Vertice raises $25M for AI-based tools to help companies tackle software spend

When you say the phrase “expense management” in a business context, people might think of software like Concur that tracks what you spend on travel, entertainment and other work-related activities; or the software used by finance teams to help track outgoings across the wider operation. You might even think that it’s a problem that has … Read more

Audio of Ohio police raid that left a baby injured raises new questions

The mayor of Elyria, Ohio, has ordered an investigation after a woman alleged that police officers who raided her home had the wrong address and deployed flash-bang devices that sent her 1-year-old to the hospital with burns. Police have offered a conflicting account of what happened Jan. 10, saying in a statement Friday that they … Read more

Prometeo raises $13M from PayPal, Samsung, and more to bring open banking to Latin America

Open banking — where traditional banks can share data, and build new services, by way of APIs that bring their ageing systems into the 21st century — has seen its biggest traction to date in mature economies, where the vast majority of consumers and businesses already have bank accounts; are au fait with digital transactions; … Read more

China’s Rokid rival to Apple’s Vision Pro raises $70 million

This picture taken on September 22, 2023 shows a Rokid employee demonstrating an augmented reality helmet at the company’s office at the 2022 Asian Games host city Hangzhou, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. From autonomous bug zappers to android pianists and driverless ice cream trucks, machines rule the world, at least at China’s Asian Games. … Read more

Finn raises $109M on a $658M valuation, taking its car subscription platform up another gear

Finn, a startup based out of Munich that operates a platform for new car subscriptions — an alternative to buying or leasing for those who want to drive new vehicles — has raised a sizable round of growth funding, money it plans to use to expand its tech and reach, with a move into more … Read more

Nabla raises another $24 million for its AI assistant for doctors that automatically writes clinical notes

Paris-based startup Nabla just announced that it has raised a $24 million Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation, with participation from ZEBOX Ventures — the corporate VC fund of CMA CGM. This funding round comes just a few months after Nabla signed a large-scale partnership with Permanente Medical Group, a division of U.S. … Read more

U.S. strike in Baghdad raises specter of wider regional war

Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave BAGHDAD — A U.S. airstrike here on Thursday killed an Iran-linked militia commander and risked accelerating the regional fallout from Washington’s support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza, even as the Biden administration scrambles to contain the bloodshed. Explosions occurred in the central part of the city, … Read more

AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI, now valued at $520M, raises $70M

As search engine incumbents — namely Google — amp up their platforms with gen AI tech, startups are looking to reinvent AI-powered search from the ground up. It might seem like a Sisyphean task, going up against competitors with billions upon billions of users. But this new breed of search upstarts believes it can carve … Read more

Backed by Schmidt Futures, Cloudline raises $6M to take aerial autonomy green and mainstream

South African aerospace startup Cloudline has secured $6 million in funding as it aims to lead the global frontier of carbon emissions-free autonomous flight. Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic venture founded by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt, is an investor in the seed round. Other backers include pan-African funds such as the Raba Partnership, … Read more

Claim, a social network that lets users earn and trade rewards with friends, raises $4M

Claim, a platform that is both a rewards app and a social network, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital. The startup is on a mission to make shopping fun, rewarding and social. The app launched on an invite-only beta in January and is currently focused on university and … Read more