Issue #36 • September 19, 2025
Hi Seedradar Squad! This week, the AI revolution reached new heights with Figure AI's monumental funding for humanoid robots and OpenAI's new model for agentic software engineering. These breakthroughs, along with major investments in AI-driven health tech and a fascinating project to revive the dodo bird, show how innovation is reshaping everything from labor and engineering to biology and conservation. Plus, we are introducing Seedradar Ventures! You will be able to learn how we participate in early-stage innovation now.
🤖 Figure AI Secures Over $1B to Commercialize Humanoid Robotics
Humanoid robotics company Figure AI raised more than $1 billion in a landmark funding round, pushing its valuation to $39 billion.
The capital infusion, backed by major technology players including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia, is set to accelerate the deployment of its autonomous humanoid robots for real-world labor shortages in logistics, warehousing, and retail.
💰 Snapshots: What Else Is Happening?
• Groq1 closed a $750 million funding round, valuing the company at $6.9 billion. The round will scale the production of Groq's Language Processing Units (LPUs). - Read More
• Colossal Biosciences raised $120 million to advance its efforts to revive the dodo bird. The funding supports the company's broader mission to develop advanced genetic engineering and reproductive technologies. - Read More
• OpenAI launched GPT-5 Codex, a specialized version of its next-generation model optimized for agentic coding. The new model is designed to handle complex, real-world engineering tasks like building projects from scratch. - Read More
• Mercor an AI training data startup that supplies companies like OpenAI and Nvidia, has reportedly received multiple offers for a $100 million funding round that would value it at over $10 billion. - Read More
💰 Sharks of the Week!
️🔥 CPP Investments - Invested an additional $90 million in Chestnut Carbon, bringing the carbon removal developer's Series B total to $250 million. - Read More
️🔥 Accel - Led a $65 million combined seed and Series A round for Vega, an AI-native security analytics platform that helps organizations detect and investigate threats. - Read More
️🔥 Versant Ventures - Co-led a $50 million Series A funding round for AllRock Bio, a biotech company focused on treatments for cardiopulmonary and fibrotic diseases. - Read More
🔥 Igniting the Future: Seedradar Ventures Syndicate!
At Seedradar Ventures, we back relentless founders at the earliest stage, investing in teams solving big problems with solutions that deliver a 10–20x greater impact.
Our syndicate offers investors access to a curated pipeline of early-stage startups, sourced through our network.
🚀 Startup Radar: Movers, Shakers & Future Makers
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🛠️ Trending AI Tools to Supercharge Your Workflow!
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💼 Join the Revolution: Hot Startup Jobs!
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💼 Resource of the Week: Unleash the AI Power!
🚀 AI-Powered Growth Hacking Playbook
A collection of modern growth strategies for startups, focusing on using AI for hyper-personalized customer journeys, automated lead scoring, predictive analytics, and creating content at scale with generative AI tools.
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Disclosure: Seedradar Ventures and/or its general partner may hold investments in some of the companies mentioned in this newsletter. This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.
1 The general partner of Seedradar Ventures is an investor in Groq.
