This is a monthly column that runs down five interesting startup funding deals every month that may have flown under the radar. Check out our June entry here.
A host of funded startups caught our attention this month, ranging from a flu vaccine developer to a startup identifying AI deepfakes to another mapping underground utilities. Let’s take a closer look.
Startup eyes $96M Series B to help see underground
Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
In fact, when it comes to things like underground utility lines or pipes, knowing they exist before you start excavating can be worth many millions of dollars.
That’s the premise for Exodigo, a startup that earlier this month announced an oversubscribed $96 million Series B round.
The company’s technology uses artificial intelligence, 3D imaging and advanced sensors to map and visualize underground infrastructure so that new construction and infrastructure projects can be designed and built with fuller knowledge of what’s buried there — mitigating risks and unnecessary excavation, delays and budget overruns, the company says.
Exodigo says it counts more than 50 transit agencies, municipalities and utility companies around the world as its customers, including Amtrak, California High-Speed Rail Authority, Florida DOT, Metro Los Angeles and Sound Transit.
Its Series B was co-led by early investors Zeev Ventures and Greenfield Partners. Existing investors 10D VC, Square Peg Capital and Jibe Ventures also participated, along with new investors Vintage Investment Partners and Leblon Capital.
“Exodigo is redefining AI for geophysics in an effort to solve the underground and unlock a $500B market. Providing access to precise underground visibility has the potential to drive tens of billions of dollars in efficiency savings across a variety of industries and global growth centers,” Greenfield partner Raz Mangel said in a statement.
The company, based in Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, has now raised $212 million since its founding in 2021, per Crunchbase.
Universal flu vaccine developer gets $45M shot in the arm
What if the flu shot was a one-and-done deal like so many other immunizations for infectious diseases?
Earlier this month, South San Francisco, California-based biotech startup Centivax raised $45 million in a Series A round to further development and commercialization of its mRNA candidate for what would be the world’s first universal flu vaccine, an idea that’s captivated scientists for decades.
Such a vaccine would be a game changer in the global fight against the flu and pandemics. The flu kills as many as 500,000 people globally a year but is difficult to immunize against as it produces new variants each season, with annual vaccine formulations varying greatly in their effectiveness.
Centivax’s new funding came from Steve Jurvetson’s Future Ventures, with participation from NFX, Bold Capital Partners, Base4 Capital, Kendall Capital Partners, AmplifyBio and existing investors.
But as Axios’ Dan Primack noted recently, the funding comes at a precarious time, with high degrees of public skepticism — largely unfounded — about vaccines, particularly mRNA shots. The company may also run into resistance as it works to secure FDA approval from drug regulators.
While the Trump administration has said it wants to develop a universal flu vaccine, it seems to favor older vaccine technology over mRNA and other newer approaches — a decision that has reportedly baffled many in the scientific and medical communities.
Still, Centivax founder and CEO Jake Glanville told Primack that he’s optimistic about working with the administration: “This FDA already has fast-tracked a couple of mRNA vaccines,” he said, adding that “they just put $500 million toward a universal flu shot effort — not ours, but they think mRNA needs more study and we’re here to do more study.”
While the company is for now focused on developing a flu vaccine, it has said its technology could eventually be used to develop universal immunizations for coronaviruses, malaria, HIV and herpes, and even a universal antivenom.
Centivax has raised more than $59 million in funding to date, per Crunchbase. Along with the new round, the startup also announced the addition of former Gates Medical Research Institute CEO and former Merck and Pfizer executive Dr. Emilio Emini to its board of directors.
Good AI vs. bad AI
AI-related startups are raising tens of billions of dollars from venture investors, with generative AI giants such as OpenAI, xAI and Anthropic attracting by far the most capital. In Q2, nearly half of the $91 billion raised by startups globally went to AI-related companies, per Crunchbase data.
The proliferation of AI in every sphere of life also means there is a growing market for companies that aim to tackle the technology’s ills. In that vein, Milan-based IdentifAI has raised a €5 million (approximately $5.9 million) funding round led by United Ventures for its AI deepfake detection technology.
The company, founded just last year, says its platform can detect “with a high degree of confidence and accuracy” whether a piece of content — an image, voice recording or video — was created or manipulated by generative AI.
“IdentifAI is building technology to address one of the most pressing challenges created by the rapid advancement of AI itself: distinguishing what’s real from what’s not. This is a foundational issue for the future of AI,” Massimiliano Magrini, managing partner and co-founder of United Ventures, said in a funding announcement. “The team has demonstrated exceptional vision, execution, and international ambition — positioning IdentifAI as one of Europe’s most promising players in the fight against disinformation.”
IdentifAI’s latest raise comes less than a year after its €2.2 million seed round, also led by United Ventures.
Financial planner for retirees puts another $10M in the bank
A growing number of older Americans face financial insecurity in what should be their golden years. An AARP survey last year found that 20% of Americans aged 50 and older have no retirement savings at all, and more than 60% of that group worry they won’t be able to financially sustain themselves in retirement.
Other studies suggest the issue is only set to worsen. More than 4 million Americans are expected to retire each year through 2027, according to McKinsey research cited by Retirable, a startup offering a financial platform for retirees that this month announced new funding.
New York-based Retirable said earlier in July that it has raised a $10 million Series A round led by IA Capital Group. New investors including Nationwide Ventures, Western & Southern Financial Group and Clocktower Technology Ventures also joined, as did existing investors Primary Venture Partners, Portage Ventures, Vestigo Ventures and SilverCircle.
The company said its suite of wealth management and financial planning services is aimed at everyday older Americans. About 70% of its customers have reportedly never worked with a retirement planner before.
Retirable’s service pairs each client with a fiduciary adviser who offers guidance on tax strategy, Social Security timing, housing options, Medicare enrollment and healthcare planning. It also offers a debit card, custom investment portfolios, high-yield cash management accounts, and what it describes as a “proprietary bond ladder strategy” that secures seven years of predictable income by staggering bond maturities.
“We started Retirable because there’s an enormous gap in the market and we saw too many Americans retiring without a plan,” CEO and co-founder Tyler End said in a statement. “Most wealth management firms focus on the affluent, with account minimums starting at $500,000 or more. But the average near-retiree has far less in savings, and nowhere to turn for professional advice. We exist to serve this forgotten middle of Americans who deserve the same peace of mind and confidence in their retirement.”
The company said it has doubled its assets under management in the past six months, to $175 million.
Along with the new funding announcement, Retirable disclosed a previously unannounced $4.7 million seed round by Portage that it says brings its total funding to date to $25 million.
AI legal matchmaker raises $3.5M
For many people, finding good legal help can be surprisingly difficult — often coming down to settling for the attorney with the best marketing team or biggest SEO budget.
With that challenge in mind, San Francisco-based legal tech OpenLaw said it raised $3.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round for its platform that uses AI to match people seeking access to legal services with vetted solo and small-firm attorneys.
The company, which launched just last year, says it aims to make legal assistance more accessible for the millions of people who struggle to find qualified and affordable attorneys suited to work on their particular legal issue. While legal marketplaces such as UpCounsel and ContractsCounsel exist, they focus on business or transactional law.
OpenLaw says its service is free for clients and the intake process takes only a few hours, versus the weeks it might take to search for and vet an attorney otherwise.
Clients submit a brief description of their case, and OpenLaw’s AI tech then matches them with attorneys — solo practitioners or small-firm lawyers, who are typically much more affordable than their Big Law counterparts — who respond with tailored proposals and pricing. For the attorneys, the platform functions as a lead-generation tool, one which OpenLaw says significantly cuts intake time and client-acquisition costs.
OpenLaw said that since launching last year, it has helped make more than 1,000 connections between clients and attorneys and onboarded more than 130 lawyers.
“The legal system wasn’t designed for the majority of Americans — and it hasn’t evolved,” CEO and founder Andrew Guzman said in a statement. “Growing up, my family couldn’t afford legal help. Later, as a lawyer who built a solo practice into a multi-state law firm, I saw firsthand how inefficient the system is for both sides. OpenLaw fixes what’s broken — for the people who need help and the lawyers who want to provide it.”
OpenLaw’s funding round was co-led by Flint Capital and Slauson & Co. The LegalTech Fund, Mindful VC, Everywhere VC, Wisdom Ventures, SQII Ventures and Gaingels also participated.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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