💧 Flow raises $100M+ at $2.5B valuation as Neumann returns to the spotlight

Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann’s new venture, Flow, has raised over $100M, doubling its valuation to $2.5B. Flow is reimagining residential real estate with a vertically integrated platform combining AI, property management, and community building.

✅What’s inside the deal
• $100M+ raised with Andreessen Horowitz increasing its stake from 20% to 25%
• $2.5B current valuation, up from $1B in 2022
• Active expansion in Miami with major property acquisitions
• International footprint with teams in New York, Palo Alto, and Riyadh
• Focus on AI-driven residential management without third-party operators

📈 Why it matters
• Investors are betting on Neumann’s "second act," seeing potential beyond his WeWork legacy
• Flow’s model targets the $3.5T residential real estate market, far larger than WeWork’s office niche
• Heavy integration of AI signals a shift toward fully automated community management
• A patient, cashflow-positive approach could avoid WeWork’s hypergrowth mistakes

Neumann is making a comeback — but will investors’ patience outlast the ghosts of WeWork?

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🔥 Electra lands top-tier backing to decarbonise ironmaking

Electra, a Colorado-based climate tech startup, has closed a $186M Series B to scale its clean iron production platform — pulling in major names across climate, industry, and capital.

✅ What’s inside the deal
• $186M Series B co-led by Capricorn Investment Group and Temasek
• Backed by Breakthrough Energy, Lowercarbon Capital, BHP Ventures, Rio Tinto, Toyota Tsusho, Nucor, and others
• Total funding to date: $214M

🧠 Why it’s interesting
• Electra makes 99% pure iron using low-grade ores and renewable electricity, no blast furnace
• Its modular electrochemical process slashes emissions and enables local, distributed production
• Already securing downstream integration across mining, steel, and EV supply chains

🚀 Why it matters
• Iron and steel = ~10% of global CO₂ emissions
• Automotive and construction giants are hunting for clean feedstock
• Investors are betting this is the climate tech wedge into one of the dirtiest industrial sectors

Steel’s getting a software-style reset. Electra wants to be the Stripe of green iron.

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🔥 Ready to take your startup to the next level?

Sber500 is an international accelerator helping startups grow faster, learn from global experts and connect with investors and corporations.

The 3-month online program selects 150 tech teams from around the world and offers:

✅ Mentors from top global companies like Google, Amazon, and Oracle
✅Personal growth tracks for each team
✅ Access to VC
✅ Piloting opportunities with large corporations
✅ Insights into the Russian market and connections with local corporations
✅ Media visibility in a new market

The top 25 startups pitch live at Demo Day in Moscow — in front of investors, corporate innovation leads, and top Sber executives.

All program activities are fully online, so you can join from anywhere for free. BRICS teams are especially welcome.

🗓️ Applications are open until May 12

Apply now  👉 Link 👈

🌎 Fluent Ventures bets on startup clones—with a twist

San Francisco–based Fluent Ventures is out to prove that the best startup ideas aren’t born—they’re adapted. The firm backs founders in emerging markets who localize proven models from the West, a strategy it proudly calls “geographic alpha.”

❓ What they’re doing differently
• Backing founders in Latin America, Africa, MENA, Southeast Asia, and select U.S. markets
• Investing $250K to $2M in early rounds via a $40M fund + co-investment vehicle
• Focusing on fintech, healthtech, and commerce, but with local product-market fit
• Portfolio includes Sabi (Nigeria), Prima (Brazil), BRKZ (Saudi Arabia), and Minu (Mexico)

🎤Not just copy-paste, says founder Alexandre Lazarow
Fluent avoids simple cloning and looks for deep local adaptation—like how Go-Jek built a motorbike-based super app in Indonesia rather than replicating Uber directly.

🧠 Why this matters now
• Unicorns are now emerging from 150+ cities globally
• IPOs like Nubank, UiPath, Swiggy show global outcomes are real
• Fluent’s backers include Nubank’s David Vélez, Sea Group’s Nick Nash, and LPs across multiple continents

📣Takeaway:
In a world oversaturated with U.S.-centric VC bets, Fluent is placing smart capital where localized innovation is just getting started. Are clone+local wins the future of global venture?

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💰 Tapcheck raises $225M to rewrite how payroll works

Texas-based Tapcheck, founded by husband-and-wife duo Ron and Kayling Gaver, just secured $225 million in equity and credit to expand its earned wage access (EWA) platform—redefining how American workers get paid.

🧠 Built from lived experience:
• Founded in 2019 after years of dealing with payroll issues in their previous businesses
• Ron brings GTM and finance background; Kayling is a 20-year veteran in payroll tech
• Tapcheck is their third successful venture together

⚙️ How it works:
• Lets employees access earned wages before payday—at no cost to employers
• Integrates with 300+ payroll systems, providing accurate real-time wage data
• Reduces financial stress and boosts retention—used by Hilton, Taco Bell, and McDonald’s

🚀 Why it stands out:
• Combines real-time wage access with seamless integrations and white-glove support
• Backed by empathy-driven UX and high-touch customer service
• Enabled $1B+ in early wage funding, serving 12,000+ locations and hundreds of thousands of workers

With new capital from PeakSpan Capital and Victory Park, Tapcheck is building out AI features, expanding Mastercard access, and positioning itself as the most trusted EWA solution in the U.S.—a platform built for both impact and scale.

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‼️ The $195M Startup That Burned Out Over Coffee

A powerful founder story shared by Groove and Helply’s Alex Turnbull is making waves — and for good reason. It’s a wake-up call for the VC world, revealing how a startup that hit a $195M valuation collapsed under its own expectations.

✅ What’s inside the story
• Founder raised $33M, scaled to 100+ employees, reached $195M valuation
• But by 2025: $750K/month burn, flat growth, 3 months of runway
• Confesses: “Your 5-person company makes more profit than mine ever has.”

💡Why it matters
• Most founders won’t get the fairy-tale exit
• High-burn, valuation-first models are cracking under macro pressure
• “The math doesn’t work” — but the treadmill keeps going

⚖️ Venture vs. control
This isn’t an anti-VC narrative — it’s a realignment moment. Some founders are trading boardrooms and headlines for quiet profitability, lean teams, and full control.

🧠 Final thought
Not every startup needs a rocketship. In a market where exits are rare and burn is brutal, sustainable might be the new smart.

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🎵 Aria: The First AI-Powered Artist Economy

Tired of streaming music without knowing where your money goes?
Aria changes that—instantly.

Aria is the first AI-powered music platform where fans drive the economy. With one simple subscription, you choose which artists get paid.
No middlemen.
No guesswork.
Just real support for the artists you love.

Why Aria❓

🔹Fan-Funded, Artist-First – Every dollar counts. Fans decide where their money goes, giving power back to the creators.

🔹 One Tap, Instant Impact – Subscribe once. Pick your favorite artist. Aria does the rest—sending revenue, unlocking perks, and building a real connection.

🔹 AI Discovery That Gets You – Our cutting-edge AI matches you with emerging and underrated talent before they blow up.

🔹 The Artist Marketplace – Buy exclusive drops, book experiences, and invest in your favorite artists’ success.

🔹 No More Mindless Streaming – Every stream, every click, every subscription fuels real careers. Be more than a listener—be a backer.

🚀 Smart. Easy. Revolutionary.
Aria isn’t just another music app—it’s a movement. Join the new era where fans fuel the future of music, and artists finally get what they deserve.

Join the fastest growing underground movement ‼️
Your support will go a long way—for the culture, the creators, and the community.

👉 AppStore Link 👈
🔑Invite Code: ariaco

💰We’re currently raising $3M to scale the platform—$440K has already been subscribed.

👉 Pitch Deck 👈

Let’s build the future of music together.

🎵 Aria: The First AI-Powered Artist Economy

Tired of streaming music without knowing where your money goes?
Aria changes that—instantly.

Aria is the first AI-powered music platform where fans drive the economy. With one simple subscription, you choose which artists get paid.
No middlemen.
No guesswork.
Just real support for the artists you love.

Why Aria❓

🔹Fan-Funded, Artist-First – Every dollar counts. Fans decide where their money goes, giving power back to the creators.

🔹 One Tap, Instant Impact – Subscribe once. Pick your favorite artist. Aria does the rest—sending revenue, unlocking perks, and building a real connection.

🔹 AI Discovery That Gets You – Our cutting-edge AI matches you with emerging and underrated talent before they blow up.

🔹 The Artist Marketplace – Buy exclusive drops, book experiences, and invest in your favorite artists’ success.

🔹 No More Mindless Streaming – Every stream, every click, every subscription fuels real careers. Be more than a listener—be a backer.

🚀 Smart. Easy. Revolutionary.
Aria isn’t just another music app—it’s a movement. Join the new era where fans fuel the future of music, and artists finally get what they deserve.

Join the fastest growing underground movement ‼️
Your support will go a long way—for the culture, the creators, and the community.

👉 AppStore Link 👈
🔑Invite Code: ariaco

Welcome to Aria. Music, Rebuilt.🫱

P.S. We’re currently raising $3M to scale the platform—$440K has already been subscribed.
Let’s build the future of music together.

👉 Pitch Deck 👈

📍 Ex-Sequoia Partner Matt Miller sets sights on Europe with new $300M fund

Matt Miller, who led Sequoia Capital’s expansion into Europe, is now launching his own $300M fund focused on scaling European AI and B2B startups from Series B onwards.

✅ What’s inside the fund

🔹Target: Growth rounds (Series B & C), with room for early-stage co-investments

🔹Base: London

🔹LPs: Institutional investors + 100+ founders/operators from Silicon Valley and Europe

🔹Team: Spencer Hemphill (ex-Sequoia) joins as CFO

📈 Why it matters

🔺Europe’s AI and enterprise SaaS scenes are maturing, but Series B/C capital remains scarce

🔺Miller’s fund fills a key gap in the scaleup pipeline with Sequoia-style rigor and independent flexibility

🔺Part of a broader trend of high-profile VCs spinning out to launch focused funds

🕖 What’s next?
The first cohort of portfolio bets will signal how Miller’s playbook evolves outside the Sequoia brand — and whether this marks a broader shift in how European late-stage capital is deployed.

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💵Revent doubles down on purpose-driven startups with new $100M fund

Berlin-based VC Revent has closed a €100M Fund II to back early-stage startups focused on “planetary and societal health” — from climate and healthcare to reskilling and industrial decarbonization.

✅ What’s inside the deal:
– Fund II backed by Otto Group, Oetker, Beiersdorf, EIF, and several European tech founders
– Targets sectors like energy transition, climate, healthcare, and economic empowerment
– Team now spans Berlin, London, Paris — with a new venture partner in SF

💡 Why it matters:
Revent isn’t chasing hype.
It's betting on long-term value in sectors others call “impact.”
The firm is positioning itself as a performance-first investor aligned with Europe's push for sovereignty and strategic innovation.

As U.S. narratives shift, Revent is doubling down on European values — and putting capital behind them.

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⚖️ Fraud Charges Hit Nate Founder Over Fake AI Claims

Albert Saniger, founder of AI shopping app Nate, has been charged with defrauding investors after it was revealed that the platform’s so-called AI was actually powered by a call center in the Philippines.

💰Nate raised over $50M from top VCs including Coatue, Forerunner, and Renegade Partners.

🛍 The app claimed it enabled “universal checkout” using AI — but DOJ alleges automation was “effectively 0%.”

💻 Hundreds of human contractors were completing purchases manually, contradicting investor claims.

📉 Nate ran out of cash and was forced to sell assets in 2023, leaving investors with near-total losses.

The case underscores growing scrutiny around AI “wrapper” startups and the due diligence gaps in hype-fueled venture deals.

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🔥Andreessen Horowitz Prepares $20B AI Megafund

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is raising a $20 billion fund fully dedicated to artificial intelligence — the largest in the firm’s history and one of the biggest AI-focused venture funds ever.

The fund targets growth-stage AI companies and is already attracting interest from global LPs looking to back US tech without regulatory friction. It also positions a16z as a central infrastructure layer for AI startups, offering access to thousands of Nvidia GPUs for portfolio companies.

💡 Why it matters:

🔥 Marks a16z’s full commitment to the AI cycle.
🔥 Structured as a single AI-focused vehicle, signaling outsized conviction.
🔥 Could function as a private AI platform, tightly integrated with infra and capital.

With portfolio bets like xAI, Mistral, and shares in OpenAI, a16z is going all-in on the next wave of transformative tech. If successful, this megafund could reshape how late-stage AI is financed.

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💰 Plaid Raises $575M at a $6B Valuation Amid IPO Delay

Fintech giant Plaid has raised $575 million in a new funding round, cutting its valuation to $6 billion from the 2021 peak of $13.4 billion. The move allows employees to cash out their equity as the company holds off on going public.

Funding Details:

⚪️Led by Franklin Templeton, Fidelity, and BlackRock.

⚪️Previous backers NEA and Ribbit Capital also participated.

⚪️Funding aimed at employee liquidity amid IPO delay.

Why it Matters:

🖱️Reflects a broader trend among private tech firms to offer liquidity through secondary rounds.

🖱️Follows similar moves by Ramp, Databricks, OpenAI, and Stripe.

🖱️IPO is still planned but not imminent.

Company Highlights:

🖱️ Сonnects users’ bank accounts to apps like Venmo, Robinhood, and Coinbase.

🖱️Expanded into bill payments, data analytics, and fraud prevention.

🖱️Growing focus on cybersecurity as AI-driven financial fraud surges.

As IPO markets remain uncertain, Plaid’s move highlights how late-stage startups are navigating market volatility while giving employees cash-out opportunities.

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💼 Construct Capital Raises $300M for Defense and Manufacturing Tech

Early-stage VC firm Construct Capital has closed its third fund with $300 million in capital commitments, focusing on defense, manufacturing, and transportation tech.

What’s inside the deal:

✅$300M fund for early-stage investments
✅ Follows a $225M second fund and $75M later-stage fund raised in 2022
✅ Focus on defense and domestic manufacturing amid geopolitical shifts

Why it matters:

⚙️ As defense tech gains traction, institutional investors see opportunities in manufacturing innovation.

🚀Construct Capital has backed startups like Hadrian, which manufactures aerospace parts, and Veho, specializing in last-mile e-commerce delivery.

🌎 With geopolitical tensions rising, defense and manufacturing sectors are poised for increased investment and innovation.

Construct Capital’s new fund reflects a strategic focus on critical industries, aiming to support startups that leverage technology to enhance national resilience.

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⚡️ Solace Set to Be Valued at Over $300M in New Series B Round

Patient advocate startup Solace is raising a Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures, valuing the company at more than $300 million. The new funding aims to expand its platform connecting patients with healthcare advocates.

What’s inside the deal:

✅ Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures
✅ Valuation expected to exceed $300 million
✅ Target raise: $40 million
✅ Previous funding: $21 million, including $14 million Series A from Inspired Capital, Craft Ventures, Torch Capital, and angel investors Anne Wojcicki and Susan Wojcicki

Why it matters:

💡 Solace connects Medicare patients with healthcare advocates to handle tasks like scheduling and insurance appeals, filling a critical gap in patient care.
💡 The company operates in all 50 states, offering support for over 100 conditions through virtual consultations with former healthcare professionals.
💡 Medicare recently began covering patient advocacy services, boosting the startup’s potential for growth.
💡 The company’s revenue run rate reached $10 million at the start of 2025.

With more startups addressing the complexities of healthcare, Solace's innovative patient-centric approach positions it as a key player in transforming healthcare navigation.

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