Current Startup and Venture Investment News as of March 5, 2026: Mega-Rounds in AI, Defense Technologies, Deeptech in Europe, Fintech, and Exits
The main signal from recent days is that capital is once again concentrating in areas where technological advantages can be rapidly monetized through scalable channels: defense contracts, corporate AI infrastructure, autonomous mobility, and deep supply chains (chips, energy efficiency, logistics). At the same time, Europe Inc. continues to build its own "sovereign" frameworks, from funds for dual-use technologies to state-supported foundational AI science.
- Defense tech and autonomous systems are emerging as leaders in growth rate: a new large round for Anduril is under discussion.
- AI remains the epicenter for venture investments: the mega-round for OpenAI and significant rounds for Anthropic and Waymo cement the capital concentration trend.
- “Picks and shovels” of AI (optics, interconnects, inference chips, edge technologies) are once again commanding a premium in valuations.
- European deeptech is accelerating: space, energy storage, and biomaterials are witnessing notable Series A–C rounds.
- Fintech exits are reopening the "window of opportunity": the market is discussing parameters for a large IPO in India.
- M&A and PE deals in logistics and enterprise software are strengthening the "build-to-buy" argument for B2B startups.
Top Story of the Day: Defense Tech, Dual-Use, and Autonomous Platforms — Anduril Targets New Round
The defense sector is undergoing the fastest transformation: demand for autonomous systems, sensors, “swarm” drones, and the software layer for management in electronic warfare is repackaging the venture thesis. According to business media, Anduril is discussing raising around $4 billion, which suggests a nearly doubling of the valuation from the previous round's level of $30.5 billion. For the market, this represents not just “another mega-round,” but a marker indicating that defense budgets and long-term contracts are turning defense tech into a distinct asset class at the intersection of VC and growth/private equity.
Europe is responding with its own capital instrument. The European Investment Fund announced a €50 million commitment to the third fund of Join Capital (target size of €235 million) with a mandate for early deeptech in the areas of defense, security, and space. Strategically, this means fewer “concepts” and more engineering industrialization and supply chains within the region.
- Europe (UK): Mutable Tactics attracted around $2.1 million (pre-seed/seed) for a software “decision-layer” to coordinate drones during connectivity loss.
- Central and Eastern Europe: The region is seeing deals where defense and dual-use projects compete in round volumes with classic SaaS.
Mega-Rounds in AI and Capital Concentration: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo Set the Scale
The paradox of 2026 in the venture market is that while risk appetite has increased, it is distributed extremely unevenly. Focal points include OpenAI, which has announced $110 billion in new funding with a $730 billion pre-money valuation (and approximately $840 billion post-money). The deal features major strategic investors, and the capital is increasingly tied to access to computing power and distribution channels for corporate products and “AI agents.”
At the market level, this enhances the “gravity effect.” According to industry reports, global venture investments reached a record volume in February, with three companies — OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo — accumulating a overwhelming share of all funds raised. For funds, this alters benchmarks: a “mega-round” has ceased to be an exception at the top of the pyramid, but remains inaccessible to the vast majority of startups without infrastructural advantages.
- For growth funds: competition intensifies for shares in several “compounders” within the category, where capital becomes a leverage for gaining access to compute and contracts.
- For early-stage: the value of projects that are not tied to expensive computing infrastructure and quickly achieve margin-based B2B revenue increases.
- For corporates: the logic of “build + partner” returns: it is easier to invest in an ecosystem than to attempt to reproduce the best models internally.
“Picks and Shovels” for AI: Optics, Interconnects, and Inference Chips Commanding Premium
Amid the mega-rounds for model developers, the layer of hardware and infrastructure is becoming increasingly vibrant. Ayar Labs, which develops optical interconnects between compute and memory chips to accelerate data transfer, announced a $500 million Series E at a valuation of around $3.75 billion. The logic is clear: bottlenecks are emerging not only from GPUs but also from “data transportation” within data centers, as well as energy consumption and cooling.
Europe is also advancing its own roadmap for inference chips. Netherlands-based Axelera AI announced it raised $250+ million with participation from a major institutional player and European funds, promoting the thesis of energy-efficient inference on edge devices. This is crucial for markets where latency, privacy, and cloud costs become limiting factors for building AI solutions in manufacturing, robotics, and defense scenarios.
- Thesis 2026: Training remains the showcase, but funding is going towards infrastructure for mass inference.
- Operating KPI: The cost of one “useful solution” (inference/agent) is more important than model size.
Autonomy and Industrial AI: Oxa, Waymo, and the Transition from Prototyping to Deployment
The shift in autonomous mobility is becoming more pragmatic: less “robotaxi dreams,” and more industrial autonomy in controlled environments — ports, airports, warehouses. UK-based Oxa raised $103 million in Series D funding, including $50 million from the UK National Wealth Fund, and the participation of NVentures and bp ventures. The company emphasizes a focus on “industrial mobile autonomy,” where implementation cycles are shorter and the economic impact is more straightforward to quantify.
On the other side is the scaling of robotaxis as an infrastructure service. Waymo closed a round of $16 billion at a valuation of about $126 billion, confirming that autonomous mobility (with regulated access and an accumulated safety stack) is becoming a new vertical for large growth-capital rounds. For venture investors, the message is clear: it's not the company with the prettiest pilot that wins, but the one that reduces operational costs and expands the geography of deployment.
European Deeptech and Climate: Space, Seasonal Energy Storage, and Materials
This week's European agenda is notably “industrial.” Spain's PLD Space secured €180 million in Series C funding led by Mitsubishi Electric, with participation from Spanish public support mechanisms and private investors. The key focus is shifting towards commercial launch and infrastructure deployment, which brings spacetech closer to a “infrastructure asset” model rather than being viewed as a venture experiment.
In climate, the focus is shifting from “green promises” to energy-intensive realities. Norway's Photoncycle raised €15 million in Series A funding for seasonal storage: the idea of storing surplus solar energy in summer for winter use is a rare example of clear consumer value in Europe with its energy prices. In materials, London-based Shellworks closed $15 million in Series A funding to scale up Vivomer — an alternative to plastic, betting on cost-competitiveness and production in regions (US/EU/UK).
- Spacetech: Capital is flowing into launch infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities, not just payloads.
- Climate tech: Investors demand measurable effects in cost and supply chain.
B2B-SaaS and Vertical AI Products: Legal Tech, Compliance, and “Agentic” Automation
In applied B2B AI, “verticalization” continues — winners are products that integrate into existing processes and save hours of expensive specialists. In France/Europe, the platform DeepIP raised $25 million in Series B, positioning itself as a workflow-native solution for the complete lifecycle of patents — from early development to portfolio support and enforcement. In the US, the “agentic” thesis is also supported by the professional services market: Basis raised $100 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $1.15 billion, focusing on autonomous agents for accounting.
In financial compliance, London’s Diligent AI closed $2.5 million in seed funding for AI agents in KYC/AML, aiming to reduce the burden due to increasing sanctions regimes and the speed of digital payments. This is significant for global banks and fintechs in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia: compliance becomes a point where AI delivers rapid ROI without the risk of “hallucinations,” because quality metrics (false positives/false negatives, processing time) are relatively formalizable.
Exits, IPOs, and M&A: PhonePe on the IPO Market and Consolidation in Logistics
On the exits side, a key storyline emerges from India. According to Reuters, Walmart-backed PhonePe is targeting an IPO with a valuation of around $9–10.5 billion and a deal volume of approximately $900 million – $1.05 billion, with existing shareholders expected to sell portions of their stakes. The mere fact of actively preparing for a large fintech listing in Mumbai/India is globally significant: it returns the public market as a pricing mechanism for late-stage companies and relieves some pressure on secondary transactions.
Simultaneously, M&A and private equity are forming “comps” for B2B. Thoma Bravo announced an agreement to acquire WWEX Group, with plans to merge it with Auctane to create a large technology platform in logistics and delivery. For venture funds, this confirms: buyers are willing to pay for data, automation, and end-to-end visibility “from checkout to doorstep,” especially when the solution is both software and operationally scalable.
