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In the Spotlight 💸
Co-led by Founding Partner Camilla Dolan, Eka Ventures, a London, UK-based impact VC firm, raised $107 million/£80million for its second fund.
“Our philosophy from day one has been that investing in the right founders and giving them the autonomy to move fast, take risks and set audacious goals is what unlocks truly game changing outcomes, both commercially and societally.
“We believe the next generation of category defining companies will be built at the intersection of technology and science, reshaping systems across consumer health, wellbeing and sustainable consumption. With additional firepower, we’re excited to deepen our investment into ambitious founding teams as they build businesses that deliver both meaningful impact and enduring value.” – Camilla Dolan, Co-founding Partner at Eka Ventures
The firm is now UK’s largest early-stage impact VC investing across health, wellbeing and sustainability. It will back Pre-Seed and Seed stage companies in the life and wellbeing, health, and sustainability spaces.
LPs include British Business Bank, Better Society Capital, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, The Health Foundation, WRAP, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation and The Vivensa Foundation.
Startup Funding Highlights
Co-founded by Idalia Friedson, Sygaldry Technologies is building quantum-accelerated AI servers to exponentially speed up training and inference. The US startup secured a $105 million Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with Y Combinator, Rock Yard Ventures, IQT, the University of Michigan, QDNL Participations, Expeditions Fund, 468 Capital, Morpheus Ventures, WTI, Overmatch Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Switch Ventures joining.
Founded and led by Ritu Narayan, Zūm is a student mobility platform. The Redwood City, California-based startup raised $100 million from TPG at a $1.7 billion valuation.
Founded and led by Laureen Meroueh, PhD, Hertha Metals produces low-carbon steel and high-purity iron. The Texas-based startup is raising $100 million in Series A funding.
Co-founded by Hahnbee Lee, Mintlify is a code documentation platform. The New York City-based startup closed $45 million in Series B funding co-led by a16z and Salesforce Ventures and joined by Bain Capital Ventures, YC, Rahul Mehta, MVP Ventures, Avra, HubSpot Ventures, and TwentyTwo Ventures.
Co-founded by Jing Feng, Bluefish is an agentic marketing platform. The New York startup secured a $43 million Series B round co-led by Threshold Ventures and NEA, with Amex Ventures, TIAA Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Crane Venture Partners, Laconia, and Swift Ventures also participating.
Co-founded by Sarah Børresen, Subra develops superconductor solutions for zero-loss power transmission and fusion energy. The Denmark-based startup raised €40 million in Series A funding led by Novo Holdings and joined by Maj Invest and SPRIND.
Co-founded by Ceyda Erten, Hilbert is an AI-native growth infrastructure designed for B2C. The San Francisco startup raised a $28 million Series A round led by a16z.
️Co-founded by Lydia Maher, Critical Loop provides on-site power systems for industrial projects. The LA-based startup raised $26 million in Series A funding led by Conifer Infrastructure Partners and Hanover, with additional support from Better Ventures, Climate Capital, Adapt Nation Capital, and Cyrus Ventures.
Founded and led by Roohi (Najeemuddin) Jeelani, MD, FACOG, Onto Health provides fertility care and longevity services. The Chicago-based startup raised $20 million in Series A funding from Artis and Humania.
Co-founded and led by Eliana Berger, Joyful Health is an AI financial infrastructure platform for healthcare revenue operations. The New York City-based startup raised $17 million in Series A funding led by CRV and joined by XYZ Venture Capital, Designer Fund, Inflect Capital, and Go Global Ventures.
Founded and led by Helen Gu, InsightFinder AI is a reliability platform that uses composite AI techniques and observability data for end-to-end workflows. The US-based startup raised $15 million in Series B funding led by Yu Galaxy.
Founded by Miriam Haart, ActionAI provides mission-critical automations and business intelligence for enterprises. The New York City-based company raised a $10 million Seed round led by UAE-based investors.
Co-founded and led by Sunita Mohanty, Ultralight is building an AI-native OS for modern medical practices. The New York City-based startup raised $9.3 million in Pre-Seed and Seed funding led by The General Partnership and joined by Wisdom Ventures, Anthemis and Emerson Collective.
Led by Laura Yecies, Osteoboost Health is developing a medical device to treat osteopenia in postmenopausal women. The San Francisco-based company raised $8 million in funding led by Ambit Health Ventures and joined by Emmeline Ventures, Disrupt Health Impact Fund, Esplanade Ventures, and Portfolia.
“The cost of osteoporosis to society is enormous, but this is not a condition that begins at diagnosis. It develops silently over many years. That’s why earlier intervention and prevention are so critical, especially for women entering menopause – when bone loss is known to accelerate.” – Laura Yecies, CEO of Osteoboost
Co-founded by Liz Golden and Dr. Emily Lee, Wavelet Medical aims to bring non-invasive fetal brain monitoring to labor and delivery. The US startup raised $7 million in Seed funding through a partnership with venture studio Aegis Ventures.
Co-founded by Delphine Le Grand and Cindy Yan, Protocole is a peptide platform focused on clinical-grade access and personalised protocols. The US startup raised $6 million in funding, including a Seed round led by Rare Capital.
Co-founded by Frida Leibowitz and Rachel Lauren, Debbie rewards users with cash for saving money and paying down debt. The New York City-based startup raised a $5.3 million Seed round co-led by Trustage Ventures and Reseda Group, with additional support from One Way Ventures and Zeal Capital Partners.
Co-founded and led by Sophia Millar, Sonibel Instruments develops a real-time weld quality control system to help manufacturers detect defects during production. The Canadian startup raised $1.6 million/ C$2.2 million in Seed funding led by Maple VC, with participation from Champion Hill Ventures and Dorm Room Fund.
Capital and Career Wins for Women in VC
Fund Launches
Co-led by Leen Kawas, PhD, Propel Bio, an LA-based biotech VC firm, raised a $100 million fund.
Co-led by Nora Bavey, Thea Messel, and Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, Unconventional Ventures announced the second close of their Fund II to back overlooked founders.
Laura Thompson joined LGT Capital Partners as Managing Director.
Nadia Karkar joined 500 Global as a Managing Partner.
Mariana Mihalusova has been promoted to Partner at Venrock, a Palo Alto, California-based venture capital firm.
In Other Wor(l)d’s
Women’s Health: UK Government Launches £1.5M Femtech Challenge Fund as Part of Renewed Women’s Health Strategy
