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- Lila Science $1B Valuation, Apex Becomes a Unicorn & The Future of Investing! 🚀
Lila Science $1B Valuation, Apex Becomes a Unicorn & The Future of Investing! 🚀
Seed Radar
September 16, 2025
Issue #35 • September 16, 2025
Hey SeedRadar Squad! This week, Lila Sciences and Apex achieved unicorn status with a major funding round. At the same time, Divergent Technologies closed a substantial round to expand production of military and aerospace components, and Robinhood filed with the SEC to launch a new fund, democratizing access for retail investors to high-growth private startups.
We also spotlight Folionet, a fintech startup making it easier for Latin American investors to access U.S. financial markets, and ventures in construction tech, brand control, and logistics automation, reflecting a relentless pace of transformation across diverse sectors.
📈 Important News of the Week!
• Lila Sciences raised $235 million, achieving a unicorn valuation of over $1 billion. The company is developing a "scientific superintelligence" platform that integrates AI with robotic labs to accelerate the discovery of new drugs and sustainable materials. - Read More
• Apex raised $200 million in a Series D funding round, achieving unicorn status. The company specializes in mass-producing productized, configurable satellite bus platforms for commercial and government customers. - Read More
• Divergent Technologies as secured $290 million in a Series E round, valuing the company at $2.3 billion. The funding will be used to expand production of specialized military and aerospace components, such as missile airframes, for major defense contractors including Lockheed Martin and RTX. - Read More
• Robinhood announced it has filed an application with the SEC to launch a new publicly traded fund, "Robinhood Ventures Fund I," designed to hold shares of private startups. The move aims to democratize access to the venture capital world, allowing all retail investors to invest in high-growth companies before they go public. - Read More
💰 Hot Funding Rounds You Missed!
• Dyna Robotics ($120M) -A startup developing cost-effective, general-purpose robots powered by proprietary embodied AI foundation models to scale deployments across industries. - Read More • Arch ($52M) -An AI-powered operating system purpose-built to eliminate the operational friction of private investing by automatically collecting and structuring financial data from documents. - Read More • GreenLite ($49.5M) -A construction technology company accelerating permit timelines by 75% through AI-powered plan review and compliance solutions for developers, builders, and local governments. - Read More • MarqVision ($48M) -An AI-powered managed service platform for brand control, helping global brands detect and remove instances of counterfeit, piracy, and impersonation across online marketplaces. - Read More
🌱 The Next Big Thing: Our Startup Pick!
🎯 This Week's Emerging Star: Folionet
Folionet is a FinTech startup making some serious noise by bridging the gap between Latin American investors and the U.S. financial markets. As a fully regulated U.S. broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC, they are building a platform grounded in security and trust, making them one to watch.
So what's their big idea? Folionet provides U.S. financial accounts that are accessible from anywhere in the world, with a special focus on empowering the Latin American community. We aren't talking about just another trading app. Their platform offers a dual approach: a self-investing option with access to over 10,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs for hands-on investors, and an advisor-led service that builds and manages personalized portfolios for those who want expert guidance.
Everyone who lives outside the U.S. knows the pain of navigating the complex barriers to entry for the American financial markets. That's exactly what Folionet is trying to fix. They are betting that by providing a secure, transparent, and fully regulated gateway, they can empower a new generation of global investors to build wealth in the world's largest market. It is a bold goal to democratize access to U.S. investments for Latin America and beyond, and that makes Folionet a company worth watching very closely.
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