Investors Shift Focus to AI Infrastructure, Security and Commerce

Artificial intelligence (AI) startups Cast AI, Cyera and Swap headlined a wave of capital injections this week, reflecting where investors see near-term demand as enterprises scale production AI systems. The deals point to continued interest in tools that manage compute constraints, govern sensitive data and apply AI directly to revenue-generating workflows.

Cast AI Hits Unicorn Status With GPU Marketplace Expansion

Cast AI, a cloud and Kubernetes automation specialist, announced a strategic investment that pushed its valuation beyond $1 billion with the launch of OMNI Compute, a unified GPU marketplace designed to simplify AI infrastructure deployment. The platform lets enterprises automatically discover and provision GPU resources across cloud providers and regions without code changes, tackling one of the biggest bottlenecks in scaling AI workloads.

The new funding includes participation from Pacific Alliance Ventures, the corporate venture arm of South Korea’s Shinsegae Group, and follows a previous Series C where Cast AI raised capital from G2 Venture Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Families of global customers, including Huawei, Cisco and Samsung, are cited as part of Cast AI’s diversified user base. The company said this injection of capital and product expansion will fuel scaling operations and wider regional presence across Asia, Europe and North America.

Cyera Secures $400 Million for AI Security

Cyera, an AI and data security platform, announced a significant $400 million Series F round that triples its valuation to $9 billion. Led by Blackstone alongside existing investors including Accel, Coatue and Sequoia Capital, this funding comes as AI deployments accelerate across enterprises and security concerns intensify. Cyera offers a unified platform that converges data-security posture management, data loss prevention and identity insights to give organizations a consolidated view of their data environments.

The company says it now protects data for around 20% of the Fortune 500, having grown its team to over 1,100 and expanded into 15 countries. Strategic partnerships with Microsoft Purview and AWS further position Cyera as a key player in governing artificial intelligence at scale. Executives argue that as AI adoption grows, secure governance has become essential for trust, compliance and operational continuity.

Protege Raises $30 Million to Unlock Data for AI

A parallel funding story comes from Protege, which closed a $30 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to expand access to real-world data sets for AI development. The company aggregates and curates high-quality datasets, spanning sectors like healthcare, media and audio, to feed AI-training workflows while ensuring rights-protected access and revenue opportunities for data holders.

Protege’s executives pointed to fragmented data markets and rising demand from AI builders as drivers for a more structured, scalable approach to real-world data provisioning. Returning investors include Footwork, CRV and Bloomberg Beta, bringing the startup’s total funding to $65 million since its 2024 founding. Protege’s model touches on one of AI’s most persistent bottlenecks: how to responsibly secure and operationalize diverse data sources while driving innovation.

Spangle AI Raises $15 Million for Agentic Commerce Infrastructure

In the commerce tech space, Spangle AI disclosed a $15 million Series A led by NewRoad Capital Partners to build what it calls an agentic infrastructure layer for online commerce. Founded by former Amazon engineers, Spangle aims to unify AI-driven discovery with real-time conversion through an intelligence layer that interprets shopper intent and executes actions across eCommerce stacks.

Early customers, including REVOLVE, Steve Madden and Alexander Wang , have already reported gains in conversion and return on ad spending. The company plans to use its new funding to deepen R&D, expand its engineering team and refine its models as consumer behavior increasingly intersects with AI-powered discovery and shopping workflows.

Swap Closes $100 Million Series C for Global Commerce Tools

Swap, a commerce operations platform, announced a $100 million Series C co-led by DST Global and ICONIQ, reinforcing its position as a full-stack commerce solutions provider as reported by PYMNTS.

Originally focused on returns, Swap has broadened into cross-border logistics, tax and demand planning, and now integrates AI-enabled commerce infrastructure that aims to help brands transact and make logistics decisions through real-time insights. The capital will support geographic expansion, payments integrations and enhancements to its product suite to meet increasing brand demand for seamless global commerce tooling.

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