Funding

Anthropic is reportedly in late-stage talks for a $10 billion funding round, valuing the company at $350 billion. Coatue and GIC are leading the investment, signaling strong investor confidence. Founded by former OpenAI executives, Anthropic focuses on safe and ethical AI development with its Claude models. This funding would solidify its position against competitors like OpenAI and Google in the escalating AI arms race, with previous backing from Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

xAI has successfully raised $20 billion, surpassing its initial target and reaching a valuation of $230 billion. This funding comes amidst a boom in the AI sector, with significant investments in competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. The company also merged with X (formerly Twitter) and is facing regulatory scrutiny over its Grok chatbot’s content. Despite controversies, xAI has secured a partnership with the Department of Defense and is integrating Grok into prediction markets.

Nouveau Monde Graphite has successfully raised approximately $20 million through a public offering to fund key growth initiatives. The funds will be used for long-lead equipment procurement and construction at the Matawinie Mine, as well as engineering for the Bécancour Battery Material Plant. This capital infusion supports NMG’s goal of becoming a leading supplier of carbon-neutral advanced graphite materials for the growing battery market.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, is reportedly in advanced talks for a $15 billion funding round, potentially valuing the company at $110 billion. This capital will fuel fleet expansion and growth across 26 global markets, with ambitions for significant financial contributions to Alphabet by 2027. Waymo aims to more than double its previous funding, supporting its expanding robotaxi services in major US cities and upcoming international launches in London.

AI coding startup Lovable has reached a $6.6 billion valuation after its latest funding round, featuring investment from Accel and Khosla Ventures. This significant jump triples its previous valuation, marking its third funding in 2025 and establishing it as a top European startup. Lovable, founded in 2023, reported $200 million in ARR by November, a testament to its rapid growth in the “vibe coding” sector. The company utilizes AI models to allow users to generate applications and websites via text prompts.

Databricks has raised $4 billion at a $134 billion valuation, a 34% increase from its previous $100 billion valuation. This funding will accelerate AI-driven customer application development, building on a strong Q3 revenue run-rate of over $4.8 billion, a 55% year-over-year increase. Co-led by Insight Partners and Fidelity, this round highlights the trend of tech companies staying private longer to pursue growth. Founded in 2013, Databricks unifies data warehousing and AI workloads on its Apache Spark-based platform, cementing its position as a leading innovator.

Video generation startup Luma AI secured $900 million in funding led by Humain, backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, valuing Luma AI at over $4 billion. Luma AI pioneers multimodal “world models” and claims its Ray3 surpasses OpenAI’s Sora 2 in performance. Humain and Luma AI are collaborating on Project Halo, a 2-gigawatt AI supercluster in Saudi Arabia. The partnership includes the Humain Create initiative, developing sovereign AI models trained on regional data. Luma AI is also addressing copyright concerns and data bias in AI models.

xAI, Elon Musk’s AI venture, is reportedly securing $15 billion in funding, pointing to strong investor interest despite Musk’s initial denial. This follows a previous $10 billion round valuing xAI at $200 billion, with funds mainly intended for GPUs. AI startup valuations are soaring, but xAI faces scrutiny regarding the environmental impact of its data centers and inaccurate information generated by Grok and Grokipedia. xAI acquired X for $33 billion, and Tesla integrates Grok while xAI invests in Tesla’s battery storage, indicating a complex ecosystem.

Ripple secured $500 million in funding, valuing the company at $40 billion. Led by Fortress Investment Group, Citadel Securities, and others, the funding reflects institutional interest and a perceived favorable shift in US crypto regulation. Ripple will use the capital to expand its product portfolio beyond payments through strategic acquisitions. While not currently focused on an IPO, Ripple aims to deepen relationships with financial partners and contribute to its ongoing “record year of growth”, focusing on digital asset solutions for institutions including crypto asset custody and stablecoins.

Cybersecurity startup Armis, specializing in connected device security, raised $435 million, valuing the company at $6.1 billion. Led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, the funding will fuel growth and address the increasing demand for IoT, OT, and medical device security. Armis’ platform helps organizations discover, secure, and manage connected devices, providing threat detection and mitigation. CEO Yevgeny Dibrov sees Goldman Sachs as an ideal partner for a future IPO, targeted for late 2026 or early 2027, with a near-term goal of reaching $1 billion in ARR.