AI Funding Surge: TwelveLabs, Quantum Systems and LinqAlpha Land Fresh Capital

Rather than generating video, TwelveLabs builds models that make existing footage searchable. Its Marengo model converts speech, sound, motion and visual events into searchable data, while Pegasus structures that information into timelines and relationships. The company plans new offices in New York and London alongside its San Francisco and Seoul hubs, and has grown from fewer than 60 staff to about 178. As part of the round, Amazon Web Services becomes its preferred cloud provider, with future models optimised for AWS Trainium chips. Both models are already available through Amazon Bedrock.

Separately, New York-based LinqAlpha raised $22 million in a Series A anchored by AVP, Atinum Investment and GFT Ventures, bringing its total to roughly $28.6 million. Founded in 2022 by former Goldman Sachs analysts and MIT graduates, the company offers what it calls an Alpha Intelligence Layer for institutional investors, deploying AI agents trained on a firm's own research. Ventureburn reports more than 70 financial institutions use the platform, including buy-side clients Causeway Capital Management and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors.

European Defence Tech Commands the Largest Round

The biggest raise came from Munich-based drone maker Quantum Systems, which secured $1.2 billion in a Series D that values the company at around $8 billion. Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus and Advent co-led the round, joined by BOND, Fidelity Management Research, Wellington Management, A.P. Moller Holding and others. The valuation more than doubles the roughly $3.5 billion the company set less than a year earlier.

Founded in 2015 by former German Air Force pilot Florian Seibel, Quantum Systems builds autonomous drones operating across air, land and water. Co-CEO Seibel told reporters the company is profitable. Most of the capital will strengthen its MOSAIC UXS software, which links drones, sensors and counter-drone systems. The firm already supplies NATO troops and commercial clients in the US, Ukraine and Australia.

Why It Matters for African Markets

Ventureburn notes European defence, security and resilience startups attracted a record $8.7 billion in 2025, per Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund. For African ecosystems, the pattern is instructive: strategic cloud tie-ins, specialised enterprise focus and institutional capital are defining winners. As global platforms expand into Europe and beyond, opportunities may emerge for African partners in data, deployment and talent.

UK AI Startups Land Fresh Funding as Sovereign Data and Tender Tech Draw Investors

StirlingX raised $20M for its sovereign intelligence platform while Manchester's BidScript secured €701k, underscoring European appetite for specialised AI.