AI and tech startups secure millions in new funding rounds

Scaling AI agent payments

Mural recently closed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Tether. The company is focusing its resources on building a specialized payment infrastructure designed specifically for AI agents. This infrastructure is intended to allow these autonomous systems to conduct transactions securely and independently.

As businesses begin to deploy more AI agents, they face the challenge of giving these systems the power to spend money without losing control. Mural provides a suite of functionalities to manage this risk, including identity verification, compliance checks, and transaction limits. It also offers tools for account management and counterparty limits to ensure oversight.

By providing a way for businesses to set permissions and spending boundaries, Mural aims to solve a major hurdle for enterprise adoption. The funding comes with support from North Island Ventures and other existing investors who recognize the need for secure financial rails. This development marks a step toward a world where AI can handle complex financial tasks on behalf of human users.

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Enterprise AI and automation

The startup AuxoAI secured $20.7 million in Series A funding to help businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their daily operations. The company plans to use this capital to expand its global team of AI experts and develop its own proprietary technology. Their goal is to scale AI delivery and forge strategic alliances to reach more enterprise clients.

Simultaneously, Slingshot Insurance raised $27 million in a seed round to create an AI-enabled embedded insurance solution. This technology is designed to automate the data exchange and administrative processes that usually happen between insurance firms and distribution channels. By removing these manual hurdles, the platform aims to make insurance more seamless for various software providers.

These two companies represent a trend toward making AI more practical for large organizations. While AuxoAI focuses on the human expertise and technology needed to deploy AI, Slingshot Insurance focuses on the specific automation of administrative workflows. Both aim to reduce the friction that currently prevents many companies from fully adopting AI tools.

Massive investment in DeepSeek

In a much larger move, the Chinese AI company DeepSeek reportedly attracted around $15 billion in funding. This massive capital injection includes participation from major entities like Tencent Holdings and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL). The reported funds are intended to support the company's core infrastructure, including data centers and computing capacity.

Beyond hardware, the investment is expected to fuel the development of open-source AI models. This move positions DeepSeek as a significant player in the global AI landscape, potentially allowing it to compete with major US companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. The scale of this funding suggests a high level of confidence in DeepSeek's ability to build large-scale computing power.

However, the specifics of this funding and any potential plans for an initial public offering remain unconfirmed. Despite the lack of final details, the reported amount highlights the intense competition to build the underlying infrastructure for the next generation of AI. It shows that the race for computing power and open-source dominance is accelerating rapidly.

Travel and niche sectors

The travel technology sector also saw growth with TravClan securing $5 million in funding from investors including Flipkart, August One, and Trifecta Capital. The company plans to use these funds to develop AI-driven travel technology and scale its operations in key markets. They also intend to forge international alliances with hotel and activity partners.

In the insurance space, Slingshot Insurance is looking beyond just software to potentially acquire an existing insurance firm. This move would allow them to gain immediate underwriting capabilities while they continue to build their automated data exchange platform. By combining software with actual insurance operations, they hope to create a more integrated service for vertical software providers.

These diverse funding rounds across travel, insurance, and fintech illustrate a broad appetite for AI-driven growth. Investors are looking for companies that can apply AI to solve specific problems in traditional industries. Whether it is automating hotel bookings or streamlining insurance claims, the goal is to use technology to improve efficiency and reach.