AI infrastructure Developer platform (DB / backend) Enterprise security & compliance AI hardware / chip startups ERP automation / finance AI

Announcements, funding rounds, valuations, product/traction or official program news dated within the lastest week (Sept 28 — Oct 4, 2025)

Posted on October 04, 2025 at 05:11 PM

Announcements, funding rounds, valuations, product/traction or official program news dated within the lastest week (Sept 28 — Oct 4, 2025)

Startup Name Sector Round Investors Valuation Notes
Supabase Developer platform / DB Series E $100M Co-led by Accel & Peak XV (plus returning investors) $5.0B Rapid follow-on round (Series E) led/co-led by Accel; cited growth as reason for repricing. (Reuters)
Dash0 / Agent0 Observability / AI developer tools Series A $35M Accel, Cherry Ventures (lead) Undisclosed AI-native observability copilot; round led by Accel to scale agentic observability (product & go-to-market). (Dash0)
Thinking Machines / (Naveen Rao’s new HW startup) (report) AI hardware Early / target mega-round Reportedly backed / eyeing lead from a16z Targeting ~$5B (reported) Media reporting indicates a16z interest/backing for a high-ambition AI-chip/hardware play; subject to confirmation as round is evolving. (TechCrunch)
DualEntry Enterprise financial software / AI ERP Series A $90M Lightspeed (lead), Khosla, GV ~$415M (reported company value figure in coverage) Large Series A to deepen ERP automation/AI integration; Lightspeed leading follow-on into high-growth B2B SaaS. (Reuters)
Oneleet (YC-backed) Cybersecurity / Compliance Series A $33M Dawn Capital (lead); participation from Y Combinator, angels Undisclosed (~$35M total raised to date) YC participant; product combines AI + pentester verification to replace “compliance theatre”; ~ $7M ARR reported by company. (TechCrunch)
Perplexity (acq. of Visual Electric team) AI / UX for design (team hire / small acqui-hire) Acquisition / team hire Perplexity acquiring team from Sequoia-backed Visual Electric N/A Perplexity acquired the Visual Electric team (Visual Electric had Sequoia seed backing) — strategic hire to boost multimodal/UX capabilities. (TechCrunch)
OpenAI (secondary share sale) AI infrastructure / platform Secondary transaction (employee/share sale) ~ $6.6B sold Buyers include SoftBank, MGX, Thrive, others $500B (reported post-sale valuation) Large secondary (employee shares) pushed OpenAI valuation to ~$500B; SoftBank listed among investors participating in purchase. Macro implication: more capital chasing top AI names. (Reuters)
Techstars (Fall cohorts) Accelerator / multi-sector Program intake / demo day announcements Internal / partners N/A Techstars announced its Fall 2025 accelerator cohorts kicked off across ~11+ cities (programs and regional demo days now active). Useful for deal-flow and scouting. (Techstars)
500 Global (500 Startups) Accelerator / regional programs Program announcements / demo day 500 Global (firm) N/A 500 Global running Founder programs & a Flagship Demo Day next week (Batch 36); continued regional accelerator activity and partnerships (Africa, MENA, creators). Good source of seed deal flow. (500 Global)

Brief commentary — trends, assessment & actionable insights

Top trending sectors (7-day signal):

  • AI infrastructure & hardware (big interest / mega-round chatter — a16z linked to high-ambition chip plays). (TechCrunch)
  • Developer platform tooling / infra (Supabase repricing to $5B; Accel doubling down). (Reuters)
  • AI-native developer ops / observability (Dash0) — investors are prioritizing tools that enable production AI. (Dash0)
  • B2B security & compliance (Oneleet) — investor appetite for products that replace manual compliance with automated/AI-augmented controls. (TechCrunch)
  • Enterprise SaaS / ERP automation (DualEntry) — large Series A sizes indicate market willingness to pay for automation in core finance ops. (Reuters)

Market potential (high-level):

  • AI infra & developer tooling: Very large TAM; winners benefit from network effects and integration into engineering stacks. Recent Supabase and Dash0 rounds show follow-the-money into open-source / developer productivity plays. (Reuters)
  • Security/compliance SaaS: Sticky enterprise contracts and strong renewals potential; a differentiated product that demonstrably reduces breach risk can scale quickly (Oneleet’s traction & ARR cited). (TechCrunch)

Key risks:

  • Valuation & execution: Rapidly rising valuations (e.g., Supabase jumping to $5B; OpenAI at $500B in a secondary) raise exit risk if public markets soften — investors must underwrite execution and revenue growth, not just narrative. (Reuters)
  • Hardware capital intensity & concentration risk: a16z-backed hardware plays aim high but require long timelines, supply-chain and IP moats. Validate partner commitments (OEMs, fabs). (TechCrunch)
  • Crowded developer / infra layer: Many competing OSS + hosted approaches; defensibility needs strong product-led growth + premium enterprise features. (Reuters)

Strategic fit (for LPs / angels / corporate VCs):

  • Early-stage LPs / angels: prioritize follow-on checks in AI infra and security names that show early revenue signals (ARR, enterprise pilots). Oneleet is an example where YC + angel validation plus ARR improved signal. (TechCrunch)
  • Corporate / strategic investors: consider partnerships with AI infrastructure and hardware plays (a16z interest suggests large strategic synergies but also execution risk). (TechCrunch)

Actionable items (investor playbook for next 7–30 days)

  1. Re-evaluate developer infra exposure — run diligence on top-of-stack integrations (Supabase, Dash0): confirm ARR growth, churn, and enterprise adoption signals. (Reuters)
  2. Prioritise security/compliance deals with revenue — target companies with >$5M ARR and demonstrable enterprise wins (faster path to predictable monetization). Oneleet is a good recent comparitor. (TechCrunch)
  3. Watch a16z hardware signals closely — if a16z leads a mega round, that can reshape supply/value chains; but insist on milestones (tape-outs, partnerships with fabs). (TechCrunch)
  4. Scout accelerators (Techstars / 500 Global demo days) for seed deal flow — prioritize demo-day follow-ups in enterprise security & AI tooling tracks. (Techstars)
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