Economy & Investments (ECOAI) Intelligence Hub
Real-time accumulated intelligence, primary research, and executive digests for Economy & Investments (ECOAI).
Crunchbase reports $65B July venture funding
Global venture funding hit $65 billion in July, doubling year over year and marking the third-biggest month of 2026. Fourteen startups closed billion-dollar rounds, including major financings for Blue Origin and several AI labs. AI-related companies captured $35 billion, or 53% of total funding, while aerospace, defense and energy also drew large checks. U.S. startups secured $39 billion, with billion-dollar deals spanning robotics, energy, security and semiconductors. Exit activity was strong, with more than $9 billion in M&A and 12 unicorn IPOs, led by Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies. Analysts see sustained mega-rounds and active exits reinforcing venture capital’s new high-velocity cycle.
Read Original Source ↗Visa acquires BioCatch for $2.4bn
Visa agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity firm BioCatch for $2.4bn in cash, securing its behavioural biometrics platform to better identify and block fraud before it reaches consumers at the point of payment. Founded in Tel Aviv in 2011, BioCatch analyses keystroke timing, touchscreen pressure and other digital behaviour to distinguish legitimate users from scammers and bots, operating from offices across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Visa says integrating BioCatch’s real-time behavioural intelligence will strengthen protection against increasingly sophisticated, AI-powered attacks, offering financial institutions improved fraud detection tools and potentially reshaping industry standards for securing digital banking sessions.
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