Slate Auto Closes $650M Series C Funding

Slate Auto closed a $650M Series C this week, while Latin American digital bank Plata secured $405M at a $5B valuation.This week's private company news:Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of U.S. crypto exchange Kraken, said during the Semafor World Economy that the company has confidentially filed for an IPO,'s Cory Schouten reports. An April investment round valued Kraken at $13.3B, which was lower than its peak valuation of $20B in late 2025, the author notes. "What they want at the end of the day is what Citadel and Jane Street have, or JPMorgan has, and they want it accessible to them," Sethi said of Kraken's customer base. "That's our mission: How do we make all these products open? We want to be able to help enable what you want to do with your own capital."Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Slate Auto– The company said it closed its $650M Series C round led by TWG Global. Publicly traded companies in the space include Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid.Plata– The digital bank with operations in Latin America announced the closing of its $405M Series C at a $5B valuation. The round was led by Bicycle Capital with new investors Qatar Investment Authority, BTG Pactual, Valor Capital Group, and a large global long-only active fund manager. Publicly traded companies in the space include Block, PayPal, and SoFi.Aria Networks– The company announced it raised $125M backed by Sutter Hill Ventures, Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, and Eclipse Ventures. Publicly traded companies in the space include Cisco, Juniper Networks, and Ciena.Modus– The AI-native audit technology platform and holding company said it raised $85M in Seed and Series A funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Comma Capital and Garry Tan. Publicly traded companies in the space include Autodesk, Trimble, and Procore.nEye.ai– The integrated optical interconnects company announced it has raised $80M in Series C financing. The funding round was led by Sutter Hill Ventures. Publicly traded companies in the space include Cognex, Ambarella, and Nvidia.Unicorns to watch this week:Nuro– With an estimated valuation of $6B, the company specializes in autonomous delivery vehicles designed for last-mile logistics. Nuro has recently signed a partnership with Lucidand Uber.ReliaQuest– Specializing in AI-driven cybersecurity operations, the company has an estimated valuation of $3.4B. Publicly traded companies in the space Okta, Zscaler, and Crowdstrike.MaintainX– The manufacturing‑tech startup crossed unicorn threshold in this month and is now valued at approximately $2.5B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Fortive, ServiceNow, and ABM Industries.Enveda Biosciences– The company using machine learning to discover naturally occurring drug compounds reached unicorn status after securing $150M in Series D funding. Publicly traded companies in the space include Amgen, Bristol-Myers, and Gilead.Underdog Fantasy– With a valuation of about $1.3B, the company operates in the sports gaming space. Publicly traded companies in the space include DraftKings, Flutter Entertainment, and MGM Resorts.IPOs to watch:HawkEye 360– The company filed for an initial public offering of shares of common stock and said it intends to apply for listing of its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HAWK."Boundless Group– The company is offering 4M Class A ordinary shares on a firm commitment basis in an initial public offering. The company expects the initial public offering price of its Class A ordinary shares to be in the range of $4.00 to $5.00 per share.AEVEX– The company filed an initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock. The company applied to list its Class A common stock on the NYSE under the symbol "AVEX."Yesway– The company announced that it has commenced an initial public offering of 13,953,488 shares of its Class A common stock. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $20.00-$23.00 per share. The shares are expected to trade on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "YSWY."Liftoff Mobile– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The total number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and the completion of the SEC's review process."Private Markets" is The Fly's recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.