Robots, space lasers and other startup deals you may have missed

Crunchbase NewsOct 23, 2026

October 23, 2026

Hi, there. From teaching robots to fold laundry to tracking satellites with lasers to turning coffee waste into a tool for carbon removal, startups are finding some pretty unconventional applications for emerging technology. Our latest roundup of five interesting startup deals highlights companies tackling problems in physical AI, space tech, clean energy and gaming — including one that just raised $30 million to build a massive training dataset of humans doing everyday tasks. Plus, fintech funding fell in Q3 as investors made fewer, larger bets, why one founder sees troubling parallels between today’s AI boom and the dot-com bubble, and how AI is creating new risks for companies’ trade secrets.

🤔 5 interesting deals, from space lasers to coffee’s carbon cleanup

This month’s roundup of interesting startup deals spans some unusual corners of technology. Maxinsights raised a $30 million seed round to collect videos of humans performing everyday tasks that can be used to train robots, while Foundational secured around $11 million to develop a cheaper way to track satellites using lasers. Other startups that caught our eye include one developing a cleaner way to make cement, a startup that helps independent game developers attract players, and a company that wants to turn agricultural waste into a carbon-removal tool, starting on Colombian coffee farms.

📉 Q3 fintech funding fell 21% as investors made fewer bets

Global fintech startups raised $10.6 billion across just 687 rounds in Q3, Crunchbase data shows, marking the lowest quarterly deal count since at least 2018. Funding fell 21% year over year and 28% from Q2, with a sharp pullback in $100 million-plus rounds accounting for most of the sequential decline. Notably, the quarter’s five largest financings all went to companies outside the U.S., led by Singapore-based Ant International with $1.2 billion. Investors at QED Investors and Forerunner Ventures tell Crunchbase News why AI, payments infrastructure and stablecoins are reshaping where capital flows and why the bar for startups seeking funding keeps rising.

Related Crunchbase list: Global Financial Services Venture Funding In 2026

😈 Is the AI IPO wave the dot-com bubble’s evil twin?

AI companies are posting extraordinary revenue growth, but are their valuations getting ahead of the economics? Anurag Gurtu, co-founder and CEO of Airrived, argues that Anthropic’s delayed IPO highlights some uncomfortable questions for investors. He points to the company’s enormous infrastructure commitments, mounting competition from lower-cost open-weight models, and a proposed $2 trillion valuation as signs of a potentially unsustainable market.

Related Crunchbase list: Global IPOs For Venture-Backed Companies In 2026

🔐 How AI is creating new threats to companies’ trade secrets

AI is making it easier for employees to misuse proprietary company information — and harder for businesses to contain the damage, warns attorney Seth Kugler, a partner at Grellas Shah. Drawing on a federal trade-secrets case he litigated involving a former employee who allegedly used stolen company information to build an AI-powered competitor, Kugler explains why traditional confidentiality agreements and IT safeguards may no longer be enough and outlines steps founders can take to protect sensitive data.

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