--- url: 'https://qubit.capital/blog/us-series-a-weekly-funding-roundup-week-3-may-2026' title: 'US Series A Weekly Funding Roundup (May 11-18, 2026): $252.0M Raised Across 7 Deals' author: name: Sahil Agrawal url: 'https://qubit.capital/blog/author/sahil' date: '2026-05-18T07:13:10+05:30' modified: '2026-05-18T17:43:45+05:30' type: post summary: 'Seven US Series A rounds raised $252M this week, led by OpenFX''s $94M for stablecoin payments and GridCARE''s $64M for AI grid capacity.' categories: - Weekly Funding Roundup image: 'https://qubit.capital/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/featured-us-series-a-67067.webp' published: true --- # US Series A Weekly Funding Roundup (May 11-18, 2026): $252.0M Raised Across 7 Deals Seven US startups closed Series A rounds between May 11 and May 18, pulling in $252 million collectively. The week’s pacing skewed toward infrastructure plays: stablecoin payment rails, AI grid capacity, pharma commercialization, and compliance automation each drew checks north of $15M. OpenFX took the largest slice at $94M, while GridCARE’s $64M oversubscribed round signaled how aggressively investors are chasing the power bottleneck behind AI. For context on the rest of the US capital stack this week, seed-stage companies raised $28M across 3 deals while late-stage rounds totaled $569M across 5 deals. The Series A band sat squarely between exploratory bets and growth capital, with most rounds funding GTM scaling and product depth rather than category creation. Here’s how each deal broke down. Weekly Funding Roundup MAY 11-18, 2026 $252M TOTAL RAISED 7DEALS CLOSED MixedSTAGE $36MAVG DEAL SIZE USTOP REGION BY STAGE Series A$188M75% Series A (oversubscribed)$64M25% BY SECTOR OpenFXFintech (cross-border payments)$94M GridCAREClimate / energy infrastructure$64M BranchLabHealthtech (pharma marketing)$26M GovWellSaaS (govtech)$25M OpturaEnterprise SaaS$17.5M GreenboardFintech (RegTech)$15.5M VectorSaaS (B2B martech)$10M Table of Contents - [1. OpenFX Raises $94M For Cross-Border Stablecoin Payments](#1-openfx-raises-$94m-for-cross-border-stablecoin-payments) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision) - [Market Context](#market-context) - [2. GridCARE Raises $64M For AI Grid Capacity](#2-gridcare-raises-$64m-for-ai-grid-capacity) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-1) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-1) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-1) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-1) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-1) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-1) - [Market Context](#market-context-1) - [3. BranchLab Raises $26M For Pharma Commercialization AI](#3-branchlab-raises-$26m-for-pharma-commercialization-ai) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-2) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-2) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-2) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-2) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-2) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-2) - [Market Context](#market-context-2) - [4. GovWell Raises $25M For AI Government OS](#4-govwell-raises-$25m-for-ai-government-os) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-3) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-3) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-3) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-3) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-3) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-3) - [Market Context](#market-context-3) - [5. Optura Raises $17.5M Led By Salesforce Ventures](#5-optura-raises-$17-5m-led-by-salesforce-ventures) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-4) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-4) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-4) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-4) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-4) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-4) - [Market Context](#market-context-4) - [6. Greenboard Raises $15.5M For AI Compliance Automation](#6-greenboard-raises-$15-5m-for-ai-compliance-automation) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-5) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-5) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-5) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-5) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-5) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-5) - [Market Context](#market-context-5) - [7. Vector Raises $10M For B2B Contact-Level Advertising](#7-vector-raises-$10m-for-b2b-contact-level-advertising) [Deal Overview](#deal-overview-6) - [Investor Profile](#investor-profile-6) - [Company and Leadership](#company-and-leadership-6) - [Problem and Opportunity](#problem-and-opportunity-6) - [Product and Technology](#product-and-technology-6) - [Use of Proceeds and Vision](#use-of-proceeds-and-vision-6) - [Market Context](#market-context-6) - [Lessons For Founders](#lessons-for-founders) ## 1. OpenFX Raises $94M For Cross-Border Stablecoin Payments ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A - Sector: Fintech (cross-border payments) - Geography: Miami, US (hubs in NYC, London, Dubai, Bangalore) - Round size: $94M - Valuation: ~$500M ### Investor Profile The syndicate is unusually deep for a Series A: Accel, Atomico, Lightspeed Faction, M13, Northzone, and Pantera Capital. The blend of generalist Tier-1 funds with crypto-native capital signals conviction that stablecoin rails are crossing from speculative into core financial infrastructure. ### Company and Leadership Founder Prabhakar Reddy co-founded crypto prime broker FalconX before starting [OpenFX](https://openfx.com) in 2024. He’s said the idea came from watching Western Union queues in Dubai. The team draws on his FalconX-era institutional trading and treasury background. ### Problem and Opportunity Legacy correspondent banking takes days and costs 3-5% per transfer. B2B payments alone move over $40T annually, and stablecoin volumes crossed $10T in 2025. The GENIUS Act gave US-regulated stablecoin rails the regulatory backing they had been waiting for. ### Product and Technology OpenFX runs stablecoin-settled FX across 40+ trading pairs including PHP, COP, ARS, and AED. The platform claims 98%+ of transactions settle in under 60 minutes at 0.01-0.3% all-in cost. API-first onboarding takes hours rather than weeks. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Expansion into Southeast Asia, deeper Latin American corridors, more currency pairs, and continued hiring across liquidity, compliance, and engineering. Annualized payment volume jumped from $4B to $45B+ in roughly a year. ### Market Context Customers include MoneyGram, Yellow Card, and VelaFi. Competitors include Conduit, BVNK, Zero Hash, and Wise Platform. Bridge sold to Stripe for $1.1B in 2024, setting a recent benchmark. ## 2. GridCARE Raises $64M For AI Grid Capacity ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A (oversubscribed) - Sector: Climate / energy infrastructure - Geography: Redwood City, US - Round size: $64M (total funding $77.5M) ### Investor Profile Sutter Hill Ventures led, with John Doerr, National Grid Partners, Future Energy Ventures, and Xora Innovation joining. National Grid’s direct participation is the tell: the utility wants pole position on whatever solves its interconnection backlog. ### Company and Leadership CEO Amit Narayan founded [GridCARE](https://www.gridcare.ai) in 2024 after building AutoGrid. His Stanford and utility-data relationships gave the company early access to PGE and National Grid planning data that competitors can’t replicate. ### Problem and Opportunity US data center power demand is projected to triple by 2030. Interconnection queues exceed 2,600 GW with 4-7 year waits. Hyperscalers don’t have that kind of time. ### Product and Technology The platform ingests utility planning models, interconnection queues, permits, weather, load shapes, and grid topology to find latent capacity. It then matches AI data center developers to power that can be unlocked in months using flexible interconnection, demand response, and dynamic line ratings. GridCARE claims over 100 GW of hidden capacity is discoverable. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Engineering and GTM hiring, expansion to 12+ US markets, scaling deployments with PGE (first 80MW in 2026) and National Grid, and delivering on a >2GW contracted pipeline worth ~$40M. ### Market Context Competes with utility-software incumbents (GE Vernova, Siemens, Itron), grid-sensing peers (LineVision, Gridware), and Alphabet’s mix. GridCARE’s wedge is being a pure matchmaker between hyperscalers and grid headroom. ## 3. BranchLab Raises $26M For Pharma Commercialization AI ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A - Sector: Healthtech (pharma marketing) - Geography: Boulder, US - Round size: $26M (total funding $35M) ### Investor Profile McKesson Ventures led with FCA Venture Partners, Sanofi Ventures, and AIX Ventures participating. McKesson and Sanofi on the cap table double as distribution channels into pharma manufacturers and agencies. ### Company and Leadership Co-founders Josh Walsh (CEO), Michael Parkes, and Chris Cagle launched [BranchLab](https://branchlab.com) in 2024 with offices in Boulder, NYC, and SF. ### Problem and Opportunity Pharma marketing depends on Protected Health Information, which creates HIPAA exposure and locks teams into slow claims-data vendors. US pharma marketing spend exceeds $30B annually and is shifting fast to omnichannel. ### Product and Technology Pathwai is a unified platform that predicts health outcomes and builds patient, HCP, and caregiver audiences without using PHI. Reported results: ~70% lift in marketing efficacy, 30x faster campaign execution, 20x lower CPM, and 90% reduction in cost per target audience. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Scaling Pathwai, expanding engineering and commercial teams, deepening integrations with pharma manufacturers and media platforms, and broadening therapeutic area coverage. ### Market Context Competes with Crossix/Veeva, IQVIA, Komodo Health, Swoop, PulsePoint, DeepIntent, and Lasso. Tightening privacy regulation and cookie deprecation are tailwinds for privacy-by-design approaches. ## 4. GovWell Raises $25M For AI Government OS ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A - Sector: SaaS (govtech) - Geography: United States - Round size: $25M ### Investor Profile Felicis backed the round. The fund has built a track record on category-leading SaaS bets and is taking a concentrated position here. ### Company and Leadership [GovWell](https://www.govwell.com) sells an AI-native operating system designed for modern government workflows. ### Problem and Opportunity State and local government software is dominated by aging vendors with slow procurement cycles. AI-native challengers can compress permit, licensing, and case management workflows that today take weeks. ### Product and Technology The platform packages civic workflows into a single AI-driven console covering permitting, licensing, and inspections. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Scale engineering and GTM into more municipal customers and broaden product surface area. ### Market Context Competes with Tyler Technologies, Granicus, Accela, OpenGov, and a wave of newer civic-tech entrants. Municipal AI adoption is accelerating as cities feel labor pressure. ## 5. Optura Raises $17.5M Led By Salesforce Ventures ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A - Sector: Enterprise SaaS - Geography: United States - Round size: $17.5M ### Investor Profile Salesforce Ventures led, signaling potential integration paths into the broader Salesforce ecosystem. ### Company and Leadership [Optura](https://optura.com) builds enterprise SaaS aimed at expanding workflow automation for operations teams. ### Problem and Opportunity Enterprises run fragmented stacks where operational data is trapped across point tools. Consolidation pressure is real. ### Product and Technology The platform centralizes operational signals and ties them to action workflows, with deep CRM integration as a likely focus given the lead. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Expand the product platform and grow GTM into mid-market and enterprise accounts. ### Market Context Enterprise SaaS consolidation is the dominant 2026 buying pattern, favoring platforms over point tools. ## 6. Greenboard Raises $15.5M For AI Compliance Automation ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A - Sector: Fintech (RegTech) - Geography: NYC, US - Round size: $15.5M (total funding $20M) ### Investor Profile Base10 Partners led, with Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Commerce Ventures, Transpose Platform, Liquid2 Ventures, and Kulveer Taggar also in. ### Company and Leadership Dave Feldman (CEO, ex-Guideline, ex-Hive AI) and Ed Schembor (CTO, ex-Amazon, AWS SageMaker) founded [Greenboard](https://greenboard.com) in 2023. The two met as engineering undergrads at Johns Hopkins. ### Problem and Opportunity SEC and FINRA enforcement is intensifying around off-channel communications and marketing rule violations. Legacy compliance vendors are slow point tools that can’t keep up with LLM-era review timelines. ### Product and Technology Greenboard unifies communications archiving, employee compliance, marketing compliance, and firm compliance into one system. The platform is WORM-based, SEC 17a-4 compliant, and SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Customers report a 7-second average marketing review and 99.14% reduction in eComms false positives. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Scale GreenboardGo (the AI agent layer), expand AI research headcount, and grow into larger broker-dealers and asset managers. ### Market Context Competes with Smarsh, Global Relay, MyComplianceOffice, ComplySci, Hadrius, look into, and Saifr. The RegTech market sits at $15-20B in 2026 with ~20% CAGR. ## 7. Vector Raises $10M For B2B Contact-Level Advertising ### Deal Overview - Stage: Series A - Sector: SaaS (B2B martech) - Geography: United States - Round size: $10M ### Investor Profile SignalFire and HubSpot Ventures co-invested. HubSpot Ventures’ participation hints at ecosystem distribution into HubSpot’s mid-market base. ### Company and Leadership [Vector](https://vector.co) sells contact-level advertising infrastructure for B2B go-to-market teams. ### Problem and Opportunity B2B advertising still targets accounts in aggregate. Buyers want to reach specific contacts within target accounts based on real intent signals. ### Product and Technology The platform identifies individual buying-committee members and activates them through ad networks, tied back to revenue. ### Use of Proceeds and Vision Scale the GTM product and grow engineering and revenue teams. ### Market Context Competes with 6sense, Demandbase, RollWorks, and Mutiny. Contact-level activation is the natural next step beyond account-based marketing. ## Lessons For Founders - Strategic investors are doing the work of distribution. McKesson and Sanofi on BranchLab’s cap table, National Grid on GridCARE’s, HubSpot on Vector’s, Salesforce on Optura’s: each operator-LP brings either customers or integration paths that compress GTM. If you’re raising into a regulated or relationship-heavy market, design your syndicate for distribution, not just price. - Infrastructure beats applications when the bottleneck is real. Four of seven rounds funded picks-and-shovels plays: payment rails, grid capacity, compliance plumbing, and pharma data infrastructure. The application layer is being commoditized by foundation models, but the boring infrastructure underneath has more pricing power than it did 24 months ago. - Founder-market fit shows up in the data moat. Prabhakar Reddy’s FalconX background gives OpenFX privileged liquidity relationships. Amit Narayan’s AutoGrid history opens utility-data partnerships for GridCARE. Dave Feldman’s Guideline experience informs Greenboard’s compliance workflows. In each case the founder’s prior career creates a data or relationship asset that’s hard to replicate. - Oversubscribed rounds are still happening, but only for category-defining wedges. GridCARE was oversubscribed because grid interconnection is the single biggest gating constraint on AI infrastructure. If your round isn’t getting that reception, ask whether your wedge is sharp enough. - Regulatory moats are compounding. Greenboard’s WORM-compliant archive, BranchLab’s PHI-free architecture, and OpenFX’s licensing footprint each turn compliance from a cost center into a defensibility layer. In regulated verticals, the path to durability runs through the regulator.