SDGR News & Events

Cognition AI and Modal both landed major new funding rounds this week, underscoring continued investor appetite for AI infrastructure and agentic AI platforms. Cognition AI said it has raised more than $1B at a $26B valuation, while Modal secured $355M in fresh financing led by Redpoint Ventures and General Catalyst, lifting its valuation to $4.65B from $1.1B last fall.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Cognition AI– The company said it has raised more than $1B in a new funding round at a $26B valuation. Venture firms Lux Capital, General Catalyst and 8VC co-led the financing. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Palantir, C3 AI, and IBM.Modal– The AI startup raised $355M in a new round of financing, valuing the company at $4.65B. The company's new round was led by Redpoint Ventures and General Catalyst, which will have a board seat. The Series C round values the company at $4.65B, up from $1.1B in the fall. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet.Stord– The consumer experience company announced a $250M Series F funding at a $3B valuation. The round was led by existing investors. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Prologis, Shopify, and Manhattan Associates.Farther– The intelligent wealth management company raised $150M in Series D funding. The round was led by General Atlantic, a leading global investor, with participation from existing investors. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley, and Robinhood.MidOcean Energy– The liquefied natural gas company formed and managed by EIG announced a $120M equity investment from The Arab Energy Fund. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Cheniere Energy, Tellurian, and Exxon Mobil.Unicorns to watch this week:Safe Superintelligence– Operating in the AI sector, Safe Superintelligence remains a major narrative driver in the ongoing "AI safety vs. capabilities" debate. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Alphabet.Via Transportation– The transit tech unicorn builds software for public transit agencies and on demand mobility systems. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Uber, Lyft, and Trimble.Netskope– The cybersecurity company specializes in Secure Access Service Edge, cloud security, zero trust network access, and CASB/SWG. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, and Cloudflare.Unconventional AI– Positioned as a challenger to Nvidia dominated compute with a radically energy efficient architecture, the company recently raised a $475M seed round at a $4.5B valuation. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.Chai Discovery– The AI for molecular programming company closed a $130M Series B, reaching a $1.3B valuation. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Schrodingerand Recursion Pharmaceuticals.IPOs to watch:SpaceX– The company officially submitted its Form S-1 with the SEC to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SPCX. Expected to be the largest IPO in history, the company targets raising up to $80B at a valuation exceeding $2T.Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Company– The company announced the launch of its initial public offering of 20M shares of its common stock. In connection with the offering, Sunshine expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 shares of common stock. The IPO price is expected to be between $13.50-$16.50 per share. Sunshine's common stock has been approved for listing, subject to official notice of issuance, under the ticker symbol "SSMR" on the New York Stock Exchange.Innio– The company announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common shares. The timing of the offering, number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. Innio has applied to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "INIO." Innio designs, manufactures and services power systems under its Jenbacher and Waukesha brands. The company delivers power for applications including data centers, microgrids, grid stabilization, industrial energy and gas compression.Inspire Brands– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Inspire Brands expects to use the net proceeds of the proposed offering to repay outstanding indebtedness under its existing term loan facility and pay offering fees and expenses.Tarsier Pharma Ltd.– The company filed for an initial public offering of its ordinary shares and applied to list its ordinary shares on the NYSE American under the symbol "TARX." The prospectus stated, "Tarsier Pharma is developing TRS01 and TRS02, novel product candidates based on dazdotuftide, a new molecule with a new mechanism of action for uveitis and uveitic glaucoma. We are attempting to address a significant, underserved market opportunity and have engaged closely with the FDA on our clinical development strategy, including a Special Protocol Assessment agreement for our planned pivotal trial... Although we are still early in this journey, I believe we have the technology, the team, the discipline, and the persistence required to build an enduring company.""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.

Schrodinger granted a non-statutory stock option to purchase 1,875 shares of the company's common stock to one newly hired employee and restricted stock units with respect to 18,766 shares of the company's common stock to seven newly hired employees. These grants were made pursuant to the company's 2021 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan, were approved by the compensation committee of the board of directors pursuant to a delegation by the company's board of directors, and were made as a material inducement to such employees' acceptance of employment with the company in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) as a component of his or her employment compensation. The stock option has an exercise price of $12.05 per share, equal to the closing price of the company's common stock on May 18, 2026. The stock option has a ten-year term and vests over four years, with 25 percent of the shares underlying the option vesting when such employee completes 12 months of continuous service measured from the employment start date and the balance of the shares vesting in a series of successive equal monthly installments of 1/48 of the original number of shares upon the employee's completion of each additional month of service over the 36-month period following the first anniversary of the employment start date. The RSUs vest over four years, with 25 percent of such RSUs vesting when such employee completes 12 months of continuous service measured from the vesting commencement date, and the balance of the RSUs vesting in a series of successive equal yearly installments of 1/4 of the original number of RSUs upon each such employee's completion of each additional year of service over the three-year period following the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date.