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FundingMay 8, 2026·2 min read·By StartupCorners

May 7 Funding Roundup: Kalshi Hits $22B, AI Dominates Across Stages

Kalshi's $1B Series F doubled its valuation to $22B in five months, leading a day dominated by AI automation startups and breakthrough quantum computing deals.

Mega Rounds Lead the Day

Prediction market startup Kalshi captured headlines with a massive $1B Series F round led by Coatue, doubling its valuation to $22B in just five months. The raise underscores growing institutional confidence in prediction markets as legitimate financial infrastructure.

Quantum Motion, a UK quantum computing company building silicon chip-based quantum computers, secured $160M in Series C funding. The company's approach of using familiar silicon technology could accelerate quantum computing adoption across industries.

AI Automation Draws Major Investment

AI-powered business automation dominated mid-stage funding activity. Fazeshift raised $17M in Series A to automate accounts receivable with AI agents, while Pit, founded by a Voi co-founder, secured $16M in seed funding led by a16z to offer "AI product teams as a service."

CodeWords raised $9M in seed funding led by Visionaries to help businesses run on "AI autopilot," and Tekst closed an €11.5M Series A led by US firm Elephant to tackle enterprise AI bottlenecks. OpsMill secured $14M in Series A led by IRIS for infrastructure data management solutions.

International Expansion and Specialty Sectors

Skyroot Aerospace achieved a major milestone, raising $60M to become India's first spacetech unicorn. The company plans to use funds for commercial launch operations of its Vikram-1 rocket.

European specialty sectors showed strength with Meatly raising £10.4M Series A to build Europe's largest cultivated meat facility in London, and SWEBAL securing €30M to build Sweden's first TNT facility for NATO ammunition supply.

Skeleton Technologies announced a €33M first close of its pre-IPO round as the Estonian grid power systems company prepares for a 2027 US IPO.

Notable Earlier-Stage Deals

Several promising startups secured seed funding across diverse sectors:

• Pronto extended its Series B to $45M at $200M valuation, led by Lachy Groom • Sedivention raised €2.9M seed for obesity therapy development • Palm-scan payments startup by Revolut alumni secured $6M

Today's funding landscape reveals a clear investor preference for AI automation and infrastructure, with prediction markets and quantum computing emerging as high-conviction bets. The diversity of sectors receiving funding, from spacetech to cultivated meat, suggests venture capital is flowing to transformative technologies across multiple industries, though AI remains the dominant theme driving valuations and deal activity.

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