Malaysia's Respond.io Raises $62.5M, Eyes Acquisitions in North America and Europe
TechCrunch AI42 days agoBusinessRespond.io, a Malaysian startup deploying AI agents to manage high-volume customer conversations, has raised $62.5 million in new funding. The company differentiates itself with a per-conversation pricing model rather than the traditional per-seat SaaS structure. With fresh capital in hand, Respond.io is eyeing acquisition targets in North America and Europe to accelerate its global footprint.
Sarvam Becomes India's Newest AI Unicorn with $234 Million Round Led by HCLTech
TechCrunch AI43 days agoBusinessSarvam, a Bengaluru-based AI startup, has achieved unicorn valuation after closing a $234 million funding round led by HCLTech. The Indian IT services giant contributed $150 million — more than 64% of the total raise — making it the dominant backer in the deal. The milestone places Sarvam among India's most heavily capitalized AI ventures and underscores growing strategic interest from established Indian corporations in domestic AI development.
NewCore Raises $66M to Give AI Agents Enterprise Identities
TechCrunch AI43 days agoBusinessNewCore has emerged from stealth with $66 million in funding, targeting what it calls the next frontier of enterprise security: managing AI agents rather than human employees. The startup's thesis is that as AI agents increasingly perform autonomous work inside organizations, they need persistent, auditable identities the way human workers do. NewCore is positioning itself at the intersection of identity infrastructure and the agentic AI wave sweeping enterprise software.
AI Short-Drama Tools Sector Lands Its Largest Single Funding Round of the Year
量子位 QbitAI47 days agoBusinessThe AI short-drama tools market has recorded its biggest single financing event of the year, signaling strong investor conviction in AI-assisted video storytelling. Short-drama — episodic vertical-video content — has become one of the fastest-growing entertainment formats in China and beyond. The milestone round underscores how purpose-built AI production tools are attracting serious capital as the format scales globally.
Anthropic raises $65B, nears $1T valuation ahead of IPO★ 78
TechCrunch AI60 days agoBusinessAnthropic has closed a $65 billion Series H round at a $965 billion post-money valuation. The TechCrunch report says this could be the AI startup’s final private fundraise before a highly anticipated IPO. The news is primarily a business and capital markets signal, highlighting investor appetite for leading AI companies at near-trillion-dollar valuations.