The challenge of integrating renewable energy sources into the grid is a fast-unfolding startup opportunity. U.K.-based Axle Energy jumped on the chance to accelerate grid decarbonization when the business was founded early last year. The global spike in energy prices triggered by the Ukraine war had pushed the idea of building software to support the […]
A VC told Keely Cat-Wells to get a male, able-bodied co-founder. She balked, nabbed a $2M seed round.
Talent acquisition platform Making Space, founded in 2023 by noted disability activist Keely Cat-Wells, announced today that it has closed on an oversubscribed $ 2 million pre-seed round led by Beta Boom. The startup seeks to help companies from all sectors hire, train, and retain disabled talent. Prospective employees can sign up for free to […]
With $6M in seed funding, Enso plans to bring AI agents to SMBs
Running a small business means doing more with less. AI agents can help, but building custom agents for specific workflows remains challenging, even with today’s low-code/no-code tools. The idea behind Enso — which is came out of stealth by announcing a $ 6 million seed funding round Tuesday — is to give small and medium-sized […]
Seed VCs are turning to new ‘pro rata’ funds that help them compete with the big firms
Lee Edwards, partner at Root VC, has a saying at his firm that “pro rata rights are earned, not given.” That may be a bit of a stretch since pro rata refers to a term that VCs put in their term sheets that gives them the right to buy more shares in a portfolio company […]
Quantum Rise grabs $15M seed for its AI-driven ‘Consulting 2.0’ startup
Quantum Rise, a Chicago-based startup which does AI-driven automation for companies like dunnhumby (a retail analytics platform for the grocery industry), has raised a $ 15 million seed round from Erie Street Growth Partners. Its approach is somewhat akin to UIPath’s, a company famous for bringing robotic process automation to the enterprise, but with a […]