
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