Good day. A new Australian accelerator aims to help healthcare startups globally advance technologies that could help people with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases.

The accelerator formed through a partnership between a startup builder and investor, Founders Factory, and MSWA, an Australian nonprofit that provides services to patients with neurological conditions and funding to researchers. Through this accelerator, MSWA will make venture-capital investments for the first time, according to Chief Executive Melanie Kiely.

The MSWA Multiple Sclerosis & Neurological Care Accelerator has accepted five U.S. and European startups that are advancing tools that apply to areas such as improving patients’ mobility, evaluating stroke risk and curbing fatigue in MS patients.

Through the four-month program, startups receive funding and the opportunity to work with MSWA to test their technologies.

Several healthcare nonprofits have formed venture arms or partnerships with venture groups. U.K.-based Founders Factory in February formed a collaboration with Northwestern Medicine aimed at helping European healthcare artificial intelligence startups test their products with the Midwestern health system.

Northwestern Medicine and Founders Factory’s trans-Atlantic program will unite talent from Europe and the health system to accelerate innovation, said Hannah Koczka, vice president of venture and innovation for Northwestern Medicine.

Read the full story here.

And now on to the news...

The Big Apple isn’t big enough. New York venture firms are broadening their geographic reach.

• San Francisco’s resurgence and the frenetic AI dealmaking there is proving irresistible to some New York investors. New York firms have also matured, gaining resources to expand from their backyard—with both physical locations and a wider investment reach. Meanwhile, the local market has become so competitive that some investors are looking for more deals elsewhere.
   
• New York-based Deviation Capital is searching for an office space in San Francisco and planning to double its investment team of two there. Deviation, the firm that Two Sigma Ventures became when it was spun out of hedge fund Two Sigma, has long backed startups in the Bay Area. But the current pace of deals requires a different type of presence now, said Colin Beirne, founding partner of Deviation. “There’s so much concentration of talent and network focused on AI that we would be missing out if we didn’t have people there on the ground all the time,” Beirne said.
   
• New York is the second-largest startup market in the U.S. after the Bay Area, but its share of the $20 billion in total seed funding declined last year while San Francisco’s soared. New York startups raised $3.4 billion in pre-seed and seed capital in 2025, a 20% increase over 2024 totals, according to Crunchbase. Bay Area startups, meanwhile, drew in $9.1 billion in seed rounds, a 72% surge from the prior year.

Silicon Valley venture-capital firms are desperate for bets that can survive—and thrive in—the AI reckoning. Investors known for early investments in software, internet services and social-media companies like Snap and Uber have begun venturing far outside of their comfort zones into investments in physical technologies and materials tied to the artificial-intelligence boom. They are making new wagers on AI infrastructure like chips, power and manufacturing, as well as a far-ranging category called physical AI, or autonomous machines that can understand and perform complex real-world tasks. Venture-capital investment in global robotics and physical AI grew to $26 billion in 2025 from $4.2 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook data. This year, companies in those sectors have already raised more than $23 billion as of May 20.

People

Northzone appointed Sam Endacott as a partner in its London office. He joins joins the firm from firstminute capital.

Deals

Dragos, a provider of cybersecurity for operational technology environments, acquired Phosphorus, a discovery and remediation platform for connected devices.

Observable Space, a Los Angeles-based space technology startup, completed a $90 million Series A round led by Lux Capital.

Inherent, London-based AI lab, emerged from stealth with $50 million in seed funding. Index Ventures led the investment, with Danny Rimer joining the company’s board. Radical Ventures also invested.

Picogrid, an El Segundo, Calif.-based defense technology startup, closed a $45 million Series A round. Bessemer Venture Partners led the funding, which included additional support from Initialized Capital and several others.

LightTable, a Denver-based startup building AI infrastructure for pre-construction, landed $22 million in Series A funding led by Innovation Endeavors.

Solstice, a New York-headquartered AI-native marketing agency for pharmaceutical brands, scored $21 million in Series A funding. Transformation Capital led the round, which saw participation from Twelve Below, Virtue and others.

Waypoint Bio, a New York-based startup using AI-powered models to develop cell therapies for solid tumors, picked up a $20 million investment. Amplify Partners led the funding, which saw participation from General Catalyst, Lux Capital and others.

MokN, a Paris-headquartered cybersecurity startup specializing in protection against credential theft, secured $15 million in Series A funding led by GV.

Trajectory, a San Francisco-based research and product lab building a platform for continual learning, emerged from stealth with $15 million in seed funding. Conviction led the round, which included participated from Bessemer Venture Partners. 

• What the Tech Gods Should Learn from the Church
   
• The First Class of AI Natives Is Graduating. Offices Are Getting Ready.
   
• Putin’s $26 Billion Longevity Push
   
• Dell Stock Soars on Data-Center Revenue and Pentagon Deal
   
• AI Has Made Memory Chips More Valuable Than Oil

• U.S. law enforcement warns of ‘anti-tech extremism’ (Wired)
   
• Climatech companies are going public. What’s next? (MIT Technology Review)
   
• I tried to sell my house with a chatbot (New York Times)

This newsletter was compiled by Zachary Cole and Brian Gormley.

Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, and Brian Gormley.

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