It’s Monday, September 29, 2025, and we’re back with the top startup and tech funding news stories shaping today’s headlines. From logistics automation and chip cooling breakthroughs to AI billing, vibe coding, and restaurant tech, investors deployed fresh capital across both mature scale-ups and ambitious early-stage players.
Today’s highlights feature Alvys’ $40 million Series B to turbocharge AI-powered freight logistics, Paid’s $21 million seed round to build billing infrastructure for AI agents, and Corintis’ $24 million Series A to push advanced chip cooling into the data center. On the global stage, China’s Galactic Energy secured a massive $336 million Series D for rocket launches, while India’s Petpooja closed a ₹137 crore growth round to scale its restaurant management platform.
Funding Highlights
Alvys raised $40 million in Series B funding to expand its AI-driven logistics automation platform.
Paid secured $21 million in seed capital to power usage-based billing for AI agents.
Corintis landed $24 million in Series A financing to commercialize chip cooling technology.
Galactic Energy closed a $336 million Series D to scale commercial rocket launches in China.
Petpooja raised ₹137 crore to boost its restaurant tech platform across India and beyond.
Investor Activity
The day’s financings saw strong participation from global venture firms including RTP Global, Lightspeed, BlueYard Capital, and Accel, alongside regional funds such as Dharana Capital and ISB Angels. Strategic investors like Bazan Group, angel operators from Meta and Apple, and serial founders from Urban Company also made their mark across the day’s deals.
Together, these financings underscore continued conviction in AI infrastructure, logistics automation, chip hardware, space technology, and SaaS platforms — sectors attracting both deep-pocketed global VCs and local growth backers.
Here’s the full breakdown. Until tomorrow, have a great evening.
Alvys Raises $40M in Series B Funding for AI-Powered Logistics Platform
Alvys, an AI-driven transportation management startup, has secured $40 million in a Series B round to accelerate its freight logistics automation platform. The funding was led by RTP Global, with participation from Alpha Square Group and existing backers Titanium Ventures, Picus Capital, and Bonfire Ventures.
The Fremont, California, area company will use the capital to expand its integrations and AI automation tools, helping trucking companies consolidate data and streamline dispatch, billing, and other operations. Alvys has tripled its revenue for two years running and will use the investment to further scale its platform and customer base.
Founded in 2020 by Leo Gorodinski and Nick Darman, Alvys is positioning itself as a modern alternative in freight logistics software. The startup offers a transportation management platform designed to help trucking companies streamline operations across dispatch, load tracking, driver management, billing, and payroll. By layering AI and automation into the workflow, Alvys says it can cut down on repetitive tasks and give managers faster decision-making tools — helping fleets move goods with greater efficiency.
Funding Details:
Startup: Alvys
Investors: RTP Global (lead), Alpha Square Group, Titanium Ventures, Picus Capital, Bonfire Ventures
Amount Raised: $40 million
Total Raised: $77 million
Funding Stage: Series B
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Paid Raises $21M in Seed Funding to Power AI Agent Billing
Paid, a London-based startup founded by Manny Medina (ex-Outreach CEO), announced a $21 million seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners to build its AI agent billing infrastructure. The company’s platform helps software firms create usage-based pricing models for AI agents, aligning costs with the value customers receive.
Bellevue, Washington–based Fuse Ventures and Seattle’s Founders’ Co-op also participated in the round, which brings Paid’s total funding to $21M. The capital will be used to accelerate product development and go-to-market efforts, enabling Paid to serve a growing market of SaaS companies monetizing generative AI features.
Funding Details:
Startup: Paid
Investors: Lightspeed (lead), Fuse Ventures, Founders’ Co-op
Amount Raised: $21 million
Total Raised: $21 million
Funding Stage: Seed
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Corintis Raises $24M in Series A Funding for Advanced Chip Cooling
Corintis, a Swiss hardware startup spun out of EPFL in 2022, has raised $24 million in a Series A round led by BlueYard Capital. The Zurich-area company makes microfluidic cold plates that channel coolant directly through semiconductor chips, dramatically improving heat removal for AI and data-center processors. Other investors in the round include Founderful, Acequia Capital, Celsius Industries, and XTX Ventures.
Corintis will use the funds to ramp up manufacturing (from 100,000 to over a million plates per year), expand its R&D team (adding up to 70 employees by year-end), and open offices in the U.S. to serve its American customers. The funding follows a deal with Microsoft in which Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan (added to Corintis’s board) touted the company’s cooling solutions as critical for next-generation chips.
Funding Details:
Startup: Corintis
Investors: BlueYard Capital (lead), Founderful, Acequia Capital, Celsius Industries, XTX Ventures
Amount Raised: $24 million
Total Raised: $24 million
Funding Stage: Series A
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Petpooja Raises Nearly $17 Million Growth Round to Boost Restaurant Tech
Ahmedabad-based Petpooja, a restaurant management software platform, closed a ₹137 crore (~$17 million) growth funding round led by Dharana Capital. The round combined primary and secondary funding and included participation from Helion Ventures co-founder Ashish Gupta, Urban Company founders Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra, and Urban Company executive Mukund Kulashekaran.
Petpooja will use the new capital to enhance its product offerings (such as tableside ordering and kitchen automation), accelerate AI-driven features, and strengthen customer support. The company said it plans to continue expanding in the Indian market and overseas, building on its track record of serving restaurants, cafes, and quick-service chains.
Funding Details:
Startup: Petpooja
Investors: Dharana Capital (lead), Ashish Gupta (Helion Ventures), Abhiraj S. Bhal, Varun Khaitan, Raghav Chandra, Mukund Kulashekaran (all from Urban Company)
Amount Raised: ₹137 crore
Total Raised: Not disclosed
Funding Stage: Growth Round
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Akashalabdhi Secures $1.2M in Pre-Seed Funding for SpaceTech Projects
Space-tech startup Akashalabdhi raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed round on Sept. 29, 2025. The Ahmedabad-based company is working on space habitat projects, including inflatable solar arrays and high-altitude balloon experiments. Investors include Riceberg Ventures, 1Crowd, and LVX, among others.
Akashalabdhi said it will use the funds to advance its ongoing missions, such as testing inflatable habitat components and preparing for an orbital launch of its minimum viable product. The team aims to develop infrastructure for advanced habitation research, bridging the gap to future, larger satellite projects.
Funding Details:
Startup: Akashalabdhi
Investors: Riceberg Ventures, 1Crowd, LVX (and others)
Amount Raised: $1.2 million
Total Raised: $1.2 million
Funding Stage: Pre-seed
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Wit & Chai Closes Seed Round at ₹40 Cr Valuation
Wit & Chai, a creative media agency headquartered in Mumbai, closed its seed funding round at a ₹40 crore valuation. The size of the round was not disclosed. Notable investors include real estate promoter Rohan Vijay Mantri, Sanjay Katkar (MD of Quick Heal Technologies), Monish Darda (co-founder of Icertis), and Satyen Patel (MD at Sahyadri Industries).
The firm said it will deploy the new funds to strengthen its Mumbai team, grow its London office, and establish a presence in the UAE. Wit & Chai plans to deepen its service offerings in B2B SaaS and enterprise media, and is evaluating strategic acquisitions to accelerate global growth.
Funding Details:
Startup: Wit & Chai
Investors: Rohan Vijay Mantri, Sanjay Katkar, Monish Darda, Satyen Patel (all marquee business leaders)
Amount Raised: Undisclosed
Total Raised: Not disclosed
Funding Stage: Seed
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Vaani AI Research Raises $0.4M in Pre-Seed Funding for Voice AI Platform
Vaani AI Research, a startup developing voice agent technology, raised $400,000 in pre-seed funding led by Venture Catalysts. The round also included a slate of angel backers from Silicon Valley and India: Dr. Abhishek Sharma (Meta’s SuperIntelligence team), Dr. Viveka Kulharia (MoonValley/Apple), Shashikant Chaudhary (ex-GlobalLogic), Ejaz Ahmed (Meta Reality Labs), Nikhil Tripathi (Bijak), Uday Sodhi (ex-Sony Pictures), KK Venkata (Oliver Wyman), Swapnil Sheth (IndigoEdge), Michele Barbazza (VAT Group), and others.
Vaani’s platform enables enterprises to build custom voice assistants; the new capital will be used to expand the team, improve its voice-processing stack, deepen its proprietary AI models, and deploy pilots with early customers looking to move beyond demos to production.
Funding Details:
Startup: Vaani AI Research
Investors: Venture Catalysts (lead), Dr. Abhishek Sharma (Meta), Dr. Viveka Kulharia (Apple), Shashikant Chaudhary, Ejaz Ahmed, Nikhil Tripathi, Uday Sodhi, KK Venkata, Swapnil Sheth, Michele Barbazza
Amount Raised: $400,000
Total Raised: $400,000
Funding Stage: Pre-seed
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
iGo Raises ₹8.2 Cr in Pre-Seed Funding to Scale Electric Trikes
iGo, an electric vehicle startup focusing on smart three-wheeler trucks, raised ₹8.2 crore in a pre-seed round. Investors included ISB Angels, 888VC, and Guptaji VC. The funds will be used to automate tooling and reduce production costs, expand customer service and after-sales operations, drive new product variants, and build working capital to fill its existing order book.
iGo said it plans to accelerate R&D on its EV platform as it fulfills orders for micro-businesses and delivery operators in India.
Funding Details:
Startup: iGo
Investors: ISB Angels, 888VC, Guptaji VC
Amount Raised: ₹8.2 crore
Total Raised: ₹8.2 crore
Funding Stage: Pre-seed
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Chinese Launcher Galactic Energy Raises $336M in Series D Funding
Galactic Energy, a Beijing-based rocket company, raised RMB 2.4 billion (~$336 million) in Series D funding. One of China’s largest commercial launch providers, Galactic Energy has chalked up the most orbital launches among private Chinese firms. The new capital will finance further expansion of its rocket fleet and development of next-gen vehicles as demand surges for satellite launches and space services.
The round, announced on Sept. 28, 2025, is one of the biggest investments in China’s space sector this year and positions Galactic Energy to scale production and R&D for its solid- and liquid-fueled launchers.
Funding Details:
Startup: Galactic Energy
Investors: Not disclosed
Amount Raised: $336 million
Total Raised: $336 million
Funding Stage: Series D
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025
Gain Secures $12M in Seed Funding to Build AI Procurement ‘Employees’
Gain, an Israeli deep-tech startup, emerged from stealth with a $12 million seed round led by The Garage, with BlueRed Partners and Bazan Group also investing. The Tel Aviv company has developed autonomous “AI employee” agents to handle end-to-end procurement processes for enterprises – from strategy and sourcing to contract execution and exception management.
The new funding will support further R&D and customer pilots for Gain’s platform, which charges based on output outcomes rather than per-seat licenses. With procurement increasingly complex in industries like retail, CPG, and energy, Gain’s investors believe its end-to-end AI agents can unlock hidden efficiency.
Funding Details:
Startup: Gain
Investors: The Garage (lead), BlueRed Partners, Bazan Group
Amount Raised: $12 million
Total Raised: $12 million
Funding Stage: Seed
Funding Date: Sep 29, 2025