Good day. More mature venture-backed companies have been folding this year than last, according to new data from SimpleClosure, a startup that helps others wind down, as funding options dwindle for startups launched before the generative artificial-intelligence boom.

SimpleClosure analyzed information only of its own clients. Dori Yona, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, said that he believes the trend is representative of the broader market. The company has handled more than 1,000 company dissolutions since founding in 2023.

The share of Series A-stage companies that went out of business in 2025 rose to 14%, up from 6% in 2024, according to the data. The majority of the remaining companies that dissolved were pre-seed and seed-stage, but their share declined year over year.

The average amount raised by Series A-stage companies that went out of business this year was $18.5 million, up from $14.6 million last year, per the data. Many of the more mature companies that closed shop date back to the pre-AI boom and are in the fintech, insuretech, mobility, logistics and marketplace sectors, according to SimpleClosure.

There are “far more companies that had raised capital, built real product and still couldn’t justify the next round,” Yona said.

There are a couple reasons for this, he said. One is that many companies created in the prior boom collected capital to bridge them over to the next stage during the market downturn. “That bridge money ran out, so they are more mature but also out of cash,” he said.

Another reason is the vibe change. “⁠⁠I think a lot of these founders feel better and open about shutting down and moving on and potentially starting their next company, especially with all the AI hype,” Yona said.

That’s not to say that AI companies aren’t closing shop, too.

AI was the largest single category of wind downs, accounting for 16% of such transactions, a decrease from 18% last year, according to SimpleClosure.

Yona expects the share of AI companies shutting down in 2026 “will grow exponentially,” in part because legacy software businesses will catch up and outcompete some AI-native startups.

“For 2026, we expect elevated but steadier shutdown levels, with more founders choosing to wind down intentionally and recycle talent, capital and IP [intellectual property] into the next generation of companies,” Yona said.

And now on to the news...

Chip design startup. On a quiet residential street a few blocks from Stanford University, two former Google researchers are launching a startup they hope will remake the $800 billion chip industry.

• Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini are trying to build software that can automate the design of cutting-edge chips, a prospect that would allow every company to build their own chips from scratch.
   
• Working from the top floor of a suburban home, the duo recently raised $35 million to kick-start Ricursive Intelligence with funding from Sequoia Capital. The company, now valued at $750 million, expects to release its first product next year.

Investors are betting on the continued popularity of prediction markets. Kalshi, one of the biggest players in the sector, said Tuesday it has raised $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation, in its third round of capital funding this year.

• The round was led by the investment firm Paradigm, an existing backer, and also includes Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Meritech Capital, IVP, ARK Invest, Anthos Capital, CapitalG and Y Combinator. 

Funds

Expedition Growth Capital, an investor that backs bootstrapped software startups across Europe, raised $375 million for its third fund. The firm has offices in London and Boston.

Anti Fund, which focuses on AI and robotics, closed its Fund I with $30 million in commitments and appointed Logan Paul as general partner. The firm’s assets under management now exceed $65 million.

People

TCV said Nari Ansari has rejoined the firm as a general partner, where he will focus on application software investments. Ansari originally joined the firm in 2006.

Financial planning startup Conquest Planning promoted Brad Joudrie to chief executive. He succeeds Mark Evans, who will transition to an executive chair position.

Generative AI adoption-management platform Portal26 appointed Rick O'Rourke as chief revenue officer.

Eon, a New York-based cloud infrastructure startup, raised $300 million in Series D funding led by Elad Gil, bringing the company’s valuation up to $4 billion. Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners also participated in the round.

Axiado, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of security and management technology for digital infrastructure, snagged over $100 million in Series C+ funding. Maverick Silicon led the investment, which included contributions from Prosperity7 Ventures, Orbit Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital and others.

Antares, a Torrance, Calif.-based nuclear energy startup, completed a $96 million Series B round, including $71 million in equity. Shine Capital led the investment, with Caffeinated and others also participating.

Zafran Security, a New York-based threat-exposure-management provider, scored a $60 million Series C round. Menlo Ventures led the funding, which included participation from Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts, PSP Growth and others.

Titan OS, a Spain-based connected television startup, raised €50 million in Series A funding. Highland Europe led the round, which included participation from Mangrove Capital Partners.

PermitFlow, a New York-based AI platform for construction, landed $54 million in Series B financing. Accel led the round, which saw participation from Kleiner Perkins, Felicis, Initialized Capital and others.

Vinci, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup focusing on physics-driven AI for hardware design and simulation, emerged from stealth with $46 million in funding from investors including Xora Innovation and Eclipse.

Nevis, a wealth-management platform, secured $35 million in a Series A financing from investors including Sequoia Capital and Iconiq. Sequoia’s Luciana Lixandru will join the company’s board.

Niobium, a Dayton, Ohio-based startup building hardware that enables computing on encrypted data, closed on more than $23 million in follow-on seed funding from investors including Fusion Fund, Rev1 Ventures, Blockchange Ventures and Analog Device’s new venture arm.

Unlimited Industries, a San Francisco-based infrastructure construction startup, collected $12 million in seed funding co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and CIV.

Nada, a Dallas-based home equity investment platform, completed a $10 million Series A round led by Interlock Partners.

BuiltAI, a London-based financial modelling platform for commercial real-estate investment, was seeded with a $6 million investment. Work-Bench led the round, which saw participation from Lerer Hippeau and others.

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• GitLab Swings to Loss Despite Sales Gain

• H-1B to Plan B: India’s top tech talent looks beyond the U.S. (Rest of World) 
   
• Anthropic is all in on ‘AI safety’—and that’s helping the $183 billion startup win over big business (Fortune)

This newsletter was compiled by Yuliya Chernova and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.