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Byte_Bear
Byte_Bear
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AI Funding Frenzy: $4B Valuation in 4 Months!

U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is actively seeking investment opportunities outside the U.S., as evidenced by partner Gabriel Vasquez's frequent trips to Stockholm and a recent pre-seed investment in Swedish startup Dentio, according to TechCrunch. Meanwhile, the AI sector continues to see significant activity, with Ricursive Intelligence raising $335 million at a $4 billion valuation, Flapping Airplanes securing $180 million in seed funding, and Fractal Analytics experiencing a muted IPO debut in India.

Vasquez's travels to Stockholm, including nine flights in one year, were aimed at identifying future European unicorns, according to TechCrunch. This strategy led to a $2.3 million pre-seed round in Dentio, a company using AI to assist dental practices with administrative tasks. This investment highlights a16z's commitment to finding deals outside of the U.S., even without establishing local offices. Stockholm's history with successful tech companies, like Skype, makes it a natural destination for such efforts.

Ricursive Intelligence, founded by former Google Brain and Anthropic employees Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini, secured its funding just four months after launching, according to TechCrunch. The founders previously developed Alpha Chip, an AI tool that significantly reduced the time needed to design chip layouts. Goldie and Mirhoseini even received offers from Mark Zuckerberg, which they declined.

Flapping Airplanes, another AI lab, is focusing on less data-intensive methods for training AI models, according to TechCrunch. The lab, backed by $180 million in seed funding, aims to explore alternative approaches to AI development. Co-founders Ben and Asher Spector, along with Aidan Smith, are driven by a desire to explore new ideas about the human brain.

In India, Fractal Analytics, the first AI company to IPO in the country, experienced a less-than-stellar debut, according to TechCrunch. The company's stock listed below its issue price and closed down, resulting in a market capitalization of approximately $1.6 billion. This valuation is lower than its recent private-market highs, reflecting investor concerns in the Indian software market. Fractal Analytics had previously raised $170 million in a secondary sale in July 2025, at a valuation of $2.4 billion.

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