Top AI Fundings This Week!

As AI applications continue to expand, from transforming video analytics to revolutionizing customer service, companies are increasingly focusing on creating more adaptable, data-efficient, and user-centric technologies. This shift reflects a growing trend in the industry toward practical, scalable AI solutions that solve real-world problems with fewer computational resources. We’re seeing a move away from traditional, heavy-hitting models toward more nuanced, flexible approaches—whether that’s through emotional intelligence, voice-first platforms, or AI agents that evolve with user interaction. These innovations not only promise to change how businesses operate but also offer a glimpse into a future where AI is deeply embedded in everyday experiences, seamlessly enhancing the way we work, communicate, and learn.

Liquid AI, an innovative startup, is on track to raise $250 million in funding, which will increase its valuation to $2.3 billion. This Series A funding round is led by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and includes participation from OSS Capital, Duke Capital Partners, and PagsGroup. Previously, Liquid AI raised $46.6 million in seed funding. Unlike most AI developers who base their models on neural networks inspired by the human brain, Liquid AI is introducing a groundbreaking approach. Founded in 2023 by MIT researchers, the company is developing liquid foundation models, drawing inspiration from the brain structure of the Caenorhabditis elegans worm, which has just 302 neurons. By studying this tiny worm’s brain, Liquid AI has developed an approach that allows for more flexible, data-efficient AI systems, requiring significantly less computing power than traditional transformer-based models. The company believes its liquid models can disrupt the industry by offering more efficient AI solutions. CEO Ramin Hasani explained, “We’ve been proving the technology for the last year, making sure that an alternative structure to transformers can be scaled. This funding will help get us to the next level,” signaling the potential for rapid advancements in AI that demand less computational expense.

Zest AI, a fintech company based in Burbank, California, has raised $200 million in a growth investment round led by Insight Partners. Zest AI specializes in using artificial intelligence to refine credit underwriting processes, providing more accurate and sophisticated credit scoring models than traditional methods. The company has developed an AI-powered platform that can analyze vast datasets and offer lenders better insights into potential borrowers’ creditworthiness. This latest funding round will support Zest AI’s goal of enhancing its product offerings and expanding into areas such as fraud protection and generative AI technologies. Founded in 2009, Zest AI has now raised nearly $358 million in total to date, positioning itself as a leader in AI-driven credit analysis and risk mitigation.

Ayar Labs, based in California, is at the forefront of solving the critical challenge of data movement in high-performance computing (HPC). The company raised $155 million in a funding round led by Advent Global Opportunities and Light Street Capital, which brings its valuation to over $1 billion. Ayar Labs is revolutionizing data transfer by pioneering the use of optical interconnects, which replace traditional electrical interconnects, allowing data to be transferred more efficiently and at faster speeds. This solution drastically improves the efficiency, bandwidth, and power consumption of data centers, and it has garnered backing from major semiconductor players like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. The company’s work has the potential to revolutionize the semiconductor industry by optimizing data movement within systems, an essential need for modern computing infrastructure, particularly as AI and machine learning workloads continue to grow. “We realized that as compute was scaling, moving data in and out of that compute chip was becoming increasingly difficult. That’s when we turned to optics,” Wade recalls. “If we moved from electrical data transfer to optical—moving data with photons instead of electrons—we could achieve much higher bandwidths, especially over long distances.”

Speak, a San Francisco-based language-learning startup, has reached unicorn status with a $78 million Series C funding round, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. Founded in 2016, Speak uses AI to deliver personalized, real-time language-learning experiences with a focus on conversational skills. The app targets the 1.5 billion people worldwide currently learning English, offering an immersive experience that adapts to users’ speaking styles and provides immediate feedback on their pronunciation and sentence construction. Speak’s AI-driven technology simulates real-world conversations, helping users break through common language barriers. Co-founder and CEO Connor Zwick noted, “Technology wasn’t advanced enough to replicate a real conversational experience until now,” highlighting the unique opportunity Speak provides in bridging the gap for learners worldwide. This funding will accelerate Speak’s growth, enabling the expansion of its platform and improving the quality of its language-learning solutions.

WaveForms AI, a cutting-edge company founded by Alexis Conneau, a former leader at OpenAI, has raised $40 million in seed funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). This funding brings its valuation to $200 million. WaveForms AI is pioneering the development of emotional general intelligence (EGI), aiming to create AI models that can recognize and respond to human emotions with nuanced understanding. The company emerged from a project that sparked ethical concerns over voice imitation technology, a challenge WaveForms aims to address head-on. Conneau and his team are focused on creating AI that goes beyond technical tasks to understand the emotional context in human communication. WaveForms’ innovative approach to EGI has the potential to redefine human-AI interactions by creating more emotionally intelligent AI systems that can engage with humans in a meaningful and empathetic way.
Twelve Labs, a San Francisco-based startup, has raised $30 million in a new funding round, bringing its total funding to $107.1 million. The investment was led by Nvidia, with participation from Databricks, Snowflake Ventures, SK Telecom, HubSpot Ventures, and In-Q-Tel (IQT). Twelve Labs is revolutionizing video analytics through its proprietary multimodal foundation models, Marengo and Pegasus, which enable deeper understanding of video content. Unlike traditional keyword-based searches, these models can analyze actions, objects, and sounds, providing more accurate semantic search, summarization, and content moderation. Founder Jae Lee, a data scientist by training, noted that existing tools fall short in pinpointing specific moments in videos. With Twelve Labs’ AI, users can search and interact with video content in ways that more closely resemble human understanding.Vapi, a startup specializing in voice-first customer service, raised $20 million in a Series A funding round. The company aims to scale voice operations through the use of human-like AI agents. Vapi’s technology enables businesses to deploy customizable AI agents that engage customers in seamless, natural-sounding conversations. By allowing companies to craft AI agents that mimic human speech patterns and respond contextually, Vapi enhances customer service efficiency while maintaining a high level of user satisfaction. Co-founder Jordan Dearsley emphasized that the technology is designed to ensure users can interact with AI agents without realizing they’re speaking to a machine, resulting in more authentic interactions and improved customer experiences. Vapi’s goal is to transform voice-based customer service and bring the benefits of AI-driven automation to businesses worldwide.

Aampe, a startup with a focus on AI-driven personalization, raised $18 million in a Series A round led by Theory Ventures. The company’s goal is to revolutionize the way digital products engage with consumers by embedding agentic AI into apps to create personalized, adaptive user experiences. By utilizing reinforcement learning, Aampe’s AI agents evolve based on user interaction and feedback, continuously optimizing the experiences they provide. This funding will help Aampe deploy over 100 million AI agents globally, ensuring that users receive highly personalized interactions with the digital products they use. The company’s model allows businesses to meet individual consumer needs, resulting in more meaningful engagements.

RapidCanvas, a company that simplifies AI implementation for businesses, raised $16 million in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners. Founded by Rahul Pangam and Uttam Phalnikar, RapidCanvas develops AI agents that automate critical business tasks like data transformation and modeling. The company’s approach is user-friendly, designed to help non-technical users harness the power of AI to solve business challenges. Through simple, natural language prompts, users can leverage AI to generate tailored solutions for various business needs, without requiring any coding expertise. RapidCanvas’ platform democratizes AI, making it accessible to a wider audience and ensuring that businesses of all sizes can take advantage of cutting-edge technology.

Finny, an AI-driven startup focused on the financial advisory sector, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to improve client prospecting for financial advisors. Traditional tools in this space have been inefficient in addressing specific industry needs, and Finny aims to solve this challenge by using AI to enhance the way advisors identify and convert potential clients. The platform’s AI algorithms help financial advisors engage with high-quality leads more effectively, streamlining the entire client acquisition process. As the demand for technology-driven solutions in the financial services sector grows, Finny’s platform positions itself as an essential tool for modern financial advisors seeking to optimize their workflows and increase client conversion rates.