Palo Alto, Calif. -- October 1, 2026 -- Armadin, an AI-native cybersecurity company, has raised $255.5 million in a Series B round that pushes its valuation above $2.5 billion just seven months after launching from stealth. The round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Accel, with new investors Bain Capital Ventures and Redpoint joining. Existing backers 8VC, Ballistic Ventures, Google Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Kleiner Perkins, and Menlo Ventures also returned, lifting Armadin's total funding to $445 million.

New York – September 21, 2026 -- Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) has appointed Matt Spence as Head of Defense Technology and Emerging Technology within its Technology Group, based in San Francisco.

Las Vegas – – September 19, 2026 -- Endra unveiled Endra Power Studio, the first agentic AI platform purpose-built for electrical engineering, and simultaneously acquired Swiss AI firm Planlabs to bring mechanical engineering capabilities in-house.

Tokyo – September 16, 2026 -- Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will stage the Global Startup EXPO 2026 in Osaka from October 5 to 7, opening a direct channel for overseas venture capital firms into the country's startup and investment ecosystem.

San Francisco – September 15, 2026 -- Lightfield has raised $47 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Maverick Capital, Coatue, Audacious, Alumni Ventures, Greylock, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. More than 5,000 companies have signed up for the platform since its November 2025 launch, ranging from early-stage startups to scaling firms with hundreds of CRM users.

San Bruno, Calif. – September 13, 2026 -- Chariot Defense, a maker of software-defined power distribution systems for the battlefield, has appointed four defense and venture capital veterans to its Board of Advisors, following a $34 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $7.4 million contract with the Pentagon's Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU).