Funding Deal

• European startup funding in June 2026 saw a shift toward a higher volume of smaller deals, with total investment falling to €8.3 billion. • Despite the drop in total capital, deal activity increased to 293 transactions, indicating a preference for smaller financing rounds over "blockbuster" investments. • This trend suggests a cautious investment climate where venture capitalists are diversifying risk across more startups rather than concentrating funds in a few mega-rounds.

• Aligned has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round led by PeakSpan Capital, with participation from Hetz Ventures, JAL Ventures, and NFX. • This latest investment brings the company's total funding to date to $73.8 million. • The funds will be used to develop an AI-native collaborative dealmaking platform designed to streamline and organize the often chaotic process of B2B enterprise sales execution.

• Artificial intelligence dominated the largest U.S. startup funding rounds this week, with AI companies securing the majority of the top 10 deals. • The week's most significant financing event was a $1.5 billion Series F round for Baseten, a provider of AI inference technology. • Biotech emerged as the second-largest sector for venture capital investment, though it trailed significantly behind the AI spree.

• Indian technology startups raised $7.2 billion in the first half of 2026, representing a 12% year-on-year increase in total funding. • Despite the rise in capital, the overall deal count, investor participation, and the number of first-time funding rounds all declined, indicating that growth was driven by a few larger funding rounds. • Artificial Intelligence emerged as a dominant sector, with AI-native startups achieving unicorn status more rapidly than companies in other industries.

• World-Model startup Odyssey led the week's largest funding rounds, securing $310 million during a period of slower activity for major deals. • Twenty Technologies, an Arlington-based defense firm, raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Accel, reaching a $1 billion valuation. • These investments span diverse sectors including AI, fintech, quantum computing, and cybersecurity, highlighting a broad appetite for deep-tech innovation.

• Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has raised over 50 billion yuan ($7.40 billion) in its first funding round, according to a report by The Information. • The funding has pushed the company's valuation to exceed $50 billion, marking a significant financial milestone for the AI firm. • The investment utilized an unusual deal structure specifically designed to ensure that the company's founders maintain operational and strategic control.

• Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has closed its first funding round, raising over 50 billion yuan (approximately $7.4 billion). • The deal values the large-language model developer at more than $50 billion and utilizes an unusual structure where capital is placed into a limited partnership managed by CEO Liang Wenfeng. • This massive injection of capital underscores the intense global competition in AI development and DeepSeek's emergence as a major player in the sector.

• Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has raised over 50 billion yuan (approximately US$7 billion) in its first funding round, reaching a valuation exceeding US$50 billion. • The funding utilizes an unusual deal structure specifically designed to ensure founder Liang maintains control over the company. • Major external investors include tech giant Tencent, which is considering a 10 billion yuan investment, and battery manufacturer CATL, eyeing a 5 billion yuan stake.

• Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has raised over 50 billion yuan (approximately $7.40 billion) in its first funding round, achieving a valuation exceeding $50 billion. • The company utilized a limited partnership structure to ensure founders maintain control, implementing a five-year lock-up period and stripping investors of voting rights. • A notable exception to the voting restriction is China's national AI fund, which retains its influence within the deal structure.

• Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has raised over 50 billion yuan ($7.40 billion) in its first major funding round. • The investment has propelled the company to a valuation exceeding $50 billion, as reported by The Information on Tuesday. • The deal's investor structure was specifically designed to ensure the founder maintains control over the company.

• Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has closed its first funding round, raising over 50 billion yuan (approximately $7.40 billion). • According to a report from The Information on Tuesday, the investment was secured using an unusual deal structure. • This massive capital injection positions DeepSeek as a significant competitor in the global AI landscape, challenging established players with substantial resources.

• A medical device company specializing in musculoskeletal implants and treatment systems secured the week's largest U.S. funding round, totaling $1.5 billion. • Hark, a one-year-old AI startup developing personalized hardware devices, also raised a massive Series A round supported by several high-profile investors. • These deals signal a resurgence in "physical tech," with significant capital flowing into aerospace, defense, fintech, and retail technology alongside traditional AI software.

Exclusive: Ministers accused of trying to keep investment firm’s withdrawal from partnership with NatureScot under wrapsA funding deal to raise £100m from private investors for urgently needed nature restoration in Scotland has fallen through without the Scottish parliament being told.The Guardian has learned that Aberdeen, the investment firm, decided to withdraw from a partnership with the agency NatureScot to raise at least £100m for conservation projects from commercial and private investors late last year. Continue reading...

The partial government shutdown has now lasted eight weeks with Congress on recess until 13 AprilHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The record-breaking partial government shutdown has now entered its eighth week, with little end in sight.Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into a law a bill that allows the state to designate terrorist groups, then punish those who promote them. Critics say the law will threaten free speech, especially on school campuses. The bill specifics bars the state’s courts from enforcing foreign religious laws, specifically naming Sharia Law. Florida courts enforce secular laws passed in the state, however.Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat, will introduce impeachment articles next week against defense secretary Pete Hegseth. “Only Congress has the power to declare war, not a rogue president or his lackeys,” Ansari said in a statement.Donald Trump reiterated his threats to bomb Iranian energy and civilian infrastructure if the White House does not reach a deal to reopen the strait of Hormuz 8pm ET today. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said during a 90-minute press conference Monday afternoon.District court judges have been increasingly issuing strong rulings challenging the legality of many of Trump’s policies and power grabs, blocking key ones at least temporarily, and sparking angry responses from the president, former judges and prosecutors say.Trump threatened to jail a journalist – or journalists – who reported that a second US airman was missing after being shot down by Iran on Friday in an effort to identify their source. The badly injured airman hid in a mountain crevice to avoid capture before being rescued by a US recovery team that received heavy fire. Continue reading...

Measure that would fund homeland security but exclude money for ICE could conclude lengthy funding lapseAn end to the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be in sight, after Congress’s Republican leaders on Wednesday agreed to advance legislation that would fund the majority of the agency’s operations, with the exception of those involved in immigration enforcement.The pact may conclude the longest such funding lapse in US history, which last month caused security lines to stretch for hours at some airports as employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a subagency of DHS, quit their jobs or called out of work after going weeks without pay. Continue reading...

Bill passes by 213 to 203 votes in move prolonging weeks-long budget standoff that has disrupted travelUS House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security and instead passed their own funding measure late Friday, extending a weeks-long budget standoff that has disrupted travel.The stopgap bill, which proposes funding the DHS in full for eight weeks, passed by 213 to 203 votes after Republicans in the lower chamber refused to take up a Senate-passed deal that excluded money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. Continue reading...

• House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to commit Friday to passing the Senate-approved DHS funding bill, which excludes ICE and CBP funding amid ongoing agency shutdown. • Conservative Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris opposes the deal, demanding restoration of immigration enforcement funds and attachment of SAVE America Act voter ID legislation before returning to Senate. • Johnson faces challenges passing via party-line rule or two-thirds suspension vote, risking backlash from hard-liners and Democrats.

Passengers report varying experiences at different times of day at security screening as ICE agents assist TSA staffUS politics – live updatesHartfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport turned the digital wait time sign off days ago. Predicting passenger behavior can be hard; predicting the behavior of unpaid TSA agents is also hard. Keeping an accurate clock has been impossible.Even though ICE agents have started filling in for TSA screeners at some airports, a morning flight might mean a three-hour slog with lines winding around baggage carousels, from the security checkpoint all the way outside to the curb. Continue reading...

• Senate passed a funding package by voice vote on March 27, 2026, covering most DHS operations except ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, paving way to end partial shutdown before two-week recess. • Package includes $20 million for body cameras on immigration agents, drawing from January negotiations, while Republicans eyed reconciliation for more immigration funding. • Deal averts further disruptions amid Trump's unilateral TSA worker payments, with House potentially voting Friday; impacts $140 billion prior windfall for ICE and CBP.

The deal would mean TSA staff, who screen airport passengers, baggage and cargo, would start being paid for the first time since mid-FebruarySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The Senate has ended a budget standoff that has forced thousands of airport security staff to work without pay and caused long delays at airports.Democrats held firm in our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militia should not get more funding without serious reforms.US markets saw their biggest slump since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran on Thursday as Donald Trump said the conflict’s impact on oil prices had not been as bad as he expected. The Dow closed 450 points down, while the S&P 500 dipped 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.3%, plunging into correction territory, which happens when an index falls at least 10% below its most recent peak. More here.The department of treasury announced that US paper currency will soon feature President Donald Trump’s signature to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. The move marks the first time a sitting US president’s signature will appear on legal tender. To accommodate this change, the treasurer’s signature will be removed for the first time since 1861. More here.The Senate failed to achieve 60 votes needed to pass an amendment to the Save America act that would require voters to present photo ID to cast a ballot. The chamber voted 52-47, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass. No Democrats voted for it. Earlier today, Trump urged Republicans to terminate the Senate filibuster.During a cabinet meeting today, Donald Trump said that Iran was letting 10 oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz as an apparent goodwill gesture in the supposed negotiations. He also repeated his earlier remarks that Iran is “begging to make a deal”.Donald Trump wants to renovate the White House’s treaty room, traditionally a meeting space for diplomats and statesman, into a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom, according to the New York Times. Continue reading...

Corporation welcomes three-year settlement as it continues to push for government to take on all of service’s costsThe BBC World Service will be given increased government funding as part of a three-year deal after ministers concluded it was needed to counter the rise of global disinformation.The Guardian understands that Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has agreed an additional £11m a year for the next three years on the government’s grant to the service. Continue reading...