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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - North America, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌎️
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📰 Important News
- OpenAI launched Education for Countries to help governments integrate AI into schools, with university partners and custom tools.
- Protopia AI joined MDA’s SHIELD contract vehicle, bringing privacy-preserving AI for U.S. missile defense capabilities.
- Hadrian launched its Additive Manufacturing division to scale production-ready 3D printing for U.S. defense and allies, with operations starting in 2026.
- Québec launched “I Adopt Québec’s Tech” to push local firms to buy homegrown tech, boosting productivity and the province’s ecosystem.
- Alexi countersued Clio and Fastcase over alleged anticompetitive data tactics tied to licensing, saying it caused major business harm.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Zipline secured $600 million in funding to fuel aggressive U.S. expansion and global market entry.
- Baseten raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation, co-led by IVP and CapitalG, including $150 million from Nvidia.
- AI lab Humans& secured a landmark $480 million seed round, reaching a $4.48 billion valuation to advance human-AI collaboration.
- OpenEvidence landed $250 million at $12 billion valuation to scale its clinician AI platform.
- Cyclic Materials completed $75 million Series C to scale rare earth recycling across the U.S. and Europe and harden supply chains.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Clear Street filed for a $1 billion Nasdaq IPO to modernize capital markets infrastructure with a cloud-native platform for institutions.
- Ethos is targeting a $1.26 billion Nasdaq IPO (LIFE) to raise over $200 million and modernize life insurance with AI underwriting.
- General Fusion is to go public via SPAC with Spring Valley III at a $600 million valuation, raising $335 million for its LM26 fusion program.
- Serve Robotics acquired Diligent Robotics to expand from delivery into hospitals with Moxi robots and unify their autonomy stack.
- Docebo acquired 365Talents for $54.6 million to add AI skills intelligence, linking skills discovery to targeted learning and development.
🏦 About Investors
- Pinegrove closed $2.2 billion POP I, a venture secondaries fund offering liquidity to mid-to-late-stage private tech companies.
- Blueprint Equity closed a $333 million Fund III for capital-efficient enterprise software and B2B tech services, AUM over $600 million.
- Mila and Inovia launched a $100 million Venture Scientist Fund to turn Canadian AI research into globally competitive startups.
- Aliisa Rosenthal, former OpenAI sales leader, joined Acrew Capital as a GP to help AI startups build defensible moats.
- FinDev Canada provided a $15 million loan to Lendable's MSME Fintech Credit Fund II to expand MSME and women lending.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Zipline
Zipline, founded in 2014 in California by Keller Rinaudo and Keenan Wyrobek, is building autonomous drone logistics to solve last-mile delivery at scale. The company operates a fleet of electric drones delivering medical supplies, food, and retail goods, initially proven in emergency healthcare and now expanding into everyday commerce. Zipline has secured over $600 million in funding from investors including Valor Equity Partners and Fidelity, pushing its valuation to $7.6 billion. Led by CEO Keller Rinaudo, the company is accelerating U.S. expansion and preparing global market entry, leveraging its FAA Part 135 certification. Zipline’s mission is to make instant, reliable delivery a core layer of real-world infrastructure.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Pinegrove
Pinegrove Opportunity Partners, founded in 2023 and backed by Sequoia Heritage and Brookfield, is a dedicated venture and growth secondaries investor addressing liquidity gaps in private tech. The firm recently closed its inaugural $2.2 billion POP I fund, the largest first-time venture secondaries fund, targeting mid-to-late-stage private technology companies. Led by Brian Laibow, alongside Prateek Bhide and Gaurav Mathur, Pinegrove provides flexible, bespoke capital solutions including company tenders, GP continuations, LP interests, and NAV loans. With roughly $1 billion already deployed, the firm differentiates through deep venture relationships, structured underwriting, and scale. Pinegrove’s mission is to be a non-competitive, value-add liquidity partner for category-defining technology companies and their stakeholders.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
Idea TestLab
- 📢 Organizer: Lehigh Valley LaunchBox (Penn State Lehigh Valley)
- 🗂️ Category: Training & Learning, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 28, 2026
Free Opportunities and Resources for Rural Founders in Q1 2026
- 📢 Organizer: Startup Colorado
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Event, Competition/Challenge, Other
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
SOAR Together Rural: TikTok Shop Accelerator for Rural Businesses 2026
- 📢 Organizer: Braven Agency
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: January 31, 2026
CodeLaunch: USA 2026 The Equity-Free Startup Competition in Dallas
- 📢 Organizer: Improving
- 🗂️ Category: Competition/Challenge, Accelerator, Hackathon
- 🪜 Target Stages: Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: February 1, 2026
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