August 2026 VC News: What Closed Through the 31st?

Through August 31, 2026, the tape that moved: Adaptyv added $40M Series A with no valuation (memo). Clerky agreed to join Stripe with no price (memo). Standard Metrics added $20M Series B led by 8VC (memo). HubX took up to $75M at $1.2B pre from Point72 (memo). a16z posted a $1.1B Machine Age Fund (memo). Owner printed $2.3B (memo). Yardstik added $30M Series B (memo). Palona closed a $20M Series A total (memo). Capital F closed a $17M debut fund (memo). OpenAI put a November 12 clock on Cursor models after the SpaceX close ($60B is still press). AusperBio added $120M Series C with no valuation and an unnamed strategic lead (memo). Lambda borrowed $1B for Nvidia GPUs (memo). SBI took ~20% of Ajaib (~$270M reported; memo). Anthropic still has a confidential S-1 (June 1, company) — not a ticker. CivilGrid added $26M with no valuation. Deep Cogito added $43M with no valuation — not Cogito Corp. Emerald AI printed $1.05B. Gatik added $200M with no valuation. Stability AI raised $76M — not the 2022 dump. Starcloud printed $2.3B. Stripe confirmed OpenRouter (not closed; $7.5B is NYT). Castelion printed $13B. Etched printed $21B. SpaceX closed Cursor (company-confirmed). Databricks closed $5B at $190B. YC’s apply page now lists Winter 2027. Full indexes: /2026-august-31-investment-news-adaptyv-clerky-metrics · /2026-august-29-30-investment-news-restaurant-apps-trust · /2026-august-28-29-investment-news-a16z-owner-cursor · /2026-august-28-29-investment-news-local-ai-hardware-debt · /2026-august-29-30-investment-news-biotech-robotics-docs.

This page is for founders and scouts who need the month tape with names, dates, and caveats. Last verified August 31, 2026. It is a snapshot, not a live ticker.

Additional late-August financing updates

The August 21–27 roundup adds six financing and fund-formation updates to this month’s map:

The August 27–28 roundup adds three financing updates that the earlier week tapes skipped:

The August 28–29 roundup adds the hardware-fund and vendor-notice tape the 28th pass missed:

The August 28–29 extended gap-fill adds deep dives beyond that three-item tape:

The August 29–30 gap-fill (restaurant / apps / trust) adds six deep dives that were still thin or roundup-only:

The August 29–30 gap-fill (biotech / robotics / docs) adds the therapeutics print and the YC apply-page rollover that Sunday did not mega-round:

The August 31 gap-fill adds the YC lab, Stripe legal paper, and GP-ops software the 29–30 indexes missed:

What closed through August 31

Amounts and leads are from company posts or named press. Rows marked _press_ or _NYT_ are not company-disclosed.

For a repeatable way to distinguish a company-confirmed event from a reported deal, see how to choose and verify financial news sources.

Week-level tape: August 14–19 VC news, August 19–20 VC news, August 21–25 VC news, August 25–26 VC news, August 27–28 VC news, August 28–29 VC news, August 29–30 VC news (restaurant / apps / trust), August 29–30 VC news (biotech / robotics / docs), and August 31 VC news (Adaptyv / Clerky / Standard Metrics).

Confirmed close vs announced deal — what differs

Most people will paste “Stripe bought OpenRouter for $7.5B” into Slack. One is a company blog (the buy). The other is the New York Times (the price).

Did SpaceX buy Cursor?

Yes. Cursor’s August 14 post says it has officially been acquired by SpaceX, completing a process that started in April.

Treat $60B all-stock as press (CNBC, June 16; The Verge on close day). Cursor’s close note does not name a price. Cursor and Anysphere are acquired. Lovable, CodeRabbit, and Blacksmith raised the same month as independents — create / review / validate did not all get bought.

Full memo: SpaceX closes Cursor acquisition. Follow-on: OpenAI winds down Cursor models (notice Aug 28; proposed shutoff November 12).

Did Stripe buy OpenRouter?

Yes, as an announced deal. OpenRouter’s August 19 post says it is joining Stripe. TechCrunch: Stripe confirmed. Customary closing conditions; expected in the coming weeks. Product stays up.

Treat $7.5B as press (NYT via TechCrunch). Bloomberg’s August 16 line was more than $7B. Neither company posted a price. Databricks as a losing bidder is also press.

OpenRouter stays private here until a close post. Last verified round remains May’s $113M Series B at $1.3B.

On August 26, Clerky separately said it agreed to join Stripe. No price. Not described as closed. Memo: Did Stripe buy Clerky?.

Full memo: Did Stripe buy OpenRouter?.

What is Databricks’s valuation in 2026?

$190 billion as of the August 13 $5B close, led by Coatue. Company: >$7B revenue run-rate, >80% YoY. Returning names include a16z, Insight Partners, Thrive, and NEA.

July 16 was a $188B term sheet with no disclosed raise size. Older $134B / $43B marks are historical. Use the August close.

Two days before that close, Databricks said Electric is joining (Aug 11, company; terms undisclosed) to put WASM Postgres into Lakebase agent sandboxes. Electric Cloud is winding down (Electric post).

Full memo: Databricks valuation 2026.

What is Anthropic’s valuation in 2026?

The last company mark is $965 billion (May 28 Series H). Business Insider (Aug 14) cited traders describing secondary prints as high as $1.5 trillion; Anthropic declined to comment. That is not a new company round.

August also mixed in revenue: Q2 preliminary >$11.5B (a quarter) and a ~$65B July run-rate (Bloomberg people-familiar). Keep those off the valuation line.

IPO status: Anthropic confidentially submitted a draft S-1 on June 1, 2026 (company). As of August 30 there is no public S-1, ticker, or price. Bloomberg people-familiar timing for a public filing is not a company date.

Full memos: Anthropic valuation 2026 · Did Anthropic file?.

Accel’s $3.5B — what Accel actually said

Accel posted $3.5 billion across four early-stage vehicles on August 11. That is seed/A supply while late-stage concentrates in Databricks, Higgsfield, and Groq.

Accel’s own post does not publish the $800M US / $800M Europe+Israel / $550M India / $1.35B expansion split. That split is Bloomberg/Dealroom.

Full memo: Accel $3.5B early-stage funds. Accel does not have a /fund/ page here.

Other August checks worth opening

Monday Aug 17 stacked four large product bets plus an ERP unicorn that most roundups skipped: create video (Higgsfield $400M @ $5.4B), serve inference (Groq $350M @ $3.5B), talk to the computer (Wispr $280M @ $2B), move earth (Gravis $200M), close the books (Rillet $100M @ $1B).

Tuesday Aug 18: Etched doubled to $21B with Jane Street as customer-lead — that is the inference-silicon mark, not Groq’s neocloud reset.

Wednesday Aug 19: Castelion printed $13B ($800M equity + $250M revolver) — Google still ranks the $350M B. Same day: ALSO $150M D (Rivian spinout; not ALSO Holding AG) and Unitree listed (688836.SH).

Vals AI ($40M @ $400M, a16z lead) is the scorekeeper next to those builders. Form Energy ($750M Series G) and Lovable ($400M @ $13.3B) closed Aug 12.

Physical tape the mega-rounds crowded out: Heaviside printed $600M three months after stealth (Nammo warheads; revenue not disclosed). Point2 extended Series B to $136M total — RF cables vs Lumilens optics; not $136M of new cash in one close.

What not to treat as closed

• $60B Cursor — press, not Cursor’s close post. OpenAI’s Aug 28 notice does not reconfirm the price.
• Owner $1B sales — platform throughput, not Owner ARR. Live mark is $2.3B. Not /startup/blackbird.
• Lambda $1B debt / $3B pre-IPO — Bloomberg via TechCrunch. Entity: /startup/lambda. Do not publish the equity talks as a close.
• Retro ~$21M — TechCrunch on an August 19 filing; the story says the round closed in December. Not an August close.
• a16z Machine Age vs Accel $3.5B — two firms, two vehicles. Do not add them.
• $7.5B OpenRouter — NYT via TechCrunch, not Stripe or OpenRouter. The acquisition is announced, not closed. Clerky’s Aug 26 “agreed to join Stripe” post is a separate deal with no price.
• Relay.app shutdown (TechCrunch, Aug 17) is not Relay (Relay FI, Toronto SMB banking).
• Anthropic $1.5T — secondary talk (Business Insider, Aug 14, traders); last company round remains $965B.
• Anthropic IPO ticker — there isn’t one. Confidential draft S-1 (June 1, company) ≠ public S-1 ≠ priced IPO. Bloomberg end-of-August public-filing talk is people-familiar.
• Anthropic revenue: Q2 2026 preliminary >$11.5B (Bloomberg/CNBC, Aug 15) is a quarter. ~$65B July run-rate (Bloomberg people-familiar, Aug 17) is a projection. May Series H still cited about $47B. Do not mash these.
• Poolside $2B / $10B (Fortune, Aug 17, unnamed sources) — no company PR found here yet.
• Temporal $12.55B — closed September 14, 2026: $550 million Series E at $12.55 billion (company). August 18 Bloomberg talks (~$500M at ≥$12B pre-money) are superseded. See Series E memo.
• EliseAI $3.7B — Business Insider talks for $300M; company, a16z, and Bessemer declined to comment. Last verified round remains the Aug 2025 Series E. See EliseAI.
• Last-round databases with 2026 scrape dates — Checkout.com’s $1B Series D, Stability AI’s 2022 Coatue round, Better.com’s 2021 SoftBank check, Centralize’s $19M (Business Wire July 29, Dealroom-indexed Aug 19), and similar rows are not August 2026 news. Stability’s live close is the $76 million Series B on August 25. We only memo deals announced this month.
• Castelion “$1B” — company split $800M equity and $250M revolver. Live mark $13B.
• Navi ~$1.3B — people-familiar (TechCrunch); not a company number.
• ALSO Holding AG — Swiss-listed distributor. The Aug 19 $150M is the Rivian spinout at ridealso.com.
• Hugging Face ~$13B sale talks (BI/TC, Aug 24) — no buyer, no deal.
• Perplexity >$30B / Nvidia (The Information) — talks; company declined to comment.
• General Intuition ~$6B (TechCrunch, Aug 24) — talks, still finalizing.
• Generalist $3B — TechCrunch Aug 25, sources plus a filing for ~$200 million; company and 8VC did not comment.
• Alice valuation — $140 million is company; $700–800 million is press (Globes / Ctech), not in the company post.
• Emerald AI 100 GW — company estimate, not measured capacity.
• Gatik $600M contracted — backlog claim, not recognized revenue. No valuation.
• Starcloud “$25M Nvidia” — person-familiar in TechCrunch, not a company figure.
• Blackbird $1.05B is Sydney VC Fund VI, not /startup/blackbird (restaurant loyalty).
• Unitree 845 yuan is the Aug 19 close (BBC). By Aug 25 the stock had given back about 45% of the debut pop (Straits Times / Reuters).
• Deep Cogito ≠ Cogito Corp. San Francisco post-training lab vs Boston contact-center coach.
• CivilGrid $60M paving — PG&E/company case study, not CivilGrid revenue. No valuation.
• Atorie $55M run-rate — company expectation in TechCrunch, not an audited close.
• AusperBio $360M — capital raised since 2024, not the August check. The August check is $120M. Lead is unnamed. No valuation. AHB-137 is investigational.
• Warpify / fileAI dollars — not disclosed. Do not invent them.
• De¹ $12M — that is the YZi Labs Season 4 cohort, not one company.
• YC Fall 2026 late apps — the apply page fetched August 30 lists Winter 2027, not Fall 2026.
• Adaptyv $40M — no valuation. Seed date on ACE’s site is Sep 25, 2025, not “late 2024” recaps.
• Standard Metrics 20x / $400B AUM — company operating claims, not ARR. No valuation.
• Clerky price — there isn’t one. Do not mark it closed.

Smaller rounds

Smack ($61M), Terra ($18M seed extension; 8VC named), Lemma ($2.3M; YC), Discovered Materials ($9M seed; aggregator), Xpander ($7.5M), Takt ($9.25M), Leal Therapeutics ($30M), Kita ($4.5M seed; BoxGroup lead, YC in; company), and Velaura AI ($110M Series A at >$1B; Seligman; Business Wire reprint — Series A label after prior Auradine rounds;

Standalone Aug 17–20 memos: Sonic Fire ($15M; Khosla) and Thunder Compute ($13M; YC). Other Aug 19–20 tape: Navi $100M (Prosus; ~$1.3B is people-familiar), Rundoo $30M (Battery), Network Bio $50M (Founders Fund named), Relativity Networks $22M SAFE, and Peeko ₹67.4 cr.

Standalone Aug 21–25 memos: Apollo Atomics $31M seed (YC), Generalist AI ~$200M reported (8VC; still source-reported), and Neno €6.6M seed (AlleyCorp). Other tape: Fasset $68M @ $1B (SBI; Neo on directory), Mundo $20M (YC), Instant team → OpenAI (no price; cloud through Aug 31, 2027), Adalat AI nonprofit into YC F26, Berry Street × Healthify merger (no terms), and Blackbird VC Fund VI $1.05B (Australia — not our restaurant Blackbird).

Aug 25–31 tape: Alice $140M (Apax; CRV / Norwest returning; valuation is press), Gamma × Lica (3M (YC), Gamgee $4M (Founders Fund), Liner $36.1M (LB Investment), Keenable $26M seed (Accel lead; 5M; no valuation), InspeCity ₹100 crore (~$10.5M) pre-Series A (Antler named; Moneycontrol, Aug 27), Deep Cogito $43M Series A (TQ lead; Benchmark in; 5M seed (a16z Speedrun named; $55M run-rate is a company forecast), AusperBio $120M Series C (unnamed strategic lead; RA Capital new; 1B, Owner $240M @ $2.3B, and OpenAI × Cursor (proposed Nov 12 shutoff). Lambda $1B debt is Bloomberg-reported. Retro ~$21M is a December close on an August 19 filing. Warpify and fileAI announced undisclosed checks. YC’s apply page rolled to Winter 2027**.

Fund close already on site: Reach Capital Fund V $265M (Aug 18) and a16z Machine Age $1.1B (Aug 28). Detail: Aug 14–19 roundup, Aug 19–20 roundup, Aug 21–25 roundup, Aug 25–26 roundup, Aug 27–28 roundup, Aug 28–29 roundup, Aug 29–30 roundup (restaurant / apps / trust), Aug 29–30 roundup (biotech / robotics / docs), and Aug 31 roundup (Adaptyv / Clerky / Standard Metrics).

YC Fall 2026 (apply page rolled)

The on-time deadline was July 27. On-time applicants were promised a decision by August 28. As of August 30, ycombinator.com/apply lists Winter 2027 (January–March in San Francisco): on-time deadline November 2, on-time decision December 11. This site has not seen a public Fall 2026 company list. Guide: YC Fall 2026 applications.

Where to go next

• Developer tools: Cursor close, then OpenAI’s Cursor wind-down, then Lovable
• Hardware dry powder: a16z Machine Age $1.1B vs Accel $3.5B
• Local-business software: Owner $2.3B (not Blackbird)
• Data / enterprise AI: Databricks and Coatue
• Frontier lab marks: Anthropic valuation · Anthropic IPO filing
• Payments × inference × legal paper: OpenRouter vs Stripe — announced, not priced · Clerky agreed to join
• GP ops software: Standard Metrics $20M
• HBV oligos: AusperBio $120M vs Anagram $250M
• Automated protein labs: Adaptyv $40M vs Chai $3.8B
• YC window: Fall 2026 guide — live apply page is Winter 2027
• July comparison: July 2026 VC news
• Defense manufacturing: Castelion $13B vs Heaviside $600M vs Neros
• Small EVs: ALSO $150M (not ALSO Holding AG)
• AI wiring: Point2 RF vs Lumilens optics
• Inference silicon vs neocloud: Etched $21B vs Groq $3.5B
• AI-native ERP: Rillet $1B
• Public humanoids: Unitree IPO vs Apptronik
• Orbital inference: Starcloud $2.3B vs Groq $3.5B
• Grid-flexible AI load: Emerald AI $1.05B
• Autonomous freight: Gatik $200M vs Gravis $200M
• Licensed creative tools: Stability AI $76M vs Higgsfield $5.4B
• Underground maps vs load flex: CivilGrid $26M vs Emerald AI $1.05B
• Post-training vs inference: Deep Cogito $43M vs Groq $3.5B
• Fund supply: Accel memo and the directory

Sources

1. Cursor (Aug 14): https://cursor.com/blog/joining-spacex
2. Databricks (Aug 13): https://www.databricks.com/company/newsroom/press-releases/databricks-grows-80-yoy-surpasses-7b-revenue-run-rate-scales
3. Accel (Aug 11): https://www.accel.com/news/our-enduring-commitment-to-investing-at-the-earliest-stages
4. TechCrunch — Stripe/OpenRouter: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/16/stripe-will-reportedly-acquire-ai-gateway-startup-openrouter-for-7b/
5. Vals AI (Aug 13): https://www.vals.ai/blogs/series-a
6. YC apply: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply
7. Heaviside Series B (Aug 12): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260812686127/en/
8. Point2 Series B total (Aug 10): https://point2tech.com/point2-completes-136m-series-b-funding-with-arm-lb-investment-and-maverick-silicon/
9. Etched (Aug 18): https://www.etched.com/progress/from-zero-to-one
10. Rillet Series C (Aug 17): https://www.rillet.com/blog/rillet-raises-100m-series-c-at-1b-valuation-to-build-accounting-superintelligence
11. BBC — Unitree IPO (Aug 19): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qv4w9492zo
12. Castelion Series C (Aug 19): https://www.castelion.com/news/series-c/
13. TechCrunch — ALSO Series D (Aug 19): https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/19/rivian-spinout-also-raises-another-150-million/
14. OpenRouter joining Stripe (Aug 19): https://openrouter.ai/blog/announcements/openrouter-is-joining-stripe/
15. TechCrunch — Starcloud $250M (Aug 21): https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/
16. Fasset Series C (Aug 24): https://fasset.com/blog/fasset-raises-68m-series-c-led-by-sbi-group/
17. Emerald AI Series A (Aug 25): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825127649/en/
18. Gatik Series D (Aug 25): https://archive.gatik.ai/news/coverage/gatik-raises-200-million-series-d-led-by-qia-and-kdt-as-demand-for-driverless-commercial-freight-accelerates/
19. Stability AI Series B (Aug 25): https://stability.ai/news-updates/stability-ai-latest-funding-backed-by-entertainment-industry-biggest-names
20. Anthropic confidential draft S-1 (Jun 1): https://www.anthropic.com/news/confidential-draft-s1-sec
21. TechCrunch — Keenable $26M (Aug 25): https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/25/accel-backed-keenable-is-indexing-the-web-for-ai-agents/
22. TechCrunch — Ringg $10M (Aug 25): https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/25/indias-ringg-gets-backing-from-peak-xv-as-it-pushes-voice-ai-past-the-phone-call/
23. Moneycontrol — InspeCity ₹100 crore (Aug 27): https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/funding/inspecity-raises-rs-100-crore-in-pre-series-a-to-take-in-space-servicing-tech-to-orbit-14016583.html
24. CivilGrid Series A (Aug 27): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827753660/en/CivilGrid-Raises-%2426M-Series-A-Financing-To-Drive-U.S.-Critical-Infrastructure-Modernization
25. Deep Cogito Series A (Aug 26): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826913379/en/
26. TechCrunch — Atorie $9.5M (Aug 27): https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/fashion-startup-atorie-raises-9-5m-to-bring-consumers-luxury-goods-without-the-markup/
27. a16z Machine Age Fund (Aug 28): https://www.a16z.news/p/the-machine-age-fund
28. Owner Series D (Aug 28): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/owner-raises-240m-led-by-goldman-sachs-alternatives-to-build-the-ai-native-platform-for-every-local-business-302862420.html
29. OpenAI — Cursor wind-down (Aug 28): https://openai.com/index/our-decision-on-cursor-following-its-acquisition-by-spacex/
30. TechCrunch — Lambda $1B debt (Aug 28): https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/28/neocloud-lambda-secures-1b-in-debt-to-buy-more-chips/
31. AusperBio Series C (Aug 27): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ausperbio-completes-120-million-series-c-financing-to-advance-ahb-137-toward-potential-commercialization-and-expand-next-generation-hbv-therapies-302862321.html
32. YC apply page (fetched Aug 30): https://www.ycombinator.com/apply
33. Adaptyv Series A (Aug 25): https://www.adaptyvbio.com/blog/series-a
34. Clerky joining Stripe (Aug 26): https://www.clerky.com/blog/clerky-is-joining-stripe
35. Standard Metrics Series B (Aug 24): https://standardmetrics.io/we-raised-a-20m-series-b-from-our-customers-to-accelerate-innovation-in-the-private-markets/
36. August 31 index: https://venturecapitaltracker.com/2026-august-31-investment-news-adaptyv-clerky-metrics