FirstMark vs M13

Daytona Raises $60M Series B at $1B Valuation for AI Agent Cloud

Daytona, a provider of cloud infrastructure for AI agents, has secured $60 million in a Series B funding round, valuing the company at $1 billion and bringing total funding to $91 million. The round was led by FirstMark, with participation from several prominent tech executives and institutional investors. Daytona's platform offers secure, isolated compute environments for AI agents to execute code and perform tasks, addressing the infrastructure demands of autonomous AI systems. The company reports a 25-fold increase in revenue run rate between January and September, and counts Anthropic, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Cursor, and others among its customers. The new capital will be used to expand its agent cloud platform, scale computing infrastructure, and grow its international team.

• Daytona raised $60 million in Series B funding at a $1 billion valuation, bringing total funding to $91 million.
• The round was led by FirstMark, with participation from Patrick Collison, Adam D'Angelo, Brendan Foody, Tobi Lütke, Olivier Pomel, Aravind Srinivas, and Eric Yuan.
• Daytona reported a 25-fold increase in its revenue run rate between January and September.

Neonomics secures €3.56M after cutting costs nearly half

Norwegian open banking provider Neonomics has raised €3.55 million ($4 million) from existing shareholders. The company cut operating costs by nearly 50% under the leadership of CEO Alfonso Muñoz, who joined as CFO in 2025 and became interim CEO in February 2026. Neonomics provides a full-stack open finance platform including payment initiation, account data, and AI-ready financial intelligence. Its PSD2 network connects to over 3,500 banks in Europe, reaching more than 20 million Nordic consumers. The company has seen over 60% growth in new customer acquisition this year. The new funds will support expansion into consumer-facing financial services, personal finance, accounting, ERP, and data-driven products. Existing investors include Newmark Capital, Bankify, FirstMark Capital, and TTU Private Equity.

• Neonomics raised €3.55 million ($4 million) from existing shareholders.
• Operating costs were reduced by almost 50%.
• New customer acquisition grew over 60% since start of year.

What Is Agentic Identity? Meet Baselayer, the Identity Infrastructure for AI Agents

M13 announces fundraising for Baselayer, an identity infrastructure for AI agents, with a dedicated article published on September 22, 2026.

Investors Are Betting on AI Agents That Shop for You

Venture capitalists are increasingly funding startups building AI agents that can shop on behalf of consumers and handle payments. The article maps the emerging market for "agentic commerce," covering personal assistants like Instinct and Town, shopping search tools like Daydream, payment infrastructure startups like Catena Labs and Basis Theory, and marketing tech such as Profound. Major platforms are also moving: OpenAI and Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol, Google operates the Agent Payments Protocol, and Visa and Mastercard introduced Trusted Agent Protocol and Agent Pay. However, the space faces trust and fraud challenges, illustrated by Phia's cookie-stuffing scandal and an Instinct agent error that cost a user around $300. Investor interest remains strong, with millions raised across the sector, even as enterprise adoption lags due to compliance and security concerns.

• Adobe Analytics reported that 41% of respondents used AI for online shopping in June 2026.
• OpenAI and Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), while Google operates the Agent Payments Protocol.
• Profound raised $96 million in Series C funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.