Section 1 — Funding Briefing
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Today's scan identified 20+ new deals totaling over $500 million in disclosed US early-stage and growth funding. Highlights include Sygaldry's $139M quantum-accelerated AI infrastructure raise, Pillar's $20M a16z-led seed with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as angel, Helical's $10M seed with Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez and HuggingFace CEO Clement Delangue as angels, and FINNY's Hunter AI launch backed by former Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb and Altruist CEO Jason Wenk.
| COMPANY |
AMOUNT |
ROUND |
FOCUS |
LEAD INVESTOR |
| Sygaldry | $139M | Series A + Seed | Quantum AI Servers | Breakthrough Energy Ventures |
| Bluefish | $43M | Series B | Agentic Marketing Platform | Threshold Ventures / NEA |
| Pillar | $20M | Seed | Commodity Risk Hedging AI | a16z |
| FINNY | $17M | Series A | AI Advisor Marketing (Hunter) | Venrock |
| Helical | $10M | Seed | Virtual AI Lab for Pharma | redalpine |
| Nava | $8.3M | Seed | AI Agent Payment Guardrails | Polychain / Archetype |
| Prefix | $7.5M | Seed | AI Facility Management | Collide Capital / Slow Ventures |
| Ranger AI | $6M | Seed | Industrial RFP AI Agents | 4 undisclosed (SEC filing) |
| Debbie | $5.3M | Seed | Savings Rewards Fintech | Trustage Ventures / Reseda Group |
| Prism Layer | $1M | Pre-Seed | Enterprise Risk AI | Fenway Summer |
| Round | $6M | Seed | AI Finance Automation | Alstin Capital / Backed VC |
| HeyMax | $11M | Series A | Universal Travel Rewards | Peak XV Partners |
| Sygaldry Technologies — $139M (Series A + Seed) | Ann Arbor, MI |
Founded by Chad Rigetti, Sygaldry builds quantum-accelerated AI servers designed to reduce the cost and energy demands of AI training and inference. The $105M Series A was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures; the $34M Seed was led by Initialized Capital. Also backed by Y Combinator, Rock Yard Ventures (Daniel Dart), IQT, University of Michigan, QDNL Participations, Expeditions Fund, and 468 Capital.
Angel: Daniel Dart (Rock Yard Ventures) |
| Bluefish — $43M Series B | New York, NY |
Agentic Marketing Platform (AMP) for Fortune 500 brands to monitor and optimize their presence across AI channels (ChatGPT, Claude, Rufus, etc.). Clients include Adidas, American Express, LVMH, and Ulta Beauty. Total raised: $68M.
Investors: Threshold Ventures (co-lead), NEA (co-lead), Amex Ventures, TIAA Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Crane Venture Partners, Laconia, Swift Ventures |
| Pillar — $20M Seed | Commodity Risk Hedging |
AI-powered financial risk management platform automating commodity hedging for metals, food, and airline companies. Total raised: $23M.
Investors: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z, lead), Crucible Capital, Gallery Ventures
Angel: Dara Khosrowshahi (CEO, Uber) |
| FINNY — Hunter AI Launch — $17M Series A (referenced Apr 14) | San Francisco, CA |
FINNY launched "Hunter," an AI agent that acts as a Chief Growth Officer for independent financial advisors — automating marketing strategy, content creation, and campaign execution. The $17M Series A was led by Venrock.
Investors: Venrock (lead), Activant, Y Combinator, Maple VC, Crossbeam Ventures
Angels: William McNabb (fmr Chairman & CEO, Vanguard), Jason Wenk (Founder & CEO, Altruist), Kunal Kapoor (CEO, Morningstar), Josh Brown (CEO, Ritholtz Wealth Management) |
| Helical — $10M Seed | London, UK |
Virtual AI lab for pharma R&D that turns biological foundation models into reproducible drug discovery workflows. Deployed across multiple top-20 pharma programs.
Investors: redalpine (lead), Gradient, BoxGroup, Frst
Angels: Aidan Gomez (CEO, Cohere), Clément Delangue (CEO, HuggingFace), Ivan Zhang (Co-founder, Cohere), Mario Götze (Professional Footballer & Angel Investor) |
| Nava — $8.3M Seed | AI Agent Payment Infrastructure |
Nava builds an escrow-based verification framework to keep autonomous AI financial agents from going off the rails — preventing rogue spending, unauthorized transactions, and hallucinated payments.
Investors: Polychain (co-lead), Archetype (co-lead)
Angel: Sreeram Kannan (Founder, EigenLayer) |
| Modus — $85M Seed + Series A | New York, NY (announced Apr 7, featured Apr 14) |
AI-native audit technology platform and holding company building the first AI-native accounting firm. Acquires and modernizes audit practices with proprietary AI workflows.
Investors: Lightspeed Venture Partners (lead), Comma Capital
Angel: Garry Tan (President & CEO, Y Combinator) |
| Yuzu Health — $35M Series A (announced Apr 6, widely featured Apr 14) |
Health plan administration infrastructure for self-funded employers. Total raised: $40M.
Investors: General Catalyst (lead), Chemistry, Anthropic Anthology Fund, Bain Future Back Ventures, Timeless Ventures, Neo
Angel: Lachy Groom (Co-founder, Physical Intelligence; fmr Head of Stripe Issuing) |
| Prefix — $7.5M Seed | New York, NY |
AI-powered facility management platform for multi-site restaurant and retail operators. Claims 3x efficiency gains and 15%+ cost savings by connecting large brands with local technicians.
Investors: Collide Capital (co-lead), Slow Ventures (co-lead), Connexa Capital, I2BF Global Investments, Bienville Capital |
| Prism Layer — $1M Pre-Seed | Washington, DC |
AI-native enterprise risk management platform for regulated industries. Irish co-founded, DC-based.
Investors: Fenway Summer (lead), Plural Ventures
Angel: Raj Date (Managing Partner, Fenway Summer; fmr Deputy Director, CFPB) |
| Round — $6M Seed | AI Finance Automation |
AI-powered finance automation platform covering treasury, accounts payable, and autonomous payroll for businesses.
Investors: Alstin Capital, Backed VC, Love Ventures, Passion Capital
Angel: Paul Forster (Co-founder & fmr CEO, Indeed) |
| HeyMax — $11M Series A | Singapore |
Universal travel rewards wallet (Max Miles) that aggregates loyalty points across airlines, hotels, and credit cards.
Investors: Peak XV Partners, Betatron Venture Group, January Capital, Tenity
Angels: Rob Rosenstein (Co-founder & Chairman, Agoda), David Lee (fmr President, Visa APAC) |
| Debbie — $5.3M Seed | New York, NY (announced Apr 13) |
Fintech rewards platform (Rewards 2.0) that pays users cash for saving money and paying off debt — inverting the traditional credit card spend-to-earn model. 200K+ users, $149M saved. Total raised: ~$8M.
Investors: Trustage Ventures (co-lead), Reseda Group (co-lead), One Way Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners |
Section 2 — Individual Angels Identified
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Today's scan identified 12 named individual angel investors across 7 deals. Standouts include Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber CEO) in Pillar, Garry Tan (YC President) in Modus, Lachy Groom in Yuzu Health, Sreeram Kannan (EigenLayer) in Nava, and a remarkable cluster of AI CEOs (Aidan Gomez, Clément Delangue, Ivan Zhang) plus footballer Mario Götze in Helical.
| Dara Khosrowshahi |
Background: CEO of Uber since 2017. Previously CEO of Expedia Group. Iranian-American executive with extensive experience in consumer tech and marketplace businesses.
Investment: Pillar ($20M Seed — AI commodity risk hedging)
Location: San Francisco, CA
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dara-khosrowshahi-70949862
X/Twitter: @dkhos
Soar Portal Match: FinancePortal.ai
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| Garry Tan |
Background: President & CEO of Y Combinator. Co-founder of Initialized Capital. Former YC partner 2011–2015. Designer, engineer, and prolific early-stage investor.
Investment: Modus ($85M Seed + Series A — AI-native audit/accounting)
Location: San Francisco, CA
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garrytan
X/Twitter: @garrytan
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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| Lachy Groom |
Background: Co-founder & Co-CEO of Physical Intelligence (pi.ai). Fmr Head of Stripe Issuing. Active angel investor via LGF fund with 50+ portfolio companies including Ramp, Brex, and Retool.
Investment: Yuzu Health ($35M Series A — health plan infrastructure)
Location: San Francisco, CA
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lachy-groom-b218895
X/Twitter: @lachygroom | Email: lachygroom@gmail.com
Soar Portal Match: HealthPortal.ai
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| Sreeram Kannan |
Background: Founder & CEO of EigenLayer ($20B+ AUM restaking protocol, backed by a16z). Affiliate Associate Professor at University of Washington (ECE). Expert in information theory, blockchain, and AI.
Investment: Nava ($8.3M Seed — AI agent payment guardrails)
Location: Seattle, WA
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sreeram-kannan-a397a47
X/Twitter: @sreeramkannan
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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| Aidan Gomez |
Background: Co-founder & CEO of Cohere (enterprise AI, $6.8B valuation). Co-author of the original "Attention Is All You Need" transformer paper. Oxford-educated AI researcher.
Investment: Helical ($10M Seed — virtual AI lab for pharma)
Location: Toronto, Canada
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aidangomez
X/Twitter: @aidangomez
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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| Clément Delangue |
Background: Co-founder & CEO of HuggingFace ($4.5B valuation, 5M+ AI builders, 1M+ public models). Previously co-founded Moodstocks (acquired by Google). Leading voice in open-source AI.
Investment: Helical ($10M Seed — virtual AI lab for pharma)
Location: New York, NY
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/clementdelangue
X/Twitter: @ClementDelangue | Email: clem@huggingface.co
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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| Mario Götze |
Background: Professional footballer at Eintracht Frankfurt. Scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. Active angel investor via Companion M vehicle with 70+ portfolio companies across digital, sustainability, and health tech.
Investment: Helical ($10M Seed — virtual AI lab for pharma)
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mario-goetze
X/Twitter: @MarioGoetze
Soar Portal Match: HealthPortal.ai
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| William McNabb |
Background: Fmr Chairman & CEO of Vanguard (2008–2018), one of the world's largest asset managers ($7T+ AUM). Advisor at Venrock. Board member at multiple public companies.
Investment: FINNY ($17M Series A — AI advisor marketing platform)
Location: Philadelphia, PA area
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/william-mcnabb
X/Twitter: N/A
Soar Portal Match: FinancePortal.ai
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| Jason Wenk |
Background: Founder & CEO of Altruist, a modern custodian for independent financial advisors (raised $290M+). Serial fintech entrepreneur with 20+ years in financial services.
Investment: FINNY ($17M Series A — AI advisor marketing platform)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasonwenk
X/Twitter: @jasonwenk
Soar Portal Match: FinancePortal.ai
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| Kunal Kapoor |
Background: CEO of Morningstar since 2017. Joined Morningstar in 1997 as a data analyst. CFA charterholder. Leading voice on independent investment research and financial data.
Investment: FINNY ($17M Series A — AI advisor marketing platform)
Location: Chicago, IL
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kunal-kapoor-morningstar
X/Twitter: @kapoorkkunal
Soar Portal Match: FinancePortal.ai
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| Josh Brown |
Background: CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management (co-founded 2013). Author, CNBC contributor, and one of the most influential voices in independent wealth management. Host of The Compound podcast.
Investment: FINNY ($17M Series A — AI advisor marketing platform)
Location: New York, NY
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dtjb
X/Twitter: @Downtown
Soar Portal Match: FinancePortal.ai
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| Raj Date |
Background: Managing Partner of Fenway Summer LLC, a DC-based fintech venture firm. First-ever Deputy Director of the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Fmr VP at Capital One and Deutsche Bank.
Investment: Prism Layer ($1M Pre-Seed — enterprise risk AI)
Location: Washington, DC
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raj-date-56598a2
X/Twitter: @rajdate
Soar Portal Match: FinancePortal.ai
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| Paul Forster |
Background: Co-founder & fmr CEO of Indeed (world's largest job site, acquired by Recruit Holdings). Active angel investor via Paul Forster Family Office. Invests in early-stage B2B and fintech.
Investment: Round ($6M Seed — AI finance automation)
Location: United Kingdom
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paul-forster
X/Twitter: @paulforster
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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| Daniel Dart |
Background: Founder & GP of Rock Yard Ventures, a seed-stage VC focused on industrial and infrastructure technology. MIT Sloan / LSE. Former punk rock musician. Inspiring story: from homelessness and incarceration to venture capital.
Investment: Sygaldry ($139M — quantum AI servers, via Rock Yard Ventures)
Location: United States
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/daniel-dart
X/Twitter: @itsdanieldart | Email: daniel@rockyardventures.com
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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| Rob Rosenstein |
Background: Co-founder & Chairman of Agoda (Booking Holdings). Served as President and CEO of Agoda for over a decade before becoming Chairman in 2018. Active angel in travel and fintech.
Investment: HeyMax ($11M Series A — universal travel rewards)
Location: Southeast Asia
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robert-rosenstein
X/Twitter: N/A
Soar Portal Match: FounderPortal.ai
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Section 3 — EDGAR Form D Filings
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118 total Form D filings on April 14, 2026. Notable operating companies identified below:
| COMPANY |
STATE |
TYPE |
NOTES |
| Sygaldry Technologies | MI | Technology | Quantum AI servers — Chad Rigetti |
| Hermeus Corp | GA | Aerospace | Hypersonic aircraft startup |
| Applied Atomics | AK | Energy | Nuclear technology, Anchorage |
| FortisX Ltd | TX | Technology | Houston-based tech company |
| MedikaMind | IL | Health Care | Lincolnshire, IL healthcare tech |
| RELAI | MD | Technology | Bethesda, MD tech startup |
| Parrot.MD | MN | Health Care | Medical AI, Maple Grove MN |
| Zydro Marine Technologies | MA | Maritime | Marine tech, Boston |
| Positron Charging | WA | Clean Energy | EV charging, Vancouver WA |
| RoleBotz | DE | Technology | AI/robotics startup |
Section 4 — Social Media Post Pack
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| LinkedIn Post |
Early-stage funding roundup for April 14, 2026:
20+ new deals. $500M+ raised. 12 named angels.
Top deals: Sygaldry $139M (quantum AI servers, Chad Rigetti), Bluefish $43M (agentic marketing for Fortune 500), Pillar $20M a16z seed (commodity hedging AI), FINNY $17M (Hunter AI for advisors), Helical $10M (virtual pharma AI lab)
Angels: Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber CEO) → Pillar | Garry Tan (YC President) → Modus | Lachy Groom → Yuzu Health | Sreeram Kannan (EigenLayer) → Nava | Aidan Gomez + Clement Delangue + Mario Götze → Helical | Bill McNabb + Jason Wenk + Kunal Kapoor + Josh Brown → FINNY
#venturecapital #angelinvesting #startupfunding #AI #fintech #quantumcomputing
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| X/Twitter Thread |
1/ Angel Registry Update — April 14, 2026: 20+ deals, $500M+, 12 named angels. Big day. 🧵
2/ BIGGEST: Sygaldry $139M to build quantum-accelerated AI servers. Chad Rigetti's new company. Backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures + Initialized Capital.
3/ ANGEL CLUSTER OF THE YEAR: Helical ($10M seed for pharma AI) got @aidangomez (Cohere CEO), @ClementDelangue (HuggingFace CEO), Ivan Zhang (Cohere co-founder), AND @MarioGoetze (World Cup winner) all writing checks.
4/ FINNY launched Hunter AI for advisors. Their $17M Series A angels: Bill McNabb (fmr Vanguard CEO), @jasonwenk (Altruist CEO), @kapoorkkunal (Morningstar CEO), @Downtown (Ritholtz CEO). The whole RIA ecosystem in one cap table.
5/ @dkhos (Uber CEO) backed Pillar's $20M a16z seed for commodity hedging AI. @garrytan (YC President) backed Modus $85M AI accounting. Full report: buttondown.com/AngelRegistry
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Forward to a founder friend → buttondown.com/AngelRegistry
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