Elena D’Souza

Maxinsights, which pays over 5,000 people in six countries to film everyday work for robot training, raised a $30 million seed round led by Peak XV on October 22, 2026.

US start-up Peak Energy raised $108 million led by GM Ventures on 21 October 2026 to build sodium-ion grid batteries and fill over $1 billion in orders.

Warp Sciences, founded by former OpenAI science lead Kevin Weil, came out of stealth on 22 October 2026 with $215 million at an $865 million valuation to build a robotic chemistry lab.

DeepSeek is wrapping up a raise of about 100 billion yuan ($15 billion), with CATL and Tencent among top investors, Reuters reported on October 22, 2026.

a16z Crypto renamed itself a16z Frontier on October 22, 2026, widening its focus to AI and autonomous machines while still backing crypto start-ups.

Zurich robotics start-up Enact Intelligence emerged on October 22, 2026 with a $30 million pre-seed round backed by Yann LeCun and Mistral AI's Arthur Mensch.

Berlin travel-tech start-up YGO raised an €8 million Series A led by Ventech on October 21, 2026 to help AI agents find, compare and book flights, hotels and tours.

The 2026 Ballon d'Or will be presented at the London Palladium on October 26, the first ceremony outside France; in India it starts at 12:30 am on October 27.

Different, a new AI marketing start-up from Nutanix and ThoughtSpot co-founder Ajeet Singh, came out of stealth on October 20, 2026 with a $48 million seed round led by General Catalyst.

British eVTOL developer Skyfly closed a $10 million seed round led by HICO Investment Group on October 20, 2026 to certify its two-seat Axe aircraft.

Como beat Manchester United 4-1 in the Champions League on October 21, 2026, Nico Paz scoring twice, leaving Michael Carrick's side 20th and winless in seven.

Stockholm's legal AI start-up Legora raised $550 million at an $8.8 billion valuation on October 21, 2026, in a round led by Atreides Management.

Dutch photonics start-up Photon Bridge raised €10 million, announced October 21, 2026, to build laser engines that move data between AI chips, with first samples due in 2027.

Steven Bartlett told Fortune on October 20, 2026, that The Diary of a CEO is on track for about $60 million revenue this year, up from $1.2 million in 2021.

Formula 1's cut in race distance from 305km to 290km for 2027 will last one season, with full-length grands prix due to return in 2028, reports said on October 20-21, 2026.

Robotics start-up Eka raised a $150 million Series A at a $1.45 billion valuation on October 20, 2026, led by a16z and F-Prime, for force-sensing robot hands.

Berlin-based JustWatch launched JustWatch TV on October 20, 2026, with free ad-supported titles from 30 partners, rentals and a $3.99 ad-free plan in 11 markets.

OpenAI said on October 20, 2026 it bought San Francisco start-up Orchestra Bio, whose AI agents manage drug development, for its Rosalind life sciences suite.

AI note-taker Otter.ai secured $320 million on 20 October 2026 from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund, repayable from revenue, not equity.

Basel biotech Nouscom raised €120 million ($135 million) in a Series D on October 19, 2026 to take its NOUS-209 vaccine for Lynch syndrome carriers into a larger trial.

Bengaluru studio Spill Games, founded in 2024, has raised a $10.5 million Series A led by Elevation Capital to grow casual games for global players.

California's Reflect Orbital bought two dedicated launches from India's Skyroot Aerospace, announced October 14, 2026, on Vikram-1 and Vikram-1U.

Global venture investment reached $170.9 billion in Q3 2026, driven by AI megadeals, KPMG said on October 14, while India's fell to a six-quarter low of $2.6 billion.

Portugal's football federation suspended Cristiano Ronaldo for 30 days and fined him €255 on October 19, 2026 for leaving the national squad after a row with coach Jorge Jesus.

Chinese cobot maker FAIRINO closed a Meituan-led Series D, taking its last two rounds to nearly RMB 1 billion, reports said on October 19, 2026.

Bengaluru's Even Healthcare raised a reported $50 million Series B led by Khosla Ventures at a $300 million valuation, to open five more hospitals.

Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-1 on October 18, 2026, with two Mbappé goals, to sit third before El Clásico; an unpunished Güler elbow angered Sevilla.

AI training-data firm Labelbox raised over $100 million in a Series E at a $1.25 billion pre-money valuation on October 14, 2026; Wipro Ventures took part.

Maja Chwalinska beat Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to win the Wuhan Open on October 18, 2026, her first WTA title; Kartal was a record low-ranked finalist.

US start-up North.cloud raised a $60 million Series B led by PeakSpan Capital on 15 October 2026 to expand software that cuts companies' cloud and AI spending.

UK biotech Microbiotica raised £36 million ($48 million) in a Series C led by the British Business Bank on 16 October 2026 to take its gut-bacteria drug MB310 into Phase 2.

Rory McIlroy rejected Kevin Kisner's claim he played in India for a $10m fee, as Eugenio Chacarra won the DP World India Championship in Delhi on 18 October 2026.

Defence tech start-up Anduril opened a $1.3 billion employee tender on 13 October 2026 at $94.80 a share, valuing it at about $90 billion, it confirmed.

OpenAI UK's 2025 accounts show about 110 staff shared £87m in salaries and £168m in shares, around £2.3m each, as the AI talent race drives pay up.

Helsinki start-up Ambio raised €5.1 million in seed funding led by b2venture, announced in mid-October 2026, to scale an AI-driven service for buying recycled plastics.

Lyon-based accounting firm Dougs raised 50 million euros on October 15, 2026, led by Expedition Growth Capital, to expand AI agents that prepare company accounts.

The UCI cancelled Riyadh's Urban Cycling Worlds, a 2028 Olympics BMX qualifier, on October 16, 2026; golf, tennis and esports events were also moved.

Fintech group ID Finance has secured €545 million in debt and equity to expand Plazo, its consumer finance app in Spain, in one of the country's largest fintech rounds.

Harmonic Security raised a $50 million Series B led by Crosspoint Capital Partners on October 14, 2026, taking its total funding to $76 million.

Oxford spin-out OMass Therapeutics raised $310 million in a Series C co-led by Bain Capital Life Sciences, Forbion and Novo Holdings on October 15, 2026.

Hamburg's Rabot Energy raised a Series B reported at €50 million, led by Endeit Capital and DeepTech & Climate Fonds, to grow its home-battery virtual power plant.

Milwaukee beat Los Angeles 6-4 on October 15 to win the NLCS 4-0, ending the Dodgers' three-peat bid; the World Series opens in Milwaukee on October 23.

Toronto's Cohere signed a letter of intent on October 15, 2026 to acquire AISLE, a Prague-based AI cybersecurity start-up whose 50 staff will form Cohere Cyber.

AI infrastructure start-up Prime Intellect said on 13 October 2026 it acquired Moondream, maker of small open-source vision models; terms were not disclosed.

Siemens led an investment of at least $100 million in Estonian supercapacitor maker Skeleton Technologies on 14 October 2026, valuing it above $1 billion.

Oakland-based Albert, which builds AI for chemistry R&D, raised a $55 million Series B led by TCV, it announced on October 13, 2026.

New York start-up Evos emerged from stealth on October 14, 2026 with a $9 million pre-seed round led by Uncork Capital and Field Ventures for AI operators in industry.

UK start-up Salience Labs raised a $125 million Series B led by Bullhound Capital, with AMD Ventures and Intel Capital, on October 14, 2026, to scale optical switches for AI.

A US bankruptcy judge on 14 October 2026 approved the sale of fast-food start-up Salad and Go's brand and recipes for $180,000 to a firm formed by its founding chef.

Anthropic told prospective investors on 14 October 2026 that third-quarter revenue reached $16.8 billion, about 45% above the previous quarter, as it readies an IPO.

PSG beat Manchester City 4-2 at the Etihad on 14 October 2026, scoring three times in the first 32 minutes; Erling Haaland's two goals were not enough.

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by eight wickets in Rawalpindi on October 13, 2026, as Kusal Mendis made 87 not out, but Pakistan won the T20I series 2-1.

Bengaluru specialty chemicals start-up Scimplify raised $25 million in a round led by Hitachi Ventures, announced October 14, 2026, to expand in the US and Japan.

Tampa Bay beat Cleveland 3-1 on October 13, 2026 to tie the ALCS at one game each; the series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday, October 15.

Salesforce agreed on October 12, 2026, to buy Loops, a 2020-founded AI analytics start-up, folding it into Tableau; reports value the deal at about $30 million.

Cybersecurity start-up Pluto Security emerged from stealth on 13 October 2026 with about $42 million to help firms control AI agents and apps built by staff.

OlsAro, a Gothenburg start-up using AI to breed climate-resilient cereals, raised €5 million led by Industrifonden, reports said on October 14, 2026.

US tax filings reported on 13 October 2026 show FIFA chief Gianni Infantino got $1.72M from the 2026 World Cup company in 2024; FIFA denies breaking its rules.

Shenzhen robot maker Astribot raised about 1 billion yuan on Oct 13, 2026, at a 15 billion yuan (about $2.2 billion) valuation, led by a Shenzhen state investor.

Milwaukee beat Los Angeles 7-4 on October 12, 2026, to lead the NLCS 2-0; four relievers retired all 15 batters they faced, a postseason record.

Epyr, which stores power as heat in firebricks for factory steam, raised a €15 million Series A led by SlateVC on October 13, 2026.

Arsenal said on October 13, 2026 that life president Ken Friar, who served the club for about 70 years and helped deliver the Emirates Stadium, has died at 92.

Vienna construction-tech start-up Reebuild raised €3 million in seed funding led by Fortino Ventures, announced on 13 October 2026, to expand across Europe.

CarbonFarm, which uses satellites and AI to verify methane cuts in rice farming, closed an oversubscribed €7 million Series A led by Colam Impact on October 13, 2026.