Pirates.BZ Tech Startup News

Amazon has acquired Rivr, a Zurich-based robotics startup that developed four-legged wheeled robots capable of climbing stairs and navigating uneven terrain to deliver packages directly to customers' doorsteps. Financial terms were not disclosed. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/amazon-acquires-rivr-maker-of-a-stair-climbing-delivery-robot/ #Tech #Startup #News #Robotics #Amazon

London-based defence tech startup Occam has raised EUR 3 million in pre-seed funding after its autonomous drone software passed field evaluation through Ukraine's Brave1 platform. The software operates under live fire without GPS or external connectivity. https://www.startupreporter.eu/occam-says-its-drone-ai-actually-works-in-combat/ #Tech #Startup #News #DefenseTech #Occam

Type One Energy, a fusion startup developing stellarator technology, has raised 82M USD to bring its fusion power generator to the US electrical grid. The company aims to demonstrate commercial fusion power within the decade. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/21/fusion-startup-type-one-energy-takes-its-stellarator-to-the-us-grid-with-82m-raise #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech #TypeOneEnergy

US AI and robotics firms urge lawmakers to take action against Chinese robot manufacturers, singling out Unitree Robotics, citing increased competition and national security risks. https://www.scmp.com/news/us/politics/article/3346942/us-sounds-alarm-over-chinas-humanoid-robots-amid-security-concerns #Tech #Startup #News #Robotics #Unitree

China's Unitree Robotics has filed for a 610m USD IPO on Shanghai's Star Market, seeking to raise as revenue surged 335% to 1.71 billion yuan last year. The humanoid robot maker delivered 5,500 units in 2025, ranking first globally. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3347365/chinas-unitree-robotics-rides-humanoid-tide-it-targets-us610m-ipo #Tech #Startup #News #Robotics #Unitree

Fusion startups have drawn more than 10 billion USD in investment as they rush to build fusion reactors capable of putting power on the grid. The article explores the different approaches startups are taking, including magnetic confinement using powerful magnets. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/21/how-fusion-power-works-and-the-startups-pursuing-it/ #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech #ClimateTech

Cloaked, a consumer privacy startup offering bundled security tools including VPN, identity theft protection and AI-powered screening, has raised 375M USD in Series B funding to expand from consumer to enterprise market. The company saw 10x growth last year and now has over 350,000 paying customers.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/consumer-focused-privacy-company-cloaked-raises-375m-as-it-expands-to-enterprise/

#Tech #Startup #News #AISecurity #Cloaked

Compliance startup Delve, previously valued at 300M USD, faces allegations of providing fabricated compliance evidence. An anonymous Substack post claims the Y Combinator-backed company produces fake audit results to achieve faster certifications. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/21/delve-accused-of-misleading-customers-with-fake-compliance/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Delve

Arc Boat Company has raised 50M USD in Series C funding to expand from consumer electric boats into commercial and defense vessels. The Los Angeles startup plans to electrify tugboats and sell propulsion systems to defence contractors, following a Tesla-like strategy of proving technology in consumer markets first. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/arc-expands-into-electric-commercial-and-defense-boats-with-50m-raise/ #Tech #Startup #News #DefenseTech #Arc

Nvidia and the UK's National Wealth Fund have invested 103m USD in Oxford-based autonomous driving startup Oxa. The company develops software for self-driving industrial vehicles and will use the funding to expand its physical AI and robotics technology globally. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/04/nvidia-uk-wealth-fund-invest-british-autonomous-driving-startup-oxa #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech #Oxa

A developer built an AI agent called Rachel to phone 3,000 pubs across Ireland and compare pint prices. The agent uses ElevenLabs conversational AI and Twilio to call venues, navigate phone menus, and compile price comparisons. When asked, Rachel identifies herself as an AI. https://tech.eu/2026/03/20/meet-rachel-the-ai-agent-that-phoned-3000-pubs-to-price-a-pint/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Rachel

Starling Bank has launched what it claims is the UK's first agentic AI financial assistant. The challenger bank, serving nearly five million customers, says the assistant can help manage day-to-day finances, offer personalised insights, and handle banking tasks through voice and natural language commands. Built on Google's Gemini platform. https://tech.eu/2026/03/20/starling-bank-rolls-out-uks-first-agentic-ai-financial-assistant/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #StarlingBank

Fourth Power, an MIT spinout founded by Professor Asegun Henry, is developing thermal batteries that store electricity as heat at temperatures up to 2,400C using carbon bricks and molten tin. The company aims to provide 10-100 hours of grid-scale storage at a lower cost than lithium-ion batteries. A 1MWh demonstration unit is planned for later this year. https://news.mit.edu/2026/turning-extreme-heat-large-scale-energy-storage-0318 #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech #FourthPower

Microsoft is reducing Copilot AI entry points across Windows 11, starting with Photos, Widgets, Notepad and Snipping Tool. The company says it wants to focus on AI experiences that are genuinely useful, reflecting growing consumer pushback against AI bloat in operating systems. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/20/microsoft-rolls-back-some-of-its-copilot-ai-bloat-on-windows/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Microsoft

French AI startup Cleavr has raised EUR1 million to develop an autonomous accounts receivable platform. The solution automates the full collection cycle including reminders, reconciliation and dispute management. The funding will support expansion across European markets from 2026. https://tech.eu/2026/03/19/cleavr-raises-eur1m-to-develop-an-ai-solution-for-accounts-receivable/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Cleavr

AI startups accounted for 41% of the 128B USD in venture dollars raised on Carta last year - a record share. Just 10% of startups captured half of all funding, with capital concentrated in a handful of firms like OpenAI (110B USD), Anthropic (30B USD at 380B valuation), and xAI (20B USD). Fewer bets but bigger rounds as AI model costs soar. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/20/ai-startups-are-eating-the-venture-industry-and-the-returns-so-far-are-good/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI

NATO's Innovation Fund has backed UK startup SatVu, which raised €35M to scale its thermal imaging satellite constellation. The company can detect heat signatures inside buildings, day or night, through cloud cover, giving governments and defence customers persistent monitoring of operational activity. Currently operating one satellite, SatVu plans to expand to six satellites in 2026. https://www.startupreporter.eu/natos-innovation-fund-just-backed-satvu-a-satellite-startup/ #Tech #Startup #News #DefenseTech #SpaceTech #SatVu

Blue Origin has asked the FCC for permission to launch a network of more than 50,000 satellites that will act as a data center in orbit. Project Sunrise will perform advanced computation in space to ease mounting pressure on terrestrial data centers by shifting energy and water-intensive computing away from Earth. Several companies including SpaceX and Starcloud are pursuing similar space data center concepts. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/20/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-enters-the-space-data-center-game/ #Tech #Startup #News #SpaceTech #BlueOrigin

Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch calls for a 1-5% revenue levy on AI model providers operating in Europe, with proceeds funnelled into Europe's cultural sector. He says the money would give AI companies legal certainty while compensating creators whose data trains their models.

https://tech.eu/2026/03/20/ai-model-giants-should-pay-a-levy-to-operate-in-europe-says-mistral-boss/

#Tech #Startup #News #AI #Mistral

Steward, an AI-first compliance platform helping asset managers handle 100B USD in investor onboarding, raises 5M USD in funding led by Motive Partners. The platform automates AML and KYC workflows for complex investor structures. https://tech.eu/2026/03/17/steward-an-ai-driven-compliance-platform-managing-100b-raises-5m/ #Tech #Startup #News #Fintech #Steward

PhonePe, the Walmart-backed Indian fintech giant valued at 12B USD, has shelved its planned IPO citing global market tensions. The digital payments leader was set to go public in what would have been India's largest listing in years. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/walmart-backed-phonepe-shelves-ipo-as-global-tensions-rattle-markets/ #Tech #Startup #News #Fintech #PhonePe

Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing the Pentagon over its decision to grant xAI access to classified networks, raising concerns about national security and AI safety. The controversy comes as xAI seeks to expand its AI capabilities into defense applications. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/15/warren-presses-pentagon-over-decision-to-grant-xai-access-to-classified-networks/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Defense #xAI

Nyne, founded by a father-son duo, raises 5.3M USD seed funding to build the intelligence layer that helps AI agents understand humans across their entire digital footprint. The startup aims to solve the context gap in AI agent decision-making. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/13/nyne-founded-by-a-father-son-duo-gives-ai-agents-the-human-context-theyre-missing/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Nyne

Fuse raises 25M USD to disrupt aging loan origination systems used by US credit unions. The startup also announced a 5M USD rescue fund to help credit unions ditch legacy software for its AI-native platform. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/fuse-raises-25m-to-disrupt-aging-loan-origination-systems-used-by-u-s-credit-unions/ #Tech #Startup #News #Fintech #Fuse

Shawn Shen believes AI needs visual memory to succeed in the physical world. His company Memories.ai, spun out of Meta, is using Nvidia's AI tools to build infrastructure for wearables and robotics to remember and recall visual memories. The startup announced a collaboration with Nvidia at its GTC conference. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/memories-ai-is-building-the-visual-memory-layer-for-wearables-and-robotics/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #MemoriesAI

Frore Systems, an eight-year-old semiconductor startup, has raised 143M USD in Series D funding at a 1.64B USD valuation. The company makes liquid-cooling systems for AI chips, a technology inspired by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Founded by former Qualcomm engineers, Frore has raised 340M USD total. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/another-deep-tech-chip-startup-becomes-a-unicorn-frore-hits-1-64b/ #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech #Frore

LinkerBot, a Beijing-based robotics startup, is equipping humanoid robots with dexterous hands capable of performing delicate operations like playing piano. The company's L6 dexterous hands enable precise keystrokes comparable to top human pianists. China's humanoid market reached 2.5B USD in 2025, with the country producing 12,000 units - a 420% jump year-over-year. https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344242/doraemon-dexterous-hands-chinas-linkerbot-equips-robots-human-skills #Tech #Startup #News #Robotics #LinkerBot

Anthropic has accused Chinese AI firms DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax AI of using around 24,000 fraudulent accounts to generate over 16 million exchanges with its Claude models in what it calls unauthorized 'distillation' - a technique that transfers capabilities from larger to smaller models. https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3344499/anthropics-distilling-charges-against-chinese-firms-expose-ai-training-grey-area #Tech #Startup #News #AISecurity #Anthropic

WhiteBridge AI, a Lithuanian startup, has raised 3M USD in seed funding to build an AI-powered people search and research engine. The platform turns scattered public signals into decision-ready insights, helping businesses verify information and manage digital footprints. #AI #Cybersecurity #Tech #Startup #News https://tech.eu/2026/03/16/whitebridge-ai-raises-3m-to-redefine-standards-in-people-search-and-research/

Lawyer Jay Edelson, leading cases against OpenAI and Google over AI chatbots allegedly contributing to violence and suicide, warns more mass casualty events linked to AI are coming. His firm receives one serious inquiry daily from cases involving AI-induced psychosis. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/15/lawyer-behind-ai-psychosis-cases-warns-of-mass-casualty-risks/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #AISecurity

UK startup Isembard has raised 50M USD in Series A funding to open 25 AI-powered factories for aerospace and defense. The company plans to expand from 6 to 25 factories across the US, UK, Germany, France and Ukraine by end of 2026. https://tech.eu/2026/03/09/uk-manufacturing-startup-isembard-secures-50m/ #Tech #Startup #News #Defense #Isembard

Google and Accel's Atoms accelerator rejected 70% of 4,000 AI startup applications as wrappers - basic chatbots on existing models. The five selected startups will receive up to 2M USD in funding and 350,000 USD in cloud credits. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/15/google-and-accel-cut-through-wrappers-in-4000-ai-startup-pitches-to-pick-five-tied-to-india/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Google #Accel

China's top court says it treats AI-related cases with care while allowing room for the industry to innovate and make mistakes, according to its annual report. Supreme People's Court president Zhang Jun said courts had promoted the orderly development of artificial intelligence. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345999/chinas-top-court-says-it-treats-ai-cases-care-without-stifling-growth-or-innovation #Tech #Startup #News #AI #China

Anthropic has filed a lawsuit against the US government over what it calls intimidation tactics demanding unconditional military use of its AI technology. The dispute escalates tensions between the AI startup and Pentagon. https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346019/anthropic-sues-us-government-row-over-ai-use-military-deepens #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Anthropic

Yann LeCun, the Turing Award winner who left Meta in 2025 convinced that large language models are a dead end, has raised 1.03 billion USD in seed funding for his new venture Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs. The Paris-based company, backed by investors including Nvidia, Samsung, Toyota Ventures, Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, is believed to have raised the largest seed round ever for a European startup. https://thenextweb.com/news/yann-lecun-ami-labs-world-models-billion #Tech #Startup #News #AI #AMI

US Treasury is ending all use of Anthropic products, including Claude platform, following Trump's government-wide ban after the AI startup rejected the Pentagon's demands for unconditional military use. Anthropic has vowed to sue over what it calls intimidation. https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3345184/us-treasury-says-it-stopping-use-anthropics-tech-including-its-claude-platform #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Anthropic

MIT spinout Osmoses has developed polymer membrane technology that filters gases with unprecedented selectivity, reducing the need for heat in industrial chemical separations. The startup is already working with partners to upgrade biogas, recover hydrogen from chemical facilities, and extract helium from underground wells in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. https://news.mit.edu/2026/osmoses-takes-heat-out-industrial-chemical-separations-0130 #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech #Osmoses

Hertha Metals, founded by MIT alumna Laureen Meroueh, is developing a single-step steel production process using electric arc furnaces powered by natural gas, electricity, or clean hydrogen. The startup says its method uses 30 percent less energy than conventional steel mills and could make US steelmaking more cost-competitive while reducing emissions. https://news.mit.edu/2026/new-way-make-steel-could-reduce-americas-reliance-imports-0213 #Tech #Startup #News #ClimateTech #HerthaMetals

UK satellite startup Open Cosmos plans European rival to Starlink: The Oxford-headquartered spacetech startup is gearing up to manufacture up to 200 satellites a year, offering European governments and businesses an alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink. https://tech.eu/2026/03/03/uk-headquartered-satellite-startup-open-cosmos-plans-european-rival-to-starlink/ #Tech #Startup #News #SpaceTech

This week's startup funding highlights by https://Pirates.BZ: #AxeleraAI raised EUR 250M to become Europe's first EIC Scaling Club unicorn, #ScienceCorp raised $230M for brain implants, #Nominal raised $155M at $1B for defense tech, #Oxa raised $103M for autonomous driving. #Tech #Startup #News

Trump told the US government to immediately stop using Anthropic's technology after the AI startup rejected the Pentagon's demand for unconditional military use of its Claude models. Anthropic has now vowed to sue the US government over this decision. https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344946/trump-tells-us-government-immediately-stop-using-anthropic-ai-tech #Tech #Startup #News #AI #Anthropic

Einride raises US$113M ahead of public debut: The Swedish self-driving truck startup secured US$113M PIPE at US$1.35B pre-money valuation. The autonomous truck company plans NYSE listing via SPAC in H1 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/self-driving-truck-startup-einride-raises-113m-pipe-ahead-of-public-debut/ #Tech #Startup #News #Robotics

Shine Technologies raises US$240M for fusion tech with applications in medicine and energy: The Wisconsin-based startup is developing fusion technologies that could transform both healthcare and power generation. https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/biggest-funding-rounds-ai-openai-semiconductors-matx/ #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech

SatVu closes €35M to scale its high-resolution thermal imaging constellation from the NATO Innovation Fund: The UK company is moving from single-satellite demo to multi-satellite persistence, delivering Activity Intelligence that reveals operational patterns invisible to optical satellites - day or night, through cloud cover. https://www.startupreporter.eu/natos-innovation-fund-just-backed-satvu-a-satellite-startup/ #Tech #Startup #News #Defense #Europe

Temple, a brain-monitoring wearable startup from Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal, raises US4M in a friends-and-family round at ~US90M valuation: The Indian entrepreneur stepped down as Zomato CEO in January to pursue higher-risk exploration. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/27/after-zomato-deepinder-goyal-returns-with-a-54m-brain-monitoring-bet/ #Tech #Startup #News #DeepTech

Trace raises US$3M to solve the AI agent adoption problem in enterprise: The London-based startup maps complex corporate environments and processes so AI agents have the context they need to scale. "We're building the manager that knows where to put them," says CEO Tim Cherkasov. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/trace-raises-3-million-to-solve-the-agent-adoption-problem/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI

Fintech infrastructure company Plaid completes tender offer at US$8B valuation: The valuation is up 31% from $6.1B in April 2025, reflecting the company's momentum and increasing relevance in the age of AI. Founded in 2013, Plaid started by connecting consumer bank accounts to financial apps and has since expanded into lending, identity verification, credit reporting, anti-fraud and payments. https://news.crunchbase.com/fintech/plaid-completes-tender-offer-8b-valuation/ #Tech #Startup #News #Fintech #Plaid

Self-driving truck startup Einride raises US$113M PIPE ahead of public debut: The proceeds will support technology roadmap, global expansion, and autonomous deployments in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The Sweden-based company is preparing to go public. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/self-driving-truck-startup-einride-raises-113m-pipe-ahead-of-public-debut/ #Tech #Startup #News #Autonomous #Europe

Seattle fintech startup Confido Legal raises US$9M across two rounds: The company builds financial software for law firms and legal tech companies, spinning out of Gravity Payments. Investors include Aquiline Capital Partners, Context Ventures, and Breakwater Ventures. https://www.geekwire.com/2026/seattle-fintech-startup-confido-legal-raises-fresh-cash/ #Tech #Startup #News #Fintech #USA

Read AI launches Digital Twin in Seattle: The AI bot named Ada can respond to work emails, schedule meetings, and answer questions using context from meetings, email, files and CRM systems. Users cc ada@read.ai on threads to get help when busy or out of office. https://www.geekwire.com/2026/read-ai-rolls-out-digital-twin-that-can-respond-to-work-emails-and-schedule-meetings/ #Tech #Startup #News #AI #ReadAI