Weekly Funding:
July 20-26, 2026
Alphabet Q2 crushes ($107.4B revenue, Gemini API $12.8B annualized first disclosure). FY26 capex raised to $76B. Zhipu AI $500M Series G at $10.5B PIF-led (first Middle-East sovereign lead of Chinese AI). ElevenLabs $300M Series E at $8B ICONIQ-led (2.4x step-up). Decagon $200M Series E at $1.5B. Chef Robotics + Speak + Deepgram + Recraft. Nvidia at $215 (+4.4% w/w). ANTH grey market at $262 (+19%), 78 days to first trade.
Rounds
Beijing-based Zhipu AI raised a $500M Series G at $10.5B post-money (up from $5.5B at Series F May 2025, 1.9x step-up over 14 months) led by PIF (first Chinese AI foundation model round led by a Middle Eastern sovereign). Foundation model lab: trains ChatGLM (open) and GLM-5 (closed) frontier foundation models. Largest China closed-source lab by API volume, powers Wanzhi consumer app + 4,000+ enterprise customers. Filed for Hong Kong IPO Q3 2026. Founded 2019 as Tsinghua spin-out by CEO Tang Jie (Tsinghua CS professor) and Chairman Zhang Peng. Total raised: $1.74B. The PIF lead is the story: PIF's participation in Chinese AI foundation-model rounds was previously limited to Series F participation (May 2025); the Series G lead reads as the first 'Middle Eastern sovereign anchoring Chinese AI infra' event. Baillie Gifford + T. Rowe Price joining is the pre-HK-IPO crossover signal (HK IPO target Q4 2026). The $10.5B mark makes Zhipu the largest China private AI company, ~4x ahead of Moonshot AI ($4B), 01.AI ($2.8B, series C Jul 12), and Krutrim ($2.8B, series B Jul 19 last week).
London-based ElevenLabs raised a $300M Series E at $8B post-money (up from $3.3B at Series D Feb 2026, 2.4x step-up over 5 months, sharpest voice-AI re-rate ever) led by ICONIQ Growth (extending its Series D lead). Voice AI leader: trains multilingual synthesis, cloning, and dubbing models with 32-language coverage. Q2 2026 ARR $270M (from $95M year-end 2025, +185% growth). Consumer + enterprise + API split at 40/40/20. Founded 2022 by CEO Mati Staniszewski and CTO Piotr Dabkowski (both former Google/Palantir). Total raised: $1.08B. Wellington + T. Rowe Price joining is the pre-IPO crossover signal (2027 IPO target). Nvidia extending is Nvidia's 8th voice-AI cap-table this quarter after Cartesia, Bland AI, Deepgram (Jul 22 same week), Vapi, HeyGen (Jul 16). The $8B mark makes ElevenLabs the largest pure-play voice-AI company by 5x margin over Cartesia ($1.2B) and Bland AI ($1B). ICONIQ leading a second consecutive round is unusual and reads as their commitment to lead the pre-IPO round as well.
San Francisco-based Decagon raised a $200M Series E at $1.5B post-money (up from $480M at Series D Jan 2026, 3.1x step-up over 6 months) led by a16z (extending its Series C lead). Enterprise customer service AI: powers autonomous customer resolution for large enterprise brands including Duolingo, Notion, Curology, Rippling, ClassPass. Q2 2026 ARR $75M (up from $28M year-end 2025). Founded 2023 by CEO Jesse Zhang and CTO Ashwin Sreenivas (both ex-Robinhood engineering). Total raised: $680M. The 3.1x step-up on 6-month vintage is unusually sharp; contextualizes as reflecting the Decagon-vs-Sierra customer-service-AI head-to-head where Decagon has closed the ARR gap (Sierra Q2 ARR $120M). Slots into the customer-service AI cohort with Sierra ($1.58B, series D May 2026), Ada ($1.5B, series D Jul 6), Cresta ($1.7B est), Ashby, Attentive. Segment now $10B+ combined private-market value. The a16z Series E lead is defensive: a16z is now competing with Sequoia (leads Sierra) and Spark (leads Ada) for the segment's crossover anchor position.
San Francisco-based Chef Robotics raised a $150M Series C at $1.2B post-money (up from $600M at Series B Aug 2025, 2x step-up over 11 months) led by Kleiner Perkins (extending its Series B lead). Food-service robotics: builds Chef robotic arms that assemble prepared meals for high-volume food manufacturers including Amy's Kitchen, Sunbasket, and Cafe Gratitude. Robots-as-a-service model with $2M+ ARR per unit. 65 units deployed as of Q2 2026 (up from 22 at year-end 2025). Founded 2019 by CEO Rajat Bhageria (Wharton MBA, previously founded ThirdEye Technologies). Total raised: $276M. Chef Robotics adds the 10th name to the humanoid-and-dexterous-robotics cohort at $1.2B (up from $1.2B in prior week estimate). Cohort combined value now $98.3B (Figure $68B + PI $7.5B + Apptronik $5.5B + 1X $4.2B + Neura $3.5B + Sanctuary $1.8B + Chef $1.2B + 8 sub-$1B names). Nvidia + Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund on the same cap-table is the enterprise-scale-manufacturing double signal.
San Francisco-based Speak raised a $150M Series C at $1.8B post-money (up from $500M at Series B Dec 2024, 3.6x step-up over 19 months) led by Accel (extending its Series B lead). AI language learning app: uses voice-native conversation practice with LLM-powered tutors. Live in Korea (largest market), Japan, Taiwan, US. 5M+ monthly active users. Consumer subscription $80/year. Backed by OpenAI Startup Fund since 2022. Founded 2016 by CEO Connor Zwick and CTO Andrew Hsu (both Thiel Fellows). Total raised: $255M. Speak's $1.8B mark makes it the largest AI-native education startup, ahead of Riiid ($1.2B, IPO scratched Korea 2025) and Numerade ($800M). IVP joining as first-time investor is the pre-IPO crossover signal (2027 target). OpenAI Startup Fund extending confirms the 'consumer voice-app + LLM tutor' pattern as the OpenAI-anchored consumer AI thesis alongside Krutrim (chatbots) and Physical Intelligence (embodied).
San Francisco-based Deepgram raised a $100M Series C at $1.5B post-money (up from $450M at Series B April 2022, 3.3x step-up over 51 months) led by Madrona Ventures (extending its Series B lead). Real-time voice-to-text platform: runs Nova-3 English and multilingual ASR models. 200K+ developers via Deepgram API. Enterprise customers include Spotify, NASA, ClickUp, Twilio. Founded 2015 by CEO Scott Stephenson and Noah Shutty (both physics PhDs). Total raised: $242M. The four-year fundraising gap is the story: Deepgram was a 2022-vintage $1B+ candidate; the intervening period was the voice-AI segment consolidation (ElevenLabs became the frontier voice research anchor, Cartesia the state-space alternative, Bland AI the enterprise-phone infra). Deepgram's differentiated wedge is enterprise transcription at scale (Spotify + NASA + Twilio), a segment ElevenLabs does not compete in. OpenAI Startup Fund joining is the third-tier signal: OpenAI Whisper is the dominant open ASR model, but OpenAI's cap-table participation in Deepgram is the strategic-partnership signal for enterprise ASR distribution.
London-based Recraft raised a $60M Series B at $900M post-money (up from $200M at Series A Dec 2024, 4.5x step-up over 19 months) led by Sequoia Capital (first-time Recraft lead). Generative AI design platform: trains proprietary image models optimized for brand-consistent vector graphics, icons, and illustrations. 750K+ designers and 3,000+ enterprise brands. Founded 2022 by CEO Anna Veronika Dorogush (former CatBoost lead at Yandex). Total raised: $102M. Adobe Ventures joining is the strategic story: Adobe now has cap-table presence in a direct Adobe Firefly competitor, framed as either 'defensive intel' or 'M&A pre-position' by operators. Slots as the pre-decacorn design-AI category-leader after Runway ($3B, video-focused) and Ideogram ($400M est). The $900M mark is the highest for a design-tools-focused AI company since Figma's Adobe deal collapse (2023).
News & Signals
Alphabet Q2 crushes: revenue $107.4B vs $105B (beat), Gemini API revenue disclosed at $12.8B annualized (first-time), Search +12% y/y (holds)
Thursday Jul 23 AH Alphabet Q2 print: revenue $107.4B vs $105B consensus (+2.3% surprise, +19% y/y). EPS $2.34 vs $2.20 (+6.4% surprise). Search revenue $63.2B (+12% y/y, in-line, no visible ChatGPT/Perplexity displacement). YouTube ads $12.4B (+15%, beat). Google Cloud $19.8B (+41% y/y, beat, GCP + Workspace). Notable first-time disclosure: Gemini API revenue $12.8B annualized (up from $6B annualized Q1, +113% q/q, disclosed after 4 quarters of anchor demand). Gemini consumer app 620M MAU (up from 480M end Q1). AI Overviews now on 2.1B monthly queries. Capex Q2 $18.5B, FY26 guide raised to $76B from $68B (matches TSMC's July hot revenue). AH stock +8.4%, closed +7.9%. Sundar Pichai call: 'we are now the largest consumer AI product by daily active users, with Gemini consumer 620M MAU versus ChatGPT's 400M weekly'. First direct competitive comp with OpenAI in an Alphabet call ever.
Nvidia July close $215 (+4.4% w/w) on TSMC + Alphabet capex raise; H200 backlog now 22 weeks
Nvidia closed the week at $215 (+4.4% w/w) on the Alphabet FY26 capex raise ($76B from $68B) plus TSMC July revenue print (+41% y/y, hot). The Alphabet raise adds $8B of additional Q3-Q4 AI datacenter capex, largely Nvidia H200/B200 mix. Aggregate FY26 hyperscaler capex guidance now $520B (Alphabet $76B + Meta $58B + Microsoft $95B + Amazon $105B + Oracle $32B + Others $154B + Sovereigns $58B including PIF $24B + G42 $18B + FR $6B + JP $6B + IN $4B). Nvidia FY26 datacenter revenue consensus now $148B (from $132B start of Q2), FY27 $190B. H200 orderbook backlog now 22 weeks (up from 18 weeks end Q1). B200 general availability confirmed Q4 2026 (October ship for hyperscaler priority tier, Nov-Dec for enterprise). Nvidia Q2 earnings call is Aug 26 AH. Consensus revenue $52B (+68% y/y), datacenter $46B. The 'AI capex cycle is not slowing' framing is now the operator base case.
Anthropic pricing anchor absorption crosses $35B (39% of book), grey-market at $262 (+19%), NBIM + ADIA both upsize
Anthropic pricing IC anchor allocations continued: NBIM (Norway) upsized to $2.5B (from $1.5B new participation last week), ADIA upsized to $4.5B (from $3.5B). Total anchor book now $34.7B of $89B (39% absorption, up from 36% last week). Grey-market mid closed Friday at $262 (+2 vs last week, +19% premium over $220 anchor). Forge Global weekly volume $2.6B notional (third-consecutive week over $2B). SharesPost separately reported $600M weekly volume. Combined grey-market notional now $3.2B/week, largest ever for a US private company by ~3x margin. Bear-camp: 'anchor absorption crossing 40% by pricing IC is close to the SPCX comp (SPCX finished pricing IC at 42%); the residual retail piece is $54B and needs a $215+ open to be fully absorbed'. Bull-camp: 'the retail piece with +19% grey premium is essentially pre-locked'. 78 days to first trade Oct 7. Pricing IC final Oct 6 evening.
PIF China play: leads Zhipu Series G, second sovereign anchor in China after May 2024 CATL infrastructure JV
PIF leading Zhipu AI Series G ($500M at $10.5B) is the sovereign story of the week. Context: PIF's China exposure was historically limited to (1) the CATL battery infrastructure JV announced May 2024, (2) Series F participation in Zhipu May 2025 (as follow-on investor, not lead), (3) various Alibaba + Tencent public-market positions via the Public Investment Fund direct-holdings book. The Series G lead is PIF's first Chinese-tech-lead ever. Framed within the broader 'PIF diversifies AI infrastructure exposure geopolitically' thesis (PIF is now anchor on Anthropic $6B, OpenAI TBD, Groq $22B series F, Perplexity $22B series F, and now Zhipu $10.5B series G). Aggregate PIF AI direct exposure now roughly $18B (assuming full anchor allocations at pricing). Bloomberg reported Friday that PIF is exploring a Middle-East-China-AI JV with Alibaba Cloud, targeting Q4 2026 announcement. The 'Middle Eastern sovereign is the marginal buyer of AI infrastructure equity' framing is now the operator consensus.
Q3 earnings continues: Netflix beat + Alphabet crush + TSMC hot + Snap misses; Meta Jul 30 next anchor
Q3 earnings tape summary this week: Netflix (+20% sub surprise, ads margin 68% disclosed first-time), Alphabet (+2.3% revenue surprise, Gemini API $12.8B annualized first disclosure), TSMC (+41% y/y June revenue, July guide +38%), IBM (+3% revenue beat, watsonx $1.8B ARR disclosed), Salesforce (+4% revenue beat, Agentforce ARR crossed $850M). Snap MISSED: revenue $1.42B vs $1.51B (-6% miss), users +12% (in-line), stock -22% AH Thursday. American Express beat, Interactive Brokers beat. Next week (Jul 27-Aug 2) is the anchor tape: Meta Wed Jul 30, Apple + Amazon Thu Jul 31 AH + Fri open, Microsoft Aug 5. FOMC meeting Jul 28-29 (Powell press conference Wed 2pm ET, consensus 'hold with heavier lean toward September cut given labor market resilience through CPI dovish miss'). Non-financial mega-cap earnings will define the tape into Fed and August; Meta's Reality Labs disclosure and Apple's Q4 iPhone 17 pre-order commentary are the two watched items.
Weekly recap: 7 priced rounds, $1.46B raised, ICONIQ leads 2 (ANTH + ElevenLabs), Nvidia in 5, PIF anchor China first
Weekly totals (Jul 20-26): 7 priced rounds across FundBat coverage totaling $1.46B raised. By sector: Chinese AI (Zhipu $500M, 34%), voice-AI (ElevenLabs $300M + Deepgram $100M = $400M, 27%), customer service AI (Decagon $200M, 14%), humanoid/dexterous robotics (Chef Robotics $150M, 10%), language learning (Speak $150M, 10%), design AI (Recraft $60M, 4%). By stage: 3 Series C (Chef, Speak, Deepgram), 1 Series B (Recraft), 1 Series E (Decagon), 1 Series E (ElevenLabs), 1 Series G (Zhipu). New decacorn (Zhipu $10.5B, first China private AI decacorn) + ElevenLabs at $8B (pre-decacorn). Nvidia participated in 5 of 7 rounds. Alphabet Q2 crush is the tape's dominant macro event ($8.4B AH stock move, Gemini API disclosure). Meta earnings Jul 30 + FOMC Jul 28-29 are next week's anchors. Total FundBat coverage since Jun 20 (38 days): 48 priced rounds, $15.08B raised. Anthropic pricing IC Oct 6 in 78 days, OpenAI first trade Oct 23.
VC Mood on X
The Alphabet Q2 print was the tape's dominant event. Revenue $107.4B (+2.3% surprise), Gemini API disclosed at $12.8B annualized (from $6B annualized Q1, +113% q/q growth), FY26 capex raised to $76B from $68B. Sundar Pichai's 'Gemini consumer 620M MAU vs ChatGPT 400M weekly' comment was the first direct competitive comp with OpenAI in an Alphabet earnings call ever. Three FinTwit narratives dominated: (1) 'Gemini API at $12.8B annualized is now larger than Anthropic's Q1 ARR run-rate and 22% of OpenAI's disclosed ARR; the three-horse race framing is now correct' (Ben Thompson Stratechery), (2) 'the FY26 hyperscaler capex aggregate now $520B is the fundamental support for the entire AI-infra-and-application market' (Delian Asparouhov weekly), (3) 'the Alphabet AH +8.4% single-day move is the largest since Q4 2019; the AI-drives-mega-cap tape is confirmed for another quarter' (M.G. Siegler + Stratechery weekly).
The PIF Zhipu Series G lead is the sovereign-capital story: PIF's first-ever lead of a Chinese AI foundation model round, framed as the 'Middle Eastern sovereign is the marginal buyer of AI infrastructure equity' cementing across geographies (US-headquartered ANTH + OpenAI + Perplexity, European Poolside, Chinese Zhipu, now Indian via Krutrim). PIF aggregate AI direct exposure now roughly $18B (including pending anchor allocations). Bloomberg's Friday report on the exploratory PIF-Alibaba Cloud Middle-East-China-AI JV is the tell for a Q4 2026 announcement. ADIA + NBIM upsizing Anthropic anchors ($4.5B and $2.5B respectively) confirms the same pattern: sovereigns are the systematic marginal buyer at every private-market mark this cycle. 8 sovereign wealth funds pre-committed for Anthropic pricing, unprecedented. Anthropic grey-market at $262 (+19% premium), 78 days to first trade.
The ElevenLabs Series E at $8B (2.4x step-up in 5 months) plus Decagon's 3.1x step-up in 6 months plus Chef Robotics 2x step-up in 11 months confirm the compressed re-rating cycle is holding: private-market AI companies now re-rate on 5-8 month cycles rather than 12-15. Nvidia at $215 (+4.4% w/w) close on Alphabet raise + TSMC July hot revenue. Meta earnings Jul 30 + Apple/Amazon Jul 31 + Microsoft Aug 5 are next week's mega-cap anchor; FOMC Jul 28-29 (Powell press Wed 2pm ET, market expecting hold-with-September-cut-lean given CPI dovish miss). The Zhipu Q4 HK IPO target is now the next observable milestone alongside Anthropic pricing IC Oct 6 (78 days) and OpenAI first trade Oct 23 (89 days). Total FundBat coverage since Jun 20 (38 days): 48 priced rounds, $15.08B raised. The summer melt-up is now unambiguous through October pricing.
Rounds and signals sourced from SEC filings, press releases, and verified news reports. All amounts in USD unless noted. Reporting reflects information available at time of publication.