Startup Flash Report

STARTUP FLASH - December 18, 2025

MoEngage’s $180M follow-on round cements late-stage investor appetite for AI-driven customer engagement platforms[3]

TOP 3 STORIES:

1. MoEngage raises additional $180M Series F follow-on, nears unicorn status
Indian customer engagement platform MoEngage secured a $180 million Series F follow-on round just weeks after a prior $100 million raise, with about $123 million used for secondary liquidity (including a $15 million employee tender) and $57 million going in as primary capital, valuing the company at “well over” $900 million.[3] For founders, this is a clear signal that late-stage investors still aggressively back AI-powered, revenue-centric SaaS with strong ARR visibility and are increasingly comfortable blending secondary + primary to provide employee liquidity while continuing to fund growth.[3]
Sources: [3] https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/weeks-after-raising-100m-investors-pump-another-180m-into-hot-indian-startup-moengage/

2. NJEDA and CoreWeave launch $20M AI Hub fund for early-stage startups in New Jersey
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and CoreWeave announced a $20 million AI Hub investment fund to support startups associated with the NJ AI Hub Strategic Innovation Center, aiming to help them access capital, overcome early growth challenges, and strengthen New Jersey’s position in AI innovation.[2] Founders in and around New Jersey now have a targeted geo-specific capital and infrastructure on-ramp—especially valuable for AI startups needing expensive compute—while VCs and angels gain a clearer public–private pipeline for early AI deal flow tied to a defined innovation hub.[2]
Sources: [2] https://www.njeda.gov/njeda-and-coreweave-announce-creation-of-20m-ai-hub-fund-to-support-innovative-startups/

3. Chai Discovery raises $130M to scale AI-driven drug discovery, hits $1.3B valuation
Chai Discovery, an AI medical research startup focused on accelerating drug development, closed a $130 million funding round led by Oak HC/FT and General Catalyst, with participation from OpenAI Group PBC and others, bringing its valuation to $1.3 billion.[4] For healthtech and deep-tech founders, this underscores that investors will still write nine-figure checks for platforms that combine AI + high-value, regulated domains (like pharma), but also that expectations for technical depth, data access, and clear commercialization paths are correspondingly high.[4]
Sources: [4] https://siliconangle.com/2025/12/15/ai-medical-research-startup-chai-discovery-raises-130m-funding/

Flash Insight:
Funding data for 2025 show that AI-related startups dominate the largest rounds, with 58% of AI funding flowing into megarounds of $500M or more, and AI now representing roughly a quarter of all startup funding globally.[7] For founders, this bifurcation means capital is abundant if you’re building in AI with clear infrastructure, workflow, or revenue impact, but non-AI or earlier-stage companies must differentiate through capital efficiency, niche focus, and faster paths to revenue. Across the ecosystem, expect 2026 to favor startups that can explicitly tie their product to measurable productivity gains or cost reductions, as investors continue to concentrate bigger checks into fewer, category-defining winners.[7]