Current News on Startups and Venture Investments as of March 5, 2026: AI Mega Rounds, Defence Technologies, Deeptech in Europe, Fintech, and Exits
The key signal from recent days is that capital is once again concentrating in areas where technological advantages are quickly monetized through scalable channels: defence contracts, corporate AI infrastructure, autonomous mobility, and deep supply chains (chips, energy efficiency, logistics). Meanwhile, Europe Inc. continues to build its own "sovereign" frameworks—from dual-use funds to state-supported foundational AI research.
- Defence tech and autonomous systems are emerging as leaders in growth rates: a new major round for Anduril is under discussion.
- AI remains the center of gravity for venture investments: the mega round for OpenAI and large rounds for Anthropic and Waymo solidify the trend of capital concentration.
- "Picks and shovels" of AI (optics, interconnects, inference chips, edge) are once again receiving valuation premiums.
- European deeptech is gaining momentum: space, energy storage, and biomaterials are attracting significant Series A–C investments.
- Fintech exits are returning the "window of opportunity": market discussions are underway regarding a major IPO in India.
- M&A and PE deals in logistics and enterprise software strengthen the "build-to-buy" argument for B2B startups.
Headline of the Day: Defence Tech, Dual-Use, and Autonomous Platforms — Anduril Aiming for a New Round
The defence segment is changing the fastest: demand for autonomous systems, sensors, "swarm" drones, and control software in the context of electronic warfare is reshaping the venture thesis. According to business media, Anduril is discussing raising around $4 billion, suggesting nearly a doubling of its valuation from the $30.5 billion recorded in the previous round. For the market, this is not just "another mega round," but a marker that defence budgets and long-term contracts are transforming defence tech into a distinct asset class at the intersection of VC and growth/private equity.
Europe is responding with its own capital tool. The European Investment Fund has announced a €50 million commitment to Join Capital's third fund (target size €235 million), focused on early deeptech in the fields of defence, security, and space. Strategically, this signifies a shift away from "concepts" and towards more engineering industrialization and supply chains within the region.
- Europe (UK): Mutable Tactics has raised around $2.1 million (pre-seed/seed) for a software "decision-layer" to coordinate drones during loss of connectivity.
- Central and Eastern Europe: there are notable deals in the region where defence and dual-use projects are competing with classic SaaS in terms of round sizes.
AI Mega Rounds and Capital Concentration: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo Set the Scale
The paradox of the 2026 venture market: risk appetite has increased, but it is distributed extremely unevenly. The focus is on OpenAI, which announced $110 billion in new funding at a $730 billion pre-money valuation (and around $840 billion post-money). Major strategic investors are involved in the deal, and the capital is increasingly tied to access to computing resources and distribution channels for corporate products and “AI agents.”
At the market level, this strengthens the "gravity effect." According to industry reports, global venture investments reached a record volume in February, with three companies—OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo—capturing the overwhelming majority of the capital raised. For funds, this shifts benchmarking: the "mega round" is no longer an exception at the top of the pyramid but remains inaccessible for the vast majority of startups lacking infrastructure advantages.
- For growth funds: competition is intensifying for shares in several "compounding" categories, where capital becomes a leverage for access to compute and contracts.
- For early-stage: the value of projects not tied to expensive compute infrastructure is increasing, as they can quickly generate marginal B2B income.
- For corporates: the logic of "build + partner" is returning: it is simpler to invest in an ecosystem than to try to replicate the best models internally.
"Picks and Shovels" for AI: Optics, Interconnects, and Inference Chips Gain Premiums
Against the backdrop of mega rounds for model developers, the layer of hardware and infrastructure "intermediaries" is sharply revitalizing. Ayar Labs, which develops optical interconnects between computing and memory chips to accelerate data transmission, announced a $500 million Series E at an approximate valuation of $3.75 billion. The logic is clear: bottlenecks are emerging not only in GPUs but also in "data transport" within data centers, as well as energy consumption and cooling.
Europe is also pushing forward with its own inference chip roadmap. Dutch company Axelera AI reported raising over $250 million with participation from a large institutional player and European funds, advocating for energy-efficient inference on edge devices. This is crucial for markets where latency, privacy, and cloud costs are limiting the implementation of AI in manufacturing, robotics, and defence scenarios.
- Thesis 2026: training remains a showcase, but money is flowing into infrastructure for mass inference.
- Operational KPI: the cost of a single "useful solution" (inference/agent) is more important than model size.
Autonomy and Industrial AI: Oxa, Waymo, and the Shift from Prototypes to Deployment
The shift in autonomous mobility is becoming more pragmatic: less "robotaxi dreams," and more industrial autonomy in controlled environments—ports, airports, warehouses. UK-based Oxa raised $103 million in Series D funding, including $50 million from the UK National Wealth Fund, as well as participation from NVentures and bp ventures. The company underscores its focus on "industrial mobile autonomy," where implementation cycles are shorter, and the economic impact is easier to calculate.
On the other hand, scaling robotaxis as an infrastructure service is gaining ground. Waymo closed a round of $16 billion at an approximate valuation of $126 billion, confirming that autonomous mobility (with regulated access and an established safety stack) is becoming a new vertical for large growth capital rounds. For venture investors, the takeaway is simple: it is not the one showcasing the most attractive pilot who wins, but the one who reduces operating costs and expands deployment geography.
European Deeptech and Climate: Space, Seasonal Energy Storage, and Materials
This week's European agenda is notably "industrial." Spanish firm PLD Space closed a €180 million Series C round led by Mitsubishi Electric, with participation from Spanish public support mechanisms and private investors. The key focus is on transitioning to commercial launches and infrastructure deployment, which positions spacetech closer to the "infrastructure asset" model rather than a venture experiment.
In climate tech, the focus is shifting from "green promises" to energy-consuming realities. Norwegian company Photoncycle raised €15 million in Series A funding for seasonal storage: the idea of storing excess solar energy in summer for use in winter is a rare example of clear consumer value in Europe with its energy pricing. In the materials segment, London-based Shellworks closed $15 million in Series A to scale Vivomer—an alternative to plastic—betting on cost competitiveness and production in regions (US/EU/UK).
- Spacetech: capital is flowing into launch infrastructure and manufacturing capacity, rather than just payloads.
- Climate tech: investors demand measurable impact on cost and supply chains.
B2B-SaaS and Vertical AI Products: Legal Tech, Compliance, and “Agentic” Automation
In applied B2B AI, "verticalization" continues—winners are products that integrate into existing processes, saving hours of expensive specialist time. In France/Europe, the platform DeepIP raised $25 million in Series B funding, positioning itself as a workflow-native solution for the entire patent lifecycle—from early development to portfolio support and enforcement. In the US, the "agentic" thesis is supported by the professional services market: Basis raised $100 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $1.15 billion, focusing on autonomous agents for accounting.
In financial compliance, London-based Diligent AI closed $2.5 million in seed funding for AI agents in KYC/AML, aiming to reduce the burden due to rising sanctions regimes and the speed of digital payments. This is significant for global banks and fintechs in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia: compliance is becoming a point where AI offers a quick ROI without the risk of "hallucinations," as quality metrics (false positives/false negatives, processing time) are relatively formalizable.
Exits, IPOs, and M&A: PhonePe on the IPO Market and Consolidation in Logistics
On the exit side, a key storyline is emerging from India. According to Reuters, Walmart-backed PhonePe is targeting an IPO with a valuation of around $9–10.5 billion and a deal volume of approximately $900 million – $1.05 billion, with plans for existing shareholders to sell stakes. The active preparation for a major fintech listing in Mumbai/India is significant globally: it re-establishes the public market as a pricing mechanism for late-stage firms and alleviates some pressure on secondary transactions.
Meanwhile, M&A and private equity are forming "comps" for B2B. Thoma Bravo announced an agreement to acquire WWEX Group and subsequently merge it with Auctane to create a significant technology platform in logistics and delivery. For venture funds, this confirms that buyers are willing to pay for data, automation, and end-to-end visibility "from checkout to doorstep," especially when the solution is simultaneously software and operationally scalable.
