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Former Yahoo CEO Launches AI Startup Dazzle, Raises $8M to Build Next-Generation AI Personal Assistants

The former Yahoo CEO is returning to the spotlight with a new generative AI venture, betting on the next wave of consumer-facing personal assistants.

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Marissa Mayer is stepping back into the startup arena with Dazzle, a new company focused on building the next generation of AI-powered personal assistants. The US-based startup has raised an $8 million seed round at a $35 million valuation, according to Mayer, marking her most significant entrepreneurial reset since leaving Yahoo.

The round was led by Forerunner Ventures founder Kirsten Green, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Greycroft, Offline Ventures, Slow Ventures, and Bling Capital. Mayer also invested her own capital but emphasized that Green led the round.

While Dazzle remains in stealth and details about the product are limited, Mayer has positioned the company squarely within the fast-evolving generative AI landscape, with a clear focus on consumer use cases.

From Sunshine to a Clean Slate

Dazzle emerges from the closure of Mayer’s previous startup, Sunshine, which she ran for six years after leaving Yahoo. Originally founded as Lumi Labs in 2018, Sunshine aimed to modernize contact management and later expanded into event organization and AI-powered photo sharing. Despite raising $20 million from investors including Felicis, Norwest Venture Partners, and Unusual Ventures, the company struggled to gain traction and was ultimately shuttered.

Mayer has been candid about Sunshine’s shortcomings, describing the problems it addressed as too narrow and the product as lacking the level of polish she had envisioned. When Sunshine was dissolved, its investors received 10% of Dazzle’s equity, effectively rolling their exposure into the new venture.

According to Mayer, the team began prototyping Dazzle in mid-2025. The project quickly eclipsed Sunshine in scope and ambition, prompting a full pivot. She described Dazzle as an opportunity with “much bigger impact” than anything the team had previously pursued.

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Betting on the Consumer AI Breakout

The involvement of Kirsten Green is widely seen as a strong signal of intent. Green has built a reputation for backing category-defining consumer companies early, including Warby Parker, Chime, and Dollar Shave Club. Her support suggests confidence that consumer-facing AI, long overshadowed by enterprise applications, is nearing an inflection point.

Green has previously argued that while enterprise AI dominated the early phase of the generative AI cycle, consumer products are now poised for a breakout as interfaces improve and use cases become more intuitive. Dazzle appears to be positioning itself for that shift, even if its exact form remains undisclosed.

For Mayer, securing Green as lead investor also represents a meaningful vote of confidence following Sunshine’s underwhelming performance. She has spoken openly about Green’s instinct for emerging platforms, calling her perspective on consumer behavior and technology direction “exceptional.”

A Founder Seeking a Third Act

Before becoming CEO of Yahoo, Mayer was employee number 20 at Google, where she played a central role in shaping Google Search’s design and oversaw products including Google Maps and AdWords. Reflecting on her career, Mayer has framed Dazzle as an attempt to once again build technology that fundamentally changes how people interact with information.

Dazzle is expected to exit stealth in early 2026. While the market for AI assistants is increasingly crowded, Mayer is betting that experience, timing, and a renewed focus on consumer-first design will give her latest venture a sharper edge.

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North America

US-Based AI Insurance Startup Klaimee Raises $5.5 Million to Protect Businesses from Autonomous AI Agent Failures

Y Combinator-backed insurtech startup Klaimee has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to build insurance-backed warranties and liability coverage for autonomous AI agents, addressing one of the biggest unanswered questions in enterprise AI: who pays when AI makes a costly mistake?

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US-based insurtech Klaimee has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to develop insurance products specifically designed for autonomous AI systems, offering businesses protection when AI agents make mistakes that result in financial losses or operational failures.

The round was led by FundersClub’s Alexander Mittal, with participation from ex/ante, Pioneer Fund, Multimodal Ventures, Kima Ventures, Rebel Fund, Robinhood Ventures, Y Combinator, and several angel investors.

Building Insurance for the AI Agent Era

Unlike traditional software, autonomous AI agents can independently execute financial transactions, send emails, modify sensitive data, make business decisions, and interact directly with customers.

According to Klaimee, these new capabilities expose enterprises to risks that conventional Technology Errors & Omissions (E&O) and Cyber Insurance policies were never designed to cover.

Rather than treating AI failures as standard software bugs or cybersecurity incidents, Klaimee has built a platform that evaluates, certifies, and insures AI agents based on the unique risks associated with autonomous decision-making.

Its offering combines technical audits, operational risk assessments, AI-specific liability insurance, and certification into a single framework that enterprises can use during procurement and vendor approval processes.

Solving a Growing Enterprise Problem

The startup argues that one question is increasingly slowing enterprise AI adoption:

Who pays if an autonomous AI agent causes damage?

As AI systems gain greater autonomy, procurement, legal, and risk management teams are beginning to require software vendors to demonstrate that their AI products are backed by dedicated liability coverage before contracts are signed.

Klaimee says several enterprise customers have already encountered procurement requests asking for proof of AI liability insurance worth at least $5 million per occurrence before large commercial agreements could proceed.

The issue is becoming more pressing as regulations evolve. The company points to legislation such as California’s AB 316 and the EU AI Act, alongside insurers increasingly excluding AI-related claims from traditional liability policies.

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Backing AI with Financial Guarantees

Founded by Ines Boutemadja and Julien Catonnet, Klaimee aims to bridge the gap between AI deployment and enterprise risk management.

The company’s platform audits AI agents, evaluates their operational reliability, certifies approved systems, and backs them with insurance specifically designed for autonomous AI failures.

According to CEO Ines Boutemadja, enterprises increasingly need more than technical assurances—they also require financial guarantees that AI-related failures will be covered.

The founders compare today’s AI insurance market to the early days of cyber insurance two decades ago, arguing that AI liability is becoming a new category of enterprise risk that will require dedicated insurance products rather than extensions of existing policies.

Riding the Next Wave of AI Infrastructure

The funding will be used to expand Klaimee’s operations and further develop its certification and insurance platform as demand for enterprise AI governance continues to grow.

As organizations move beyond AI copilots toward fully autonomous systems capable of making decisions and executing actions independently, startups like Klaimee are emerging as part of a broader ecosystem building the infrastructure needed for widespread AI adoption.

Instead of focusing solely on improving AI capabilities, the company is addressing the trust, accountability, and financial safeguards enterprises increasingly require before allowing autonomous AI agents to operate inside mission-critical business workflows.

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US-Based AI Startup Hang Ten Systems Raises $32M to Scale AI-Driven Enterprise Transformation Globally

The funding will support global expansion, talent acquisition, and the development of AI-powered enterprise transformation solutions.

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Hang Ten Systems, the AI startup founded by former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka, has raised $32 million (approximately ₹302 crore) in a seed funding round led by Mayfield Ventures.

The round also attracted participation from Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco, alongside several angel investors.

The fresh capital will be used to expand the company’s workforce and accelerate the deployment of its AI-powered enterprise solutions for large organizations worldwide.

Founded by Vishal Sikka, Hang Ten Systems helps enterprises adopt artificial intelligence to improve operations, accelerate digital transformation, and modernize software development.

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Accelerating Enterprise AI Adoption

Hang Ten Systems plans to use the newly raised funding to expand its engineering and enterprise teams while increasing its presence among large global organizations.

The company has already begun working with major enterprise customers, including Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Fresenius, delivering AI-powered project execution and enterprise transformation solutions.

Its platform combines artificial intelligence with industry expertise to help organizations improve operational efficiency, streamline software development, and accelerate digital initiatives.

According to Vishal Sikka, the company aims to help businesses unlock tangible value from AI as enterprises move beyond experimentation toward large-scale deployment.

AI-Powered Software Development Platform

Hang Ten Systems is developing an AI-native operating model designed to reduce the time and cost required to build, modify, and manage enterprise software.

The platform incorporates AI-powered code generation, a reusable skills library, and a network of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) who work closely with enterprise customers on complex transformation projects.

Its solutions support a wide range of business functions, including enterprise transformation, finance, human resources, and new product development.

By combining automation with human expertise, the company aims to help organizations develop and scale SaaS applications more efficiently while reducing implementation complexity.

Experienced Leadership Team

Hang Ten Systems currently employs a team of 16 professionals with experience across enterprise software, artificial intelligence, and industrial technology.

In addition to founder Vishal Sikka, the leadership team includes former ANSYS executive Navin Budhiraja, alongside Sanjay Rajagopalan, Tao Liu, Frank Yu, Pradeep Panicker, and Yusuf Safdari.

Explaining the company’s name, Sikka compared the rapid rise of artificial intelligence to surfing a powerful wave, saying businesses must not only embrace AI but master it to fully realize its potential.

With fresh funding, early enterprise customers, and an experienced leadership team, Hang Ten Systems is positioning itself as a provider of AI-powered enterprise transformation solutions. The investment will enable the company to expand globally while helping organizations integrate artificial intelligence into core business operations at scale.

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U.S.-Based Fintech Startup Mercury Raises $200M at $5.2B Valuation to Expand AI-Powered Banking Platform

The company plans to deepen its banking infrastructure, AI capabilities, and payroll services after securing preliminary approval to launch Mercury Bank.

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Mercury, the US-based financial technology company focused on banking services for startups and businesses, has raised $200 million in a Series D funding round that values the company at $5.2 billion.

The round was led by TCV, with participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, CRV, Sapphire Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

The latest financing brings Mercury’s total primary and secondary funding to approximately $700 million.

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Scaling an AI-Driven Banking Platform for Businesses

Mercury currently serves more than 300,000 business customers through a digital banking platform designed for startups, founders, and growing companies.

The company said it reached an annualised revenue run rate of $650 million during the third quarter of 2025, while applications during the first quarter of 2026 increased 2.5 times compared with the same period a year earlier.

Over the past year, Mercury expanded its product suite with several AI-driven and developer-focused tools aimed at modernising business banking infrastructure.

Expanding AI and Developer Banking Tools

Among the newly launched products is “Mercury Insights,” the company’s first AI-powered financial intelligence feature designed to provide customers with real-time financial analysis and operational insights.

Mercury also expanded its developer infrastructure offerings by introducing secure bank account access APIs and a command-line interface that allows businesses to execute banking operations directly from developer terminals.

Later this year, the company plans to launch “Mercury Command,” an AI-powered interface that enables users to execute financial workflows using natural language prompts.

Moving Into AI-Powered Payroll and Full Banking Services

Following its acquisition of Central, Mercury plans to integrate AI-powered payroll services into its broader banking ecosystem.

The company also expanded “Mercury Personal,” its consumer-focused banking service, to all eligible applicants across the United States.

The funding announcement comes shortly after Mercury received preliminary approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Mercury Bank, a move that would allow the company to offer integrated banking services directly through its own regulated institution.

Growing Investor Interest in AI-Native Financial Infrastructure

The raise reflects continued investor appetite for AI-native fintech infrastructure providers building integrated platforms across banking, payments, developer tools, payroll, and financial automation.

As financial institutions increasingly adopt AI-driven workflows and embedded financial services, Mercury is positioning itself as a unified operating platform for modern businesses seeking programmable and automated banking infrastructure.

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