TechCrunch Startup News

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  1. Nuclear startup Last Energy raises $100M for its steel-encased micro reactor

    17 december 2025 · 5 min

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    Last Energy will use the funds to build its 5 megawatt pilot reactor in Texas, which it hopes to turn on next year.
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  2. VCs discuss why most consumer AI startups still lack staying power; plus, Whole Foods to install smart food waste bins from Mill

    16 december 2025 · 6 min

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    The next consumer tech revolution may require an introduction of a new personal device. Lees meer

    Plus, the food waste startup founded by Nest alumnus Matt Rogers also received an investment from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund.
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  3. Mirelo raises $41M from Index and a16z to solve AI video’s silent problem; First Voyage raises $2.5M for its AI companion that helps you build habits

    16 december 2025 · 8 min

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    Mirelo, a German startup that is building AI to add synced sound effects to videos, has raised a $41 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Lees meer

    Also, First Voyage has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round from a16z speedrun, SignalFire, True Global, and other investors.
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  4. Thea Energy previews Helios, its pixel-inspired fusion power plant

    15 december 2025 · 7 min

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    Thea Energy says that its planar-coil fusion power plant could be cheaper and easier to build thanks to AI-powered control software.
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  5. Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn idle oil wells into hydrogen factories; plus, India’s Spinny lines up funding to acquire GoMechanic

    15 december 2025 · 8 min

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    The biotech startup is betting that owners of abandoned oil wells will use the tech to squeeze energy out of their wells. Lees meer

    Also, Spinny is set to be valued at about $1.8 billion post-money in its latest funding round.
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  6. Harness hits $5.5B valuation with $240M raise to automate AI’s ‘after-code’ gap

    12 december 2025 · 6 min

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    Goldman Sachs has led Harness's Series E round, with participation from IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures. The new valuation is a 49% jump from its $3.7 billion valuation in a $230 million round in April 2022. With this funding, the startup has raised $570 million of equity to date.
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  7. Interest in Spoor’s bird-monitoring AI software is soaring

    12 december 2025 · 5 min

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    Spoor's computer vision software can help wind farms, and other industries, track bird populations and migration patterns.
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  8. On Me raises $6M to shake up the gift card industry; plus, Port raises $100M at $800M valuation to take on Spotify’s Backstage

    11 december 2025 · 7 min

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    On Me raises $6 million for its digital gift card platform that lets users purchase cards categorized by interests rather than being restricted to specific retailers. Lees meer

    Also, Port offers a proprietary alternative to Spotify's popular devtool catalog Backstage, but with a valuable addition: it can be used to manage AI agents, too.
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  9. AI startup Tavus founder says users talk to its AI Santa ‘for hours’ per day; Oboe raises $16 million from a16z for its AI-powered course generation platform

    11 december 2025 · 9 min

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    Tavus has launched a new experience where you can chat with an AI Santa that asks personal questions and remembers your interests. Lees meer

    Oboe has raised $16 million in funding for its learning app. The company now lets users generate unlimited courses for free.
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  10. Boom Supersonic raises $300M to build natural gas turbines for Crusoe data centers

    10 december 2025 · 6 min

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    Crusoe will pay Boom $1.25 billion for more than a gigawatt of generating capacity with deliveries of the turbines starting in 2027.
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  11. Empromptu raises $2M pre-seed to help enterprises build AI apps; Pebble’s founder introduces a $75 AI smart ring for recording brief notes

    9 december 2025 · 10 min

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    Empromptu claims all a user has to do is tell the platform's AI chatbot what they want — like a new HTML or JavaScript app — and the AI will go ahead and build it. Lees meer

    Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky is expanding his company's device lineup with a new smart wearable: an AI-powered smart ring known as Index 01.
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  12. Tiger Global plans cautious venture future with a new $2.2B fund; plus, SoftBank and Nvidia reportedly in talks to fund SkildAI at $14B, nearly tripling its value

    9 december 2025 · 6 min

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    Tiger's last fund did well with investments in OpenAI, Waymo and Databricks. But it warns investors that AI valuations are already 'elevated.' Lees meer

    Skild AI is developing a hardware-agnostic foundation model for robots that can be customized for various uses.
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  13. Heat pump startup Quilt raises $20M Series B to expand sales ; plus, OpenAI says it’s turned off app suggestions that look like ads

    8 december 2025 · 5 min

    Afspelen
    Quilt has sold nearly 1,000 units in the U.S. and Canada, and the new funding should help expand sales operations to more states and provinces. Lees meer

    Also, while OpenAI continues to insist that there are currently no ads — or tests for advertising — live in ChatGPT, the company’s chief research officer also acknowledged that the company “fell short” with recent promotional messages.
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  14. Meta acquires AI device startup Limitless; and Is it time to ‘refound’ your startup?

    8 december 2025 · 5 min

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    Limitless said it shares Meta's vision of bringing personal superintelligence to everyone. Lees meer

    Also, sometimes, founding a startup just once isn’t enough.
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  15. New streaming channel launches to give viewers a peek into city council meetings

    5 december 2025 · 5 min

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    Hamlet TV is a way to help keep citizens informed of what's happening inside local governments.
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  16. Nexus isn’t going all in on AI, keeping half of its new $700M fund for India startups; plus, Amazon hopes to jump-start its AI coding tool Kiro by giving it away to startups

    4 december 2025 · 7 min

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    Nexus Venture Partners manages $3.2 billion in capital across its funds and has invested in more than 130 companies over the years. Lees meer

    Also, can Kiro win the hearts of startup founders above the many AI coding tools they already have? Amazon hopes a free year will tempt them.
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  17. VCs deploy ‘kingmaking’ strategy to crown AI winners in their infancy

    4 december 2025 · 6 min

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    While VCs have long used big investments to spur category winners, they are taking this strategy to new extremes.
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  18. Microreactor startup Antares raises $96M for land, sea, and space-based nuclear power; plus Kalshi raises $1B at $11B valuation

    3 december 2025 · 6 min

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    Antares is designing and building small modular reactors that it plans to deploy for commercial, space, and defense applications. Lees meer

    The latest funding comes less than two months after Kalshi announced that it raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation.
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  19. Titan OS raises $58 million from Highland Europe for its smart TV OS; also, Paris-based AI voice startup Gradium nabs $70M seed

    2 december 2025 · 8 min

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    Titan OS aims to expand its independent TV operating system in Europe and Latin America. Lees meer

    Gradium, a startup spawned out of French AI lab Kyutai (backed by French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel), launched out of stealth on Tuesday.
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  20. Black Forest Labs raises $300M at $3.25B valuation; plus, OpenAI’s investment into Thrive Holdings is its latest circular deal

    2 december 2025 · 4 min

    Afspelen
    The round was co-led by Salesforce Ventures and Anjney Midha (AMP), and saw participation from a16z, NVIDIA, Northzone, Creandum, Earlybird VC, BroadLight Capital, General Catalyst, Temasek, Bain Capital Ventures, Air Street Capital, Visionaries Club, Canva and Figma Ventures. Lees meer

    Also, analysts will be watching to see if Thrive-owned firms actually succeed in building long-term profitable businesses using OpenAI’s tech, or if the result is really just pumped up valuations based on speculative market potential.
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  21. How AI PR startup Clipbook won Mark Cuban’s investment from a cold email

    1 december 2025 · 5 min

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    Adam Joseph was shocked when Mark Cuban replied to his email with an inquisition full of questions.
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  22. Are you balding? There’s an AI for that; plus, JustiGuide wants to use AI to help people navigate the US immigration system

    1 december 2025 · 8 min

    Afspelen
    MyHair AI examines photos of the scalp to help diagnose hair loss and suggest scientifically validated clinics and treatments. Lees meer

    The startup uses AI to help immigrants understand the system, connect with lawyers and reduce associated costs.
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  23. Google teams up with Accel to hunt for India’s next AI breakouts

    26 november 2025 · 7 min

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    Google and Accel will jointly invest up to $2 million in each startup through their new partnership.
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  24. Find Your Grind raises $5M to grow platform empowering students to explore unique career paths; plus Fleet Space finds massive lithium deposit using AI and satellites

    25 november 2025 · 6 min

    Afspelen
    Career exploration platform Find Your Grind raises $5 million to help more students discover alternative professions. Lees meer

    Also, the discovery of a massive lithium deposit suggests that a region in Quebec might hold even more lithium than originally suspected.
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  25. X-energy rides nuclear wave, raises $700M Series D

    25 november 2025 · 4 min

    Afspelen

    The small modular reactor startup is capitalizing on surging interest from tech companies and data center developers.
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  26. This startup wants to build a fusion reactor — on a boat; plus, Momentic raises $15M to automate software testing

    24 november 2025 · 10 min

    Afspelen
    Startups are still racing to build the world's first commercial fusion power plant on land, but Maritime Fusion thinks the path will be easier out at sea. Lees meer

    Also, AI testing startup Momentic has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Standard Capital, with participation from Dropbox Ventures. Existing investors at Y Combinator, FCVC, Transpose Platform and Karman Ventures also participated.
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  27. Bret Taylor’s Sierra reaches $100M ARR in under two years; also, Phictly’s new app brings people together over their favorite books and TV shows

    24 november 2025 · 7 min

    Afspelen
    Sierra’s rapid growth suggests that enerprises are embracing AI agents. Lees meer

    Also, Phictly helps fans find niche clubs for their favorite books, shows, and movies, offering intimate, spoiler-safe communities with flexible pacing and tracker tools.
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  28. The European startup market is ready for the limelight

    21 november 2025 · 5 min

    Afspelen

    The region's startup market is hungry for its first trillion-dollar startup, and in many ways has set itself up to reach that goal.
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  29. Source: Kalshi’s valuation jumps to $11B after raising massive $1B round ; plus, this startup can track objects within 3 cm

    21 november 2025 · 9 min

    Afspelen
    The quickly growing prediction betting market raised fresh capital from Sequoia and CapitalG, according to someone familiar with the deal. Lees meer

    Also, Point One Navigation, now valued at $230 million, is building out well beyond automotive.
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  30. After SEC investigation, Curastory founder resigns, hires replacement

    20 november 2025 · 5 min

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    Curastory’s founder and CEO, Tiffany Kelly, has resigned from the role and replaced herself with Dave Dickman, former CEO of the influencer marketing platform Tagger.
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  31. Cavela lands $6.6M to help brands beat pre-tariff manufacturing costs; plus Function Health raises $298M Series B at $2.5B valuation

    20 november 2025 · 8 min

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    When Anthony Sardain began developing Cavela in 2023, an AI startup that helps brands automate supplier sourcing, he did not foresee that new tariffs would drive customers to become increasingly wary of manufacturing products in China. Lees meer

    Function Health, which offers a regular lab testing service to help people track their health, wants to change that by consolidating health data and making it usable for its customers by connecting that data to an AI model. To further that effort, the company recently raised $298 million in a Series B round led by Redpoint Ventures at a valuation of $2.5 billion.
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  32. Onepot AI raises $13M to help make chemical drug creation easier

    19 november 2025 · 6 min

    Afspelen
    “The best ideas in drug discovery were often blocked not by biology, but by synthesis,” Boiko told TechCrunch. Synthesis is the creation of new molecules by using chemical reactions. It’s like a recipe or Lego pieces, where small pieces, ingredients, molecules, come together to form a wider puzzle picture, a food dish, a larger molecule.
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  33. Boop’s new app turns social recommendations into bookable itineraries

    19 november 2025 · 7 min

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    Instead of getting an AI-generated travel plan, Boop aims to give users access to itineraries from real people who went on real trips.
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  34. Peec AI raises $21M to help brands adapt as consumers ditch Google for ChatGPT

    18 november 2025 · 6 min

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    With consumers increasingly asking questions to ChatGPT, not Google, product discovery is changing — and the promise to give brands visibility and control over this fast-growing search channel has made Peec AI one of Europe's hottest startups.
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  35. Luminal raises $5.3 million to build a better GPU code framework; plus Sakana AI raises $135M Series B at a $2.65B valuation to continue building AI models for Japan

    18 november 2025 · 7 min

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    On Monday, Luminal announced $5.3 million in seed funding, in a round led by Felicis Ventures with angel investment from Paul Graham, Guillermo Rauch, and Ben Porterfield. Lees meer

    Also, as U.S. giants like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic race to develop the large language models that underpin their AI products, startups such as Sakana AI, Mistral AI, DeepSeek, and AI 21 Labs are carving out their own niche with specialized models designed for specific regions, industries, or unique features.

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  36. Is Jeff Bezos returning to the trenches with a new AI startup? Also, Bone AI raises $12M to challenge Asia’s defense giants with AI-powered robotics

    17 november 2025 · 9 min

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    Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos seems to be getting his hands dirty once again: the billionaire is partly backing a new AI startup called Project Prometheus that has raised $6.2 billion in funding, and will take on duties as co-chief executive. Lees meer

    Plus, Bone AI, a South Korean startup, is combining AI and manufacturing to build next-gen defense robotics and challenge the region’s industry giants.
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  37. Milestone raises $10M to make sure AI rhymes with ROI

    17 november 2025 · 6 min

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    Israeli startup Milestone raised a $10 million seed funding round to correlate AI tool usage with engineering metrics, including code quality.
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  38. Exowatt wants to power AI data centers with billions of hot rocks

    14 november 2025 · 6 min

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    The solar-thermal startup wants to deliver electricity for as little as one cent per kWh. But first it has to scale production to 1 million units per year.
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  39. VCs abandon old rules for a ‘funky time’ of investing in AI startups

    14 november 2025 · 5 min

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    The goalposts are moving for AI startups when it comes to growth, product features and just about everything else.
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  40. AI data startup WisdomAI has raised another $50M, led by Kleiner, Nvidia

    13 november 2025 · 4 min

    Afspelen

    WisdomAI is offering AI-driven data analytics that can answer business questions from structured, unstructured, and even “dirty” data, meaning data not cleaned of typos or errors.
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  41. Teradar raises $150M for a sensor it says beats lidar and radar

    12 november 2025 · 6 min

    Afspelen

    Teradar's sensor uses the terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and combines the best traits of radar and lidar sensors without some of the drawbacks.
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  42. How founders can prepare for their late-stage fundraises from the start

    11 november 2025 · 5 min

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    Startups should start forging connections with late-stage investors while they are still at the early stages.
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  43. 6sense founder Amanda Kahlow raises $30 million for new human-replacement AI sales startup 1mind

    11 november 2025 · 6 min

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    Amanda Kahlow has been quietly been back in sales and marketing tech for about a year with agentic startup 1Mind.
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  44. Knicks player Miles McBride launches Mmotion, a location-sharing friendship app, also, Scribe hits $1.3B valuation as it moves to show where AI will actually pay off

    10 november 2025 · 10 min

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    Mmotion is a new friendship app that combines elements of location sharing with social discovery features to find nearby users with shared interests. Lees meer

    Also, Scribe Optimize is the startup's next major offering to help organizations identify where AI will be most useful.
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  45. How startups can lure good talent fairly without big tech bank accounts

    10 november 2025 · 5 min

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    Three industry insiders walk through how startups can set up an employee equity strategy that remains fair as a company grows.
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  46. How one founder plans to save cities from flooding with terraforming robots; plus Chris Sacca’s VC firm is raising a second nuclear fusion fund

    7 november 2025 · 7 min

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    Instead of building seawalls or dikes, Terranova has developed a new way to raise cities to protect them from sea-level rise. Lees meer

    In addition, Chris Sacca’s venture firm Lowercarbon Capital is raising a second fund to back nuclear fusion energy hopefuls, the VC said at the SOSV Climate Tech Summit on Thursday, as reported by Bloomberg.
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  47. Anker-backed hybrid RV startup Evotrex comes out of stealth; plus, Inception raises $50 million to build diffusion models

    6 november 2025 · 9 min

    Afspelen
    Evotrex joins startups like Lightship, Pebble, and Grounded in trying to disrupt the RV market, which is skewing younger. Lees meer

    Also, diffusion models already power AI image generators, but Inception thinks they can be even more powerful applied in software development.
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  48. Replika founder raises $20M pre-seed for Wabi, the ‘YouTube of apps’

    6 november 2025 · 8 min

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    Wabi, a startup from the founder of Replika, has just raised a $20 million pre-seed round. Wabi is like "YouTube for apps" -- a social platform where anyone can use prompts to instantly create mini apps and share them with friends.
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  49. This startup’s metal stacks could help solve AI’s massive heat problem

    5 november 2025 · 5 min

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    Alloy Enterprises has developed a new additive manufacturing technique that can improve liquid cooling performance while bringing it to new parts of the server rack.
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  50. Goldman Sachs doubles down on MoEngage in new round to fuel global expansion

    5 november 2025 · 6 min

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    MoEngage already has customers across 75 countries, with North America being its biggest business driver.
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