Whilst January has historically been a somewhat quieter month for funding, 2026 has truly kicked off with a bang.
In January 2026, the startup world saw a number of businesses raise significant capital from investors, including one of the largest AI seed raises of all time.
So, what were the biggest fundraises in January? Here are the ten funding rounds that caught our eye…
Humans&
Humans&, a startup built by former OpenAI researchers, describes itself as a ‘human-centric AI lab’.
The researchers believe that AI should centre around people and their relationships, rather than looking to replace them. Since its launch, Humans& has seen huge interest from investors, culminating in their $480M seed funding round, one of the largest in history.
Who led the round? Humans& co-founder Georges Harik
Find them at: humansand.ai
Alpaca Bags
Alpaga bags, a brokerage company that has developed an API to help businesses trade options more easily, reached unicorn status in January after its $150m Series D raise.
The company has said it plans to use the latest round to fund its expansion into new markets and keep developing its product capabilities.
Who led the round? Drive Capital
Find them at: alpaca.markets
Rain
Rain, a payment platform designed to help people more easily trade stablecoins, has raised $250 million in a series C funding round, valuing it at around $1.95 billion.
The company is setting out to make trading stablecoins easier, especially in markets across EMEA, MENA and the Americas.
Who led the round? ICONIQ
Find them at: www.rain.xyz
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Ricursive Intelligence
Ricursive Intelligence, an AI chip design company, raised a huge $300M series A round, at a $4 billion valuation.
The round, resulting in a huge valuation, comes just 2 months after the company’s launch, showing huge investor interest in the product.
Who led the round? Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz
Find them at: recursiveintelligence.io
Cellares
Cellares, a company that creates tech to accelerate cell therapy development, raised a $257 million Series D round in late January.
The round is due to help Cellares roll out their smart factories across multiple locations, meaning more people can access life saving cell therapies.
Who led the round? BlackRock and Eclipse
Find them at: cellares.com
PaleBlueDot AI
Just last week, PaleBlueDot raised $150M in a Series B funding round. The company, which focuses on AI compute infrastructure, is looking to capitalise on the AI revolution, specifically companies’ needs for AI computing power.
Who led the round? B Capital
Find them at: palebluedot.ai
Rogo
Rogo, a US fintech that is planning to use AI to manage financial workflows for businesses, raised a $75 million Series C round.
The company is looking to use the round to expand into Europe, helping more businesses leverage AI to improve financial processes.
Who led the round? Sequoia Capital
Find them at: rogo.ai
one.five
one.five is a Hamburg-based company that uses AI to develop more sustainable product packaging. In January, the company raised a €14 million in Series A funding designed to help them perfect their AI platform and expand across Europe and into the US.
Who led the round? Dr Hans Riegel Holding
Find them at: www.one.five.com
Gyde
Gyde, an AI platform designed to support insurance, health and wealth brokers with workflows, raised a $60 million funding round.
The company is looking to make it easier for brokers to manage their day-to-day tasks so they can spend more time building relationships and giving customers valuable advice.
Who led the round? Lightspeed Venture Partners
Find them at: gyde.ai
Zipline
Zipline, a company that specialises in drone delivery and logistics, raised a $600 million investment round, valuing it at $7.6 billion. The latest round will be used to help the company expand further across the US and make drone delivery more mainstream.
It also announced last month that the company had surpassed over 2 million deliveries to date, showing just how popular this type of delivery service is.
Who led the round? Dassault Aviation
Find them at: zipline.com
Sources: fintech futures, crunchbase news, TFN
