10 stories from 4 sources

AI captured the venture market and reset startup valuations

Day’s Recap

Supporting Articles

7:32 AMFortune

87.5% of venture dollars went to AI. The rest fought over scraps

Summary

PitchBook data for the second quarter shows that AI startups captured 87.5% of all venture funding, leaving the remaining sectors to compete for a sharply smaller share of capital.

The venture market has split into an AI financing boom and a funding drought for

Why it matters

AI's dominance is reshaping startup survival odds and narrowing the pool of companies that can raise growth capital.

Link to Story

1:41 PMTechCrunch

OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raises $2B to bring AI to the enterprise

Summary

Thrive Holdings raised $2 billion at a $12 billion valuation from investors including SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners, and Alimeter Capital. The OpenAI-backed company plans to use the funding to expand its effort to bring artificial intelligence into enterprise operations.

A $2 billion round at this valuation gives Thrive Holdings the resources to pursue enterprise

Why it matters

AI infrastructure and applications are attracting megadeals as investors bet that enterprise adoption will become the sector's next growth engine.

Link to Story

12:04 PMTechCrunch

Lovable confirms new $13.3B valuation, raises another $400M

Summary

Lovable raised another $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation after reporting $500 million in annualized run-rate revenue in June. The financing reflects the rapid growth of its AI-powered software development business.

Lovable's revenue milestone is now driving a valuation measured against substantial commercial traction, not just

Why it matters

AI software startups are beginning to command multibillion-dollar valuations on the strength of rapidly scaling revenue.

Link to Story

Other Developments

A curated list of other prominent stories from this day.

7:12 PMPYMNTS

Yuno Raises $45 Million to Drive Global Payments Push

Summary

Yuno raised $45 million in Series B funding to expand its AI-native operating system for global payments and financial services. Its platform gives enterprise merchants, banks and wallets access to more than 1,000 connections through a single API.

The funding gives Yuno capital to scale a unified infrastructure layer for cross-border payments. Its

Why it matters

Payment orchestration is becoming a strategic layer as businesses seek simpler access to fragmented global financial networks.

Link to Story

3:38 PMBloomberg Markets

‘Call Her Daddy’ Host Raises Money at $500M Valuation

Summary

Unwell, the media company founded by podcast host Alex Cooper, has secured an investment from Hollywood talent agent Patrick Whitesell at a valuation of $500 million, according to people familiar with the deal.

The investment gives Unwell a valuation that places a creator-led media company alongside substantial venture-backed

Why it matters

Creator businesses are attracting institutional valuations as investors bet that personal audiences can become broader media platforms.

Link to Story

2:19 PMTechCrunch

AI coding startup Cognition reportedly already in talks to raise at $40B valuation

Summary

AI coding startup Cognition is reportedly discussing a new funding round at a valuation of up to $40 billion, only months after raising $1 billion at a $26 billion valuation.

The potential repricing would lift Cognition's valuation by roughly 54% in a matter of months,

Why it matters

AI valuations are still accelerating faster than most startups can establish durable economics.

Link to Story

1:59 PMPYMNTS

ApartmentIQ Raises $25 Million For Real Estate Intelligence Platform

Summary

ApartmentIQ raised $25 million from Susquehanna Growth Equity as its real estate intelligence platform surpassed coverage of 8 million units. The company says it is building tools that can analyze markets in real time, predict outcomes, and support decision-making.

The funding gives ApartmentIQ capital to expand from data coverage into predictive and potentially automated

Why it matters

Real estate software is moving from retrospective market reports toward real-time intelligence and predictive tools.

Link to Story

8:54 AMPYMNTS

Cognition AI Eyes $40 Billion Valuation From New Funding

Summary

Cognition AI is discussing a funding round that could value the AI coding startup at least $40 billion, more than doubling its valuation in less than three months.

The proposed valuation would place Cognition among the most highly valued private AI companies before

Why it matters

A $40 billion deal would reinforce the concentration of venture capital and investor expectations around AI companies.

Link to Story

7:00 AMTechCrunch

AI code-testing startup Blacksmith’s valuation jumps almost 10x in less than a year

Summary

Blacksmith says its revenue has grown more than tenfold over the past year, driving an almost tenfold increase in its valuation in less than 12 months.

The valuation surge reflects investor demand for AI infrastructure that improves software development rather than

Why it matters

The deal shows that AI startups serving core engineering workflows can command exceptional valuations when growth is both rapid and measurable.

Link to Story

3:02 AMFortune

Forget the gala, these Silicon Valley schools run their own venture capital funds

Summary

Several elite Bay Area schools have created small venture funds using donated capital, with parent-donors from Sequoia, Lightspeed, and Battery helping select early-stage startup investments. The model gives schools a new way to deploy philanthropic money as enthusiasm for startup exits returns.

The shift turns affluent school communities into informal investment networks, giving connected parents influence over

Why it matters

Private-school fundraising is expanding into startup finance, potentially widening the advantage enjoyed by families already embedded in Silicon Valley.

Link to Story

Make it yours

Build Your First Pass.

Pick your topics, set your cadence, and receive your personalized First Pass in your inbox. It’s that simple!