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QUANTLOGIX STARTUP DAILY
SUNDAY · 09/20/2026 SILICON VALLEY
Displayed Rounds
12
Past 7 days
Disclosed Capital
$5.2B
Past 7 days
Tracked Startups
2,497
QL private book
Mega-Round Board
8
$100M+ recent
Markdown Watch
100
names flagged

Crusoe Energy Systems Series F ($3.9B) leads the startup tape

12 disclosed deals totaling $5.2B in the last 7 days, but concentration is extreme: Crusoe Energy Systems alone accounts for 75% of tape capital at $3.9B (Series F, $31B post-money, led by Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital, Valor Equity Partners). Ex-Crusoe, tape is $1.3B across 11 deals. Notable marks: Impulse Space $308M Series D extension at $5.6B (up 31.5% from $4.26B in June 2026); Factory $200M growth round at $5.0B (up 233% from $1.5B in April 2026); Profound $180M Series D at $1.8B (up 80% from $1.0B in February 2026). Temporal Series E $550M at $12.55B (up 151% from $5.0B in February) appears in trend data but not the displayed 12-deal tape. Instinct (AI) is in talks, not closed — treat as announcement only. Weekly tracked capital fell 34.9% vs prior week ($6.17B vs $9.47B), though prior week was inflated by large AI rounds.

Daily Startup News

Last-24h: WSJ reports young Chinese workers launching AI startups amid burnout and unemployment — a labor-market signal more than a capital-market one. Lenovo Ventures backed Chinese chip startup GeTong ZhiLian (amount undisclosed). TypeSafe AI's decision model reportedly became Vercel's fastest-adopted launch — a product-traction claim that corroborates its $40M seed. Nex Playground reported raising $150M and crossing 1M units (source: tech-insider.org, unverified). UK announced £500M for AI in drug discovery (government program, not a VC fund). BMO committed up to $70B for Canadian critical economic sectors — a bank lending commitment, not startup capital. Dutch AI chip startup Euclyd raised $231M with Samsung backing (per Tech Edition).

Valuations & Secondary Transactions

Six new post-money marks this week. Standout step-ups: Factory +233% ($1.5B→$5.0B in 5 months), Temporal +151% ($5.0B→$12.55B in 7 months), Profound +80% ($1.0B→$1.8B in 7 months), Impulse Space +31.5% ($4.26B→$5.6B in 3.5 months). Crusoe's $31B is a first-time mark (no prior recorded). TypeSafe AI seed at $200M and Vantora at $200M are also first marks. Markdown Watch board: 100 companies flagged, 123 scored. Top risk scores: Linktree (86/100, +482% vs public comps), Replit (86/100, +225%), Xendit (80/100, +1958%). Recent markdown events: Upgrade -30.8%, Applied Intuition -60%, Axonius -61.5%. Mega-round board: OpenAI $122B, Waymo $16B, Scale AI $14B. Angle Health reportedly reached $2.7B valuation (recent context, Fierce Healthcare).

Company / Round DateReported Post-MoneyPrior Post-Money / DateMark ChangeEvidence
Crusoe Energy Systems
2026-09-17
$31BUnavailableNot comparableTracked roster; source link unavailable
Impulse Space
2026-09-16
$5.6B$4.3B
2026-06-02
+31.5%Tracked roster; source link unavailable
Factory
2026-09-15
$5.0B$1.5B
2026-04-16
+233.3%Tracked roster; source link unavailable
Profound
2026-09-15
$1.8B$1.0B
2026-02-24
+80.0%Tracked roster; source link unavailable
TypeSafe AI
2026-09-15
$200MUnavailableNot comparableTracked roster; source link unavailable
Vantora
2026-09-15
$200MUnavailableNot comparableTracked roster; source link unavailable
Pave Finance
2026-09-14
$100MUnavailableNot comparableTracked roster; source link unavailable
Temporal
2026-09-14
$13B$5.0B
2026-02-17
+151.0%Tracked roster; source link unavailable

Historical round marks are not replaced with today's company valuation. Mark changes compare disclosed post-money levels, not investor returns; dilution and financing terms may differ. Secondary indications, fund marks and enterprise values in linked reporting are separate evidence, not interchangeable round valuations.

Capital by Sector

EnergyEnergy · $4.0B disclosed in window$4.0BAIAI · $470M disclosed in window$470MDefense & SpaceDefense & Space · $308M disclosed in window$308MDeveloper ToolsDeveloper Tools · $200M disclosed in window$200MRoboticsRobotics · $80M disclosed in window$80MCybersecurityCybersecurity · $72M disclosed in window$72M

Disclosed round capital in the window. Undisclosed amounts count as zero.

The Funding Tape — Past 7 days

12 disclosed deals totaling $5.2B in the last 7 days, but concentration is extreme: Crusoe Energy Systems alone accounts for 75% of tape capital at $3.9B (Series F, $31B post-money, led by Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital, Valor Equity Partners). Ex-Crusoe, tape is $1.3B across 11 deals. Notable marks: Impulse Space $308M Series D extension at $5.6B (up 31.5% from $4.26B in June 2026); Factory $200M growth round at $5.0B (up 233% from $1.5B in April 2026); Profound $180M Series D at $1.8B (up 80% from $1.0B in February 2026). Temporal Series E $550M at $12.55B (up 151% from $5.0B in February) appears in trend data but not the displayed 12-deal tape. Instinct (AI) is in talks, not closed — treat as announcement only. Weekly tracked capital fell 34.9% vs prior week ($6.17B vs $9.47B), though prior week was inflated by large AI rounds.

DateCompanyRoundAmountReported Post-MoneyLeadSector
2026-09-17 Crusoe Energy Systems Series F $3.9B $31B Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital and Valor Equity Partners Energy
2026-09-17 Mazama Energy Series B $135M Centaurus Capital and Doerr Capital Energy
2026-09-17 MIND Series B $72M Crosspoint Capital Partners Cybersecurity
2026-09-17 Watney Robotics Series A $80M Valor Atreides AI Fund and Hummingbird Ventures Robotics
2026-09-16 Arcee AI Series B $150M Vista Equity Partners / Cambium Capital / Emergence Capital (co-led) AI
2026-09-16 Impulse Space Series D extension $308M $5.6B Defense & Space
2026-09-15 Factory Growth round (series undisclosed) $200M $5.0B Developer Tools
2026-09-15 Instinct New round — IN TALKS, not closed AI
2026-09-15 Profound Series D $180M $1.8B Sequoia Capital / Kleiner Perkins (co-led) AI
2026-09-15 RegCell Series A $44M Playground Global Biotech
2026-09-15 TypeSafe AI Seed $40M $200M DCVC AI
2026-09-15 Vantora Growth equity (majority stake) $100M $200M Silversmith Capital Partners AI

Stage Mix — Deals & Capital by Stage

Where the window's activity sits on the funding ladder: deal count (solid) against disclosed capital (faded) per stage, with the companies behind each cluster. Stages come from the reported round labels; undisclosed amounts count as zero capital.

Seed: 1Series A: 2Series B: 3Series C–D: 2Late / Growth: 3Other: 1
Seed · 1 deal · $40MSeries A · 2 deals · $124MSeries B · 3 deals · $357MSeries C–D · 2 deals · $488MLate / Growth · 3 deals · $4.2BOther · 1 deal
SeedSeed: 1 deal1 dealSeed: $40M$40MSeries ASeries A: 2 deals2 dealsSeries A: $124M$124MSeries BSeries B: 3 deals3 dealsSeries B: $357M$357MSeries C–DSeries C–D: 2 deals2 dealsSeries C–D: $488M$488MLate / GrowthLate / Growth: 3 deals3 dealsLate / Growth: $4.2B$4.2BOtherOther: 1 deal1 dealOther: no disclosed capital
Seed
1 deal · $40M disclosed · 1% of window capital
Series A
2 deals · $124M disclosed · 2% of window capital
Series B
3 deals · $357M disclosed · 7% of window capital
Series C–D
2 deals · $488M disclosed · 9% of window capital
Late / Growth
3 deals · $4.2B disclosed · 81% of window capital
Other
1 deal · disclosed

VC Activity & Lead Investors

AI still leads by deal count (10 rounds, $773M) but capital dropped 74.7% week-over-week as mega-rounds shifted to energy. Energy pulled $4.04B across just 2 rounds vs $835M prior week (+383%). Seed-stage signal: TypeSafe AI raised $40M at $200M post-money (DCVC lead) — a large seed suggesting DCVC sees durable infrastructure value in AI type-safety. Arcee AI's $150M Series B (Vista/Cambium/Emergence co-led) confirms model-layer tooling remains fundable at scale. Vantora's $100M majority-stake growth equity by Silversmith at a $200M post-money is structurally notable: a PE-style control transaction at a modest mark, not a typical VC up-round. Most-active leads by total round size are Crusoe's trio (Atreides/Mubadala/Valor) at $3.9B, but that is a single deal.

Lead InvestorDisplayed DealsAssociated Round Sizes
Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital and Valor Equity Partners1$3.9B
Sequoia Capital / Kleiner Perkins (co-led)1$180M
Vista Equity Partners / Cambium Capital / Emergence Capital (co-led)1$150M
Centaurus Capital and Doerr Capital1$135M
Silversmith Capital Partners1$100M
Valor Atreides AI Fund and Hummingbird Ventures1$80M
Crosspoint Capital Partners1$72M
Playground Global1$44M

Total sizes of associated rounds, not the lead investor's check sizes. Investor types are not inferred from their names.

Private Equity & Growth Buyouts

Last-24h PE signals: HarbourVest raised $2.4B (WSJ, fund vehicle — not direct startup capital). Spectrum Equity and JMI Equity both flagged as growth-equity players in software/AI (Dealroom profiles, no new fund announced). Silversmith Capital Partners' $100M majority-stake acquisition of Vantora at $200M post-money is the clearest PE-style control deal on the tape — a growth equity firm taking control at a modest valuation, structurally distinct from minority VC. Waystar considering going private (Yahoo Finance) signals continued public-to-private appetite. Bending Spoons' acquisition of Miro at 90% discount (Forbes, Sept 10) is a cautionary data point for SaaS founders expecting premium exits.

Investment Funds & Capital Formation

Last-24h: HarbourVest closed $2.4B (WSJ) — fund-of-funds/secondaries vehicle, not direct startup checks. Pulse Fund closed $63M inaugural fund targeting climate, infrastructure, food, mobility (Pulse 2.0, recent context) — a small first-time fund. UK government announced £500M for AI in drug discovery — public-sector program, not private fundraising. BMO's up-to-$70B Canadian sector commitment is a bank lending pledge, not a VC/PE fund. Canada 'wealth fund' proposal (EnergyNow) is policy debate, not a live vehicle. No new large VC funds announced in the last 24h. Sovereign wealth funds reportedly pulling back from China (Nikkei) — a potential LP allocation headwind for China-focused GPs. Overall, fund news is thin this cycle; the capital story is deal-level, not fund-level.

M&A & Exits

Last-24h M&A evidence is active but thin on deal specifics. Blackstone and Halliburton reported investing $1B in VoltaGrid (energy infrastructure). Infillion acquired Foursquare (location data) — terms undisclosed. Publicis reported acquiring LiveRamp for $2.2B. eSentire bought a stealth AI security startup (terms undisclosed). Bending Spoons acquired Miro at a 90% discount per Forbes (recent context, Sept 10) — a stark data point on SaaS unicorn markdowns in trade sales. Waystar Holding reported considering a return to private ownership. Manus reportedly in talks to raise $500M at $4B after a Meta merger deal fell through — this is an announcement, not a closed transaction.

Off-Book Wire

Funding headlines from outside the tracked book — sourced links, not QL data.

Mega-Round Board

The largest recent private rounds ($100M+) across the tracked book — 2072 ranked. Full board: quantlogix.ai/mega-rounds.

OpenAIOpenAI · $122B · Late-stage primary122000WaymoWaymo · $16B · 2026 mega-round16000Scale AIScale AI · $14B · Series F + Meta investment14300PrometheusPrometheus · $12B · Funding12000SwitchSwitch · $11B · Buyout/LBO11000Blue OriginBlue Origin · $10B · Private (Bezos-funded)10000

🎯 QL Score Movers

Biggest overnight changes in the graded company score — scores only move when disclosed data moves, and every repricing grades the score that was standing.

CompanyScoreΔ
Crusoe Energy Systems 73 → 79 +6

Private Markets Weekday Digest · 09/20/2026

Display-only private-markets tape from the tracked roster — formations, priced fundraises, valuation marks, and U.S. VC lead activity. No inferred amounts; empty sections stay empty.

Window: 2026-09-20 · sources: private-companies.json, investors.json

New company formations

No rows in the report window.

Fund raises

No rows in the report window.

Valuation marks

No rows in the report window.

Top U.S. VC activity

No rows in the report window.

Weekend date — digest payload is available but weekday delivery is Mon–Fri only.

Private Market Desk — Evening Edition · 09/19/2026

The Silicon Valley Private Market Daily — the 8pm PT desk close: qualified raises, roster re-rates and sector velocity from the QL private-market pipeline.

💰 Notable Raises

  • No newly closed rounds cleared verification in this window.

🔍 Reported, not yet verified

  • Vantora — reported $100M Series A; details did not clear cross-source verification — held for manual review, excluded from the dataset.
  • Thatch — reported $108M; details did not clear cross-source verification — held for manual review, excluded from the dataset.

📊 Valuation re-rates (roster marks that moved)

  • Impulse Space — $4.3B (2026-Q2) → $5.6B (+31%) on Series D extension.
  • Factory — $1.5B (2026-Q2) → $5B (+233%) on Growth round (series undisclosed).
  • Profound — $1B (2026-Q1) → $1.8B (+80%) on Series D led by Sequoia Capital / Kleiner Perkins (co-led).
  • Temporal — $5B (2026-Q1) → $12.6B (+151%) on Series E led by Lightspeed.
  • Harvey — $11B (2026-Q1) → $15.5B (+41%) on Later Stage VC led by Diffusion / Lightspeed Venture Partners (co-led).
  • Cognition — $26B (2026-Q2) → $48B (+85%) on Later Stage VC led by Andreessen Horowitz / Accel / Founders Fund / General Catalyst / Avenir (co-led).
  • Upwind — $1.5B (2026-Q1) → $3.8B (+153%) on Series C led by Bessemer Venture Partners, TCV.
  • AfterQuery — $300M (2026-Q2) → $3.2B (+967%) on Growth round (reported).
  • Fluidstack — $7.5B (2026-Q1) → $18B (+140%) on Growth round (series undisclosed) led by Jane Street.
  • Instinct — $500M (2026-Q3) → $2.5B (+400%) on Series B led by Index Ventures / Benchmark (co-led).
  • Firmus Technologies — $5.5B (2026-Q1) → $10.5B (+91%) on Growth Equity led by Nvidia & Coatue.
  • Hadrian — $1.6B (2025-Q3) → $7.9B (+392%) on Series D led by JPMorgan Strategic Investment Group.
  • HappyRobot — $500M (2025-Q3) → $1.2B (+140%) on Series C led by Prysm Capital.
  • Owner — $1B (2025-Q2) → $2.3B (+130%) on Series D led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
  • K2 Space — $3B (2025-Q4) → $6.8B (+127%) on Series D led by Kleiner Perkins / ICONIQ Capital.
  • Anthropic — $965B (2026-Q2) → $1000B (+4%) on Strategic Investment led by AMD.
  • Wonder — $7B (2025-Q2) → $9.7B (+38%) on Series D.
  • Baseten — $5B (2026-Q1) → $13B (+160%) on Series F led by Altimeter Capital, Conviction, Spark Capital.
  • Prometheus — $38B (2026-Q2) → $41B (+8%) on Funding led by Jeff Bezos.
  • Ramp — $32B (2025-Q3) → $44B (+38%) on Series F led by ICONIQ / GIC / Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

⚡ Mega-round momentum (sector velocity, closed rounds)

  • AI — $18.8B across 23 rounds / 23 companies (accelerating, 23 vs. 6 prior rounds). Top: Anthropic $5B (Strategic Investment).
  • Energy — $3.6B across 6 rounds / 6 companies (accelerating, 6 vs. 1 prior round). Top: Valar Atomics $1B (Series B).
  • Defense — $3.4B across 5 rounds / 5 companies (accelerating, 5 vs. 1 prior round). Top: Helsing $1.8B (Late Stage).
  • Space / Defense — $1.5B across 2 rounds / 2 companies (new, new vs. a quiet prior window). Top: Stoke Space $1B (Series E).
  • Defense / Industrials — $1.4B across 1 round / 1 company (new, new vs. a quiet prior window). Top: Hadrian $1.4B (Series D).
  • Technology — $1.3B across 5 rounds / 5 companies (accelerating, 5 vs. 1 prior round). Top: Battery Storage Startup Antora $550M (Series C).

🚀 New / Stealth Companies

  • No fresh stealth intake surfaced this window.

🏦 Private-Market Fund Watch

  • No new fund registrations, launches, or portfolio changes cleared primary-source verification in this window.

📊 Robinhood Ventures Performance

  • RVI — $27.75 close (2026-09-18) · day -0.04% · since first available close (2026-03-06) +32.14% · NAV/premium-discount not published in today's qualified inputs.
  • RVII — $22.86 close (2026-09-18) · day +0.62% · since first available close (2026-08-13) -0.39% · NAV/premium-discount not published in today's qualified inputs.

🏛️ Institutional Ownership (13F)

  • RVI: no holders currently indexed in the curated top-manager 13F universe. The quarter-over-quarter read is BEARISH: 0 new, 0 increased, 0 decreased, and 1 exited (2026-03-31 → 2026-06-30). Coverage is filing-based and can lag quarter-end by up to 45 days.
  • RVII: no holders currently indexed in the curated top-manager 13F universe. Coverage is filing-based and can lag quarter-end by up to 45 days.

🧭 Macro read

The private market landscape is characterized by heavy concentration in AI-linked infrastructure and specialized industrial AI, as evidenced by large-scale capital deployment into Vantora and sustained interest in verticalized healthcare solutions like Thatch. There is significant uncertainty regarding the sustainability of current AI valuations, compounded by calls from industry leaders for increased nationalization and regulatory control over frontier technology.

🗂️ Dataset updated: no new closed rounds to add; list holds at 2,434.

🔗 Sources

  • [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/18/a-startup-that-builds-other-startups-raised-100m-and-is-all-in-on-physical-ai/)
  • [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/09/the-venture-firm-that-ate-silicon-valley/)
  • [RVI market performance](https://polygon.io/)
  • [SEC Form 13F methodology](https://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/13ffaq.htm)

Markdown Watch

100 tracked names flagged for markdown risk — 123 scored nightly, 2308 left unscored (no comp bridge). Down rounds are recorded in the open ledger — receipts only work in public. Live boards: markdown-watch · down-round-ledger.

Click a column to sort · third click restores rank order
#CompanySectorRisk ScoreBandVs CompsLast MarkLast Round
1 Linktree SaaS 86 High +482% $1.3B 54 mo ago
2 Replit Data / Infra 86 High +225% $9.0B 41 mo ago
3 Xendit Financial Services 80 High +1958% $2.7B 52 mo ago
4 Forter Fintech 80 High +1011% $3.0B 64 mo ago
5 Greenlight Fintech 80 High +644% $2.3B 66 mo ago
6 Betterment Fintech 80 High +457% $1.1B 42 mo ago
7 Cross River Bank fintech 80 High +229% $3.0B 54 mo ago
8 Pump SaaS 75 High +1553% $1.5B 28 mo ago

Nightly score: comp-bridge premium (45%) · round staleness (30%) · IPO-readiness drag (15%) · funding deceleration (10%). Companies without a computable public-comp bridge stay unscored — never guessed.

56 markdowns detected all-time · 11 flagged beforehand · 45 missed · hit rate 19.6%

CompanyDetectedEventMarkCalled?
Upgrade 2026-09-14 Mark cut −30.8% $7.3B → $5.0B ✓ Flagged #64 · Moderate
Applied Intuition 2026-09-14 Mark cut −60.0% $15B → $6.0B ✗ Missed
Axonius 2026-09-14 Mark cut −61.5% $2.6B → $1.0B ✗ Missed
Digital Currency Group 2026-09-14 Mark cut −80.0% $10B → $2.0B ✗ Missed
ChargeBee 2026-09-07 Mark cut −6.7% $3.8B → $3.5B ✗ Missed
Increase 2026-09-07 Mark cut −7.4% $5.4B → $5.0B ✗ Missed
Aurora Solar 2026-09-07 Mark cut −9.1% $4.4B → $4.0B ✗ Missed
Razorpay 2026-09-07 Mark cut −25.3% $7.5B → $5.6B ✗ Missed

Down-round & valuation headlines scraped at publication from Google News, Hacker News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance and the wider tech press.

IPO Runway — Latest Deep Dives

Founder & Investor Take

Energy is the new AI for mega-rounds

Crusoe's $3.9B at $31B shows energy infrastructure can now command AI-scale checks. If you're building at the energy-compute intersection, investor appetite is real — but one deal does not make a sector. Don't assume your energy startup will get Crusoe terms.

Markdown risk is concentrated in SaaS/DevTools

100 companies on Markdown Watch; recent cuts of 30-62% at Upgrade, Applied Intuition, Axonius. Bending Spoons bought Miro at 90% discount. If your last round was a 2024-25 peak mark in SaaS, expect diligence on comparables.

Majority-stake deals are a viable exit path

Silversmith took a majority position in Vantora at $200M post-money. For founders who want partial liquidity without IPO risk, PE growth-equity control deals are real — but the valuation will be grounded, not aspirational.

Outlook

Energy mega-rounds may continue if AI infrastructure demand persists, but the $3.9B Crusoe deal is an outlier — do not extrapolate sector averages from it. AI deal count remains high (10 rounds) but check sizes are compressing. Markdown pressure on 2024-era SaaS marks will intensify as public comps reset. Founders raising in Q4 2026 should price to current marks, not peak.

QuantLogix briefings are educational market commentary generated from live data, not investment advice. Private-market figures come from public reporting and the QuantLogix private-company dataset; amounts and valuations are as-reported, not audited. Markets carry risk of loss.