News Heat Trend
OpenAI Founder-Backed Energy Startup Helion Raises $465 Million, Led by Thrive Capital
Helion, a nuclear fusion energy startup backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, has announced the completion of a $465 million funding round, led by Thrive Capital. The post-investment valuation has reached $15.5 billion, nearly three times its previous valuation of $543 million. It is reported that the company is dedicated to developing nuclear fusion technology to power data centers and other customers. However, it has yet to prove the feasibility of its technology in actual electricity production. Investors remain highly confident in its potential, and this round of funding will be used to accelerate technology development and commercial advancement. (The Information)
Samsung Securities plans to acquire 2% stake in Upbit operator Dunamu for $204 million
Samsung Securities has passed a board resolution to acquire 2% of Dunamu's shares for 306.3 billion won (approximately $204 million), totaling around 697,000 shares at an acquisition price of about 439,000 won per share.The sellers in this transaction include Kakao Investment, Kakao Ventures, Kakao Youth Startup Fund, and the KIF-Kakao Woori Bank Technology Finance Investment Fund. Based on the transaction price, Dunamu's overall valuation is estimated at approximately 15.3 trillion won (about $10.2 billion).Samsung Securities stated that this investment aims to enhance its competitiveness in the digital asset business and expand related synergies. Previously, Hanwha Investment & Securities also acquired Dunamu shares held by Kakao Investment at the same valuation. (Yonhap News Agency)
AI Programming Startup Cognition Raises Over $1 Billion, Valued at $26 Billion
According to Bloomberg, AI programming startup Cognition AI has announced a new funding round exceeding $1 billion, valuing the company at $26 billion post-funding—more than double its valuation from the previous round in September 2025. Lux Capital, General Catalyst, and 8VC co-led the round, with participation from Ribbit Capital, Atreides Management LP, and Founders Fund—Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm.
Former Twitter CEO Launches AI Startup Parallel Web Systems, Raises $100M in Series B Funding with $2B Valuation
According to The Wall Street Journal, Parallel Web Systems—an AI startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal—has raised $100 million in its Series B funding round, led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. The company’s valuation has risen to $2 billion, bringing its total funding to $230 million. Parallel focuses on building web search infrastructure for AI agents, supporting in-depth research use cases such as investment research, insurance claims processing, and government contract analysis. Over 100,000 developers are already using its platform, with customers including legal AI company Harvey. Proceeds from this round will be used to expand the sales team and strengthen R&D efforts.
On-chain lending platform Votre closes $3.75M seed round led by a16z CSX
On-chain lending platform Votre has raised $3.75 million in seed funding, led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, Druid Ventures, and angel investors from Goldman Sachs, Harvard University, and OrangeDAO. Founded in 2025, Votre operates a non-custodial crypto lending platform on Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 network, enabling users to borrow USD—settled the same day—using Bitcoin as collateral, with loan sizes ranging from approximately $25,000 to $5 million. The funds will be used to scale technical infrastructure, increase platform capacity, enhance liquidity management tools, and strengthen risk and compliance systems.
On-chain lending platform Votre closes $3.75M seed round led by a16z CSX
On-chain lending platform Votre has raised $3.75 million in seed funding, led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, Druid Ventures, and angel investors from Goldman Sachs, Harvard University, and OrangeDAO. Founded in 2025, Votre operates a non-custodial crypto lending platform on Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 network, enabling users to borrow USD—settled the same day—using Bitcoin as collateral, with loan sizes ranging from approximately $25,000 to $5 million. The funds will be used to scale technical infrastructure, increase platform capacity, enhance liquidity management tools, and strengthen risk and compliance systems.
Polymarket to Investigate “Insider Copy-Trading” Startup Amid Concerns Over Potential Market Manipulation
According to The Information, prediction market Polymarket has announced audits of several early-stage startups integrated into its ecosystem. These startups had previously been accused of identifying and distributing suspected “insider trading accounts” to steer users into copy-trading those accounts. Among the implicated projects are Kreo—which touts itself as a service for “detecting insider accounts ahead of time”—and Polycool—which offers an “insider trading guide.” By pushing suspicious account trading data to users, these platforms have amplified market concerns about insider trading and market manipulation. Polymarket’s move signals its strengthened compliance oversight of its ecosystem, following sustained external scrutiny over potential insider trading risks in prediction markets.
AMD Announces $2.5 Billion Investment in UK AI Infrastructure, Collaborating with Startup Oriole to Deploy the World’s First All-Photonic-Network AI System
According to Tech Funding News, AMD CEO Lisa Su announced at London Tech Week that the company will invest up to £2 billion in UK AI infrastructure over the next five years, covering national supercomputing infrastructure development and university research collaborations. Meanwhile, AMD is partnering with Oriole Networks—a startup spun out from University College London (UCL)—to deploy the world’s first large-scale, all-photonic network AI system under the UK government’s £50 million ARIA Inference Scaling Lab initiative. This system integrates Oriole’s PRISM photonic networking platform with AMD Instinct GPUs and EPYC CPUs; by completely eliminating electronic switches from the network core, it reduces core network energy consumption by 81% and cuts GPU idle time from 60% to under 1%.
OpenAI Founder-Backed Energy Startup Helion Raises $465 Million, Led by Thrive Capital
Helion, a nuclear fusion energy startup backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, has announced the completion of a $465 million funding round, led by Thrive Capital. The post-investment valuation has reached $15.5 billion, nearly three times its previous valuation of $543 million. It is reported that the company is dedicated to developing nuclear fusion technology to power data centers and other customers. However, it has yet to prove the feasibility of its technology in actual electricity production. Investors remain highly confident in its potential, and this round of funding will be used to accelerate technology development and commercial advancement. (The Information)
Y Combinator holds its first-ever interview for crypto startups in New York
Odaily Startup Incubator Y Combinator will hold its first-ever interview session specifically for fintech and crypto startups in New York City, aiming to support more companies in this sector. The interviews will be held offline on May 21st. Selected startups will join the Summer 2026 batch and receive a standard investment of $500,000. Chosen projects can opt to receive funding in the form of USDC stablecoins. To date, Y Combinator has invested in over 150 crypto and fintech companies, including Coinbase, OpenSea, and Kalshi.
Former Twitter CEO Launches AI Startup Parallel Web Systems, Raises $100M in Series B Funding with $2B Valuation
According to The Wall Street Journal, Parallel Web Systems—an AI startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal—has raised $100 million in its Series B funding round, led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. The company’s valuation has risen to $2 billion, bringing its total funding to $230 million. Parallel focuses on building web search infrastructure for AI agents, supporting in-depth research use cases such as investment research, insurance claims processing, and government contract analysis. Over 100,000 developers are already using its platform, with customers including legal AI company Harvey. Proceeds from this round will be used to expand the sales team and strengthen R&D efforts.
Sarah Wolf, Head of Marketing for Coinbase Base, announced her departure to join Anthropic and lead marketing for its startup.
According to Sarah Wolf’s own post on X, her nearly five-year tenure at Coinbase is coming to an end. She joined Coinbase in 2023 as its first Builder Marketer and co-founded Base with Jesse Pollak, driving its growth into a leading global blockchain ecosystem with a builder community spanning over 52 countries. During her time at Coinbase, she led several landmark initiatives, including Onchain Summer—a collaboration with Adidas and Coca-Cola—integrating USDC payments into Shopify, and launching BaseCamp, the flagship builder summit. After leaving Coinbase, Sarah Wolf will join Anthropic as Head of Startup Marketing, focusing on supporting the startup ecosystem building around Claude. She has invited founders and builders currently developing with Claude to reach out to her.
On-chain lending platform Votre closes $3.75M seed round led by a16z CSX
On-chain lending platform Votre has raised $3.75 million in seed funding, led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, Druid Ventures, and angel investors from Goldman Sachs, Harvard University, and OrangeDAO. Founded in 2025, Votre operates a non-custodial crypto lending platform on Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 network, enabling users to borrow USD—settled the same day—using Bitcoin as collateral, with loan sizes ranging from approximately $25,000 to $5 million. The funds will be used to scale technical infrastructure, increase platform capacity, enhance liquidity management tools, and strengthen risk and compliance systems.
Related news
AMD Announces $2.5 Billion Investment in UK AI Infrastructure, Collaborating with Startup Oriole to Deploy the World’s First All-Photonic-Network AI System
According to Tech Funding News, AMD CEO Lisa Su announced at London Tech Week that the company will invest up to £2 billion in UK AI infrastructure over the next five years, covering national supercomputing infrastructure development and university research collaborations. Meanwhile, AMD is partnering with Oriole Networks—a startup spun out from University College London (UCL)—to deploy the world’s first large-scale, all-photonic network AI system under the UK government’s £50 million ARIA Inference Scaling Lab initiative. This system integrates Oriole’s PRISM photonic networking platform with AMD Instinct GPUs and EPYC CPUs; by completely eliminating electronic switches from the network core, it reduces core network energy consumption by 81% and cuts GPU idle time from 60% to under 1%.
OpenAI Founder-Backed Energy Startup Helion Raises $465 Million, Led by Thrive Capital
Helion, a nuclear fusion energy startup backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, has announced the completion of a $465 million funding round, led by Thrive Capital. The post-investment valuation has reached $15.5 billion, nearly three times its previous valuation of $543 million. It is reported that the company is dedicated to developing nuclear fusion technology to power data centers and other customers. However, it has yet to prove the feasibility of its technology in actual electricity production. Investors remain highly confident in its potential, and this round of funding will be used to accelerate technology development and commercial advancement. (The Information)
Samsung Securities plans to acquire 2% stake in Upbit operator Dunamu for $204 million
Samsung Securities has passed a board resolution to acquire 2% of Dunamu's shares for 306.3 billion won (approximately $204 million), totaling around 697,000 shares at an acquisition price of about 439,000 won per share.The sellers in this transaction include Kakao Investment, Kakao Ventures, Kakao Youth Startup Fund, and the KIF-Kakao Woori Bank Technology Finance Investment Fund. Based on the transaction price, Dunamu's overall valuation is estimated at approximately 15.3 trillion won (about $10.2 billion).Samsung Securities stated that this investment aims to enhance its competitiveness in the digital asset business and expand related synergies. Previously, Hanwha Investment & Securities also acquired Dunamu shares held by Kakao Investment at the same valuation. (Yonhap News Agency)
AI Programming Startup Cognition Raises Over $1 Billion, Valued at $26 Billion
According to Bloomberg, AI programming startup Cognition AI has announced a new funding round exceeding $1 billion, valuing the company at $26 billion post-funding—more than double its valuation from the previous round in September 2025. Lux Capital, General Catalyst, and 8VC co-led the round, with participation from Ribbit Capital, Atreides Management LP, and Founders Fund—Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm.
Y Combinator holds its first-ever interview for crypto startups in New York
Odaily Startup Incubator Y Combinator will hold its first-ever interview session specifically for fintech and crypto startups in New York City, aiming to support more companies in this sector. The interviews will be held offline on May 21st. Selected startups will join the Summer 2026 batch and receive a standard investment of $500,000. Chosen projects can opt to receive funding in the form of USDC stablecoins. To date, Y Combinator has invested in over 150 crypto and fintech companies, including Coinbase, OpenSea, and Kalshi.
MoonPay Acquires Crypto Security Startup Sodot in $100 Million All-Stock Deal
MoonPay has announced the acquisition of Israeli crypto security startup Sodot in a $100 million all-stock transaction. Upon completion of this acquisition, Sodot will be integrated into the company's newly formed MoonPay Institutional division. It is reported that MoonPay Institutional will provide a range of cryptocurrency and blockchain services to large traditional financial institutions, including trading, tokenized securities, payments, wallet management, and stablecoin issuance. The division is led by Caroline D. Pham, who joined MoonPay in December of last year as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, having previously served as Acting Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). (Bloomberg)