Space funding hits $20.8 billion as Ramp reaches a $60 billion valuation

Record space funding and AI-heavy investment in Asia showed how much capital is flowing into a concentrated set of sectors. Ramp’s $1.85 billion round and Proofpoint’s $6.3 billion acquisition agreement added major financing and exit benchmarks.

Key developments

Space funding sets a record

Space startups secured a record $20.8 billion in Q3 funding, with infrastructure investment surging.

Space infrastructure is attracting capital to build the sector’s underlying capacity, rather than just individual applications.

Oct 14 · Reuters · The American Bazaar

Ramp reaches $60 billion

Ramp raised $1.85 billion at a $60 billion valuation as the fintech company pushes deeper into AI.

The financing gives Ramp more capital to expand its AI ambitions within financial software.

Oct 15 · Reuters · TechCrunch

Proofpoint signs Varonis deal

Thoma Bravo-backed Proofpoint signed a $6.3 billion take-private agreement for Varonis, whose offerings include data controls, AI security and managed detection and response.

The deal would bring Varonis’s data-security capabilities into Proofpoint as companies seek to secure AI.

Oct 16 · PE Hub

Asian funding concentrates in AI

Asian startups received $38.5 billion in reported seed- through growth-stage financing in Q3, approaching a record. AI-focused companies took the majority of that capital.

The regional funding total reflects AI demand more than financing conditions across the full startup market.

Oct 16 · Crunchbase News

Modal secures $750 million

AI cloud company Modal raised $750 million in Series D funding.

The financing adds capital to the cloud infrastructure supporting AI workloads.

Oct 16 · Data Center Dynamics

Stryker pairs funding with buyout option

Stryker plans to invest $400 million in CMR Surgical, with an option to acquire the company outright.

CMR Surgical would gain both financing and a potential route to a strategic acquisition.

Oct 12 · Sifted

Anduril proposes employee liquidity

A proposed employee tender offer would value defense technology startup Anduril at $90 billion.

Employees could sell shares without waiting for an IPO or acquisition.

Oct 14 · CNBC

Cybersecurity funding rebounds

Cybersecurity and privacy startups raised $6.8 billion globally in Q3, up about 50% from the previous quarter and tying the highest quarterly total in years. Most funding went into larger rounds.

The rebound favors companies able to secure larger financings rather than indicating uniformly easier fundraising.

Oct 15 · Crunchbase News

OMass closes biotech round

OMass Therapeutics announced an oversubscribed €275 million (£230 million) Series C, co-led by Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion and Novo Holdings.

The Oxford spin-out gains financing for its small-molecule drug-development business.

Oct 16 · EU-Startups

Public capital backs AI funds

British Business Bank is committing £180 million to six AI funds, including Evantic and EF.

The commitments increase the capital available to fund managers backing AI companies.

Oct 15 · Sifted

Also this week

Corporate capital

• Nvidia announced billion-dollar investments in European technology. Sifted

• Bosch Ventures announced an additional 100 million for startup investment. deutsche-startups.de

• Booking Holdings plans to fund new AI startup Vayo with $100 million. Skift

• Tether made a strategic investment in AIsa, which is developing payment infrastructure for AI agents. bloomingbit · BigGo Finance

AI and software

• Scimplify raised $25 million for its AI-driven critical materials business as its annualized revenue run rate tripled to $200 million and it targets US expansion. TechCrunch Startups

• Accel is reportedly set to lead a $60 million round for a startup founded by a DeepMind alumnus. Sifted

• LearnUpon secured a €44.5 million ($50 million) growth financing facility from Claret Capital Partners to scale its agentic learning platform. EU-Startups

• Jessica Herrin raised a $5 million seed round led by Forerunner for AI marketing startup Marklo AI. Crunchbase News

• Chariot Claims raised a $10 million Series A led by Silverton Partners to help consumers pursue claims involving alleged privacy violations, hidden fees and hard-to-cancel subscriptions. Crunchbase News

• AI video creation startup Clueso, founded by IIT Madras alumni, raised $10 million. Indian Startup News

Energy and materials

• Energy unicorn 1Komma5 raised €70 million while its IPO plans remain on hold. Sifted

• Giraffe Bio raised a $6.4 million seed round to help miners extract more copper using bespoke biomolecules, targeting demand from AI data centers and electric vehicles. TechCrunch Startups

• European solar startup funding rebounded to €82 million. Envirotec Magazine

• Nigerian electric-vehicle startup MAX expanded its funding round to $29 million. Tech Labari

• Korean heat-supply SMR startup rx raised a $7.46 million bridge round. Dealroom

Health and agriculture

• Microbiotica announced the first close of a €42 million (£36 million) Series C led by British Business Bank to back precision microbiome medicines, including a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. EU-Startups

• Israeli agtech startup BloomX raised a $13 million Series A to improve crop pollination. CTech

Funding geography

• Australian startup funding rose 80% in Q3 even excluding the Firmus megaround, although large deals continued to dominate. Startup Daily

• The UK's first venture capital fund dedicated to refugee founders launched with Atomico backing. Sifted

• Indian venture firms are establishing a Silicon Valley presence as founders pursue the US AI opportunity. Newcomer

• Mega-rounds sustained Middle East and North Africa startup funding, with Saudi Arabia driving a quarterly rebound. Arab News

Market structure

• Thirty-eight companies joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board in September, led by semiconductors, financial services and space technology. Crunchbase News

• Venture-backed exits valued below one times revenue are becoming more common, according to ScaleX. EU.COM

• Fifth Wall founder and CEO Brendan Wallace argued that proptech funding totals may overlook some of the sector’s biggest investments as AI changes its boundaries. Crunchbase News

• Benchmark said AI is making venture firms’ convention against backing competing companies harder to maintain. TechCrunch Venture

• Rising interest rates are dampening investor enthusiasm for data center builders and the broader AI trade. Newcomer

What to watch

• Watch for completion of Proofpoint’s signed $6.3 billion Varonis take-private deal; timing for this and the following pending transactions has not been announced.

• Watch whether Stryker’s planned $400 million investment in CMR Surgical proceeds and whether it exercises the acquisition option.

• Watch whether Anduril’s proposed employee tender offer goes ahead at the indicated $90 billion valuation.