Solace, Stablecoins, Soul
Solace raises $130M at unicorn valuation, Crebit launches stablecoin payments on the App Store, and Anthropic's resident philosopher shapes Claude's soul.
TL;DR: Solace raised $130M at a $1B+ valuation. Talkiatry raised $210M Series D. Loyal raised $100M to extend dogs’ lifespan. Simple AI raised $14M for voice AI agents. Plus startup roles, Builders Report spotlighting teams in stablecoins (Crebit) and AI video, an 82M-view viral article on adapting to AI’s shift, and Anthropic’s resident philosopher shaping Claude’s soul.
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Sara Sargent, Co-Founder & CPO of Solace, a healthcare advocacy platform connecting patients with trained advocates to coordinate care and close gaps between diagnosis and treatment, raised $130M in Series C funding at a $1B+ valuation led by IVP.
Georgia Gaveras, Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer of Talkiatry, the nation’s largest full-stack psychiatry provider employing 800+ psychiatrists and delivering in-network care nationwide, raised $210M in Series D funding led by Perceptive Advisors.
Celine Halioua, Founder & CEO of Loyal, a clinical-stage animal health company developing the first FDA-approved drug to extend dogs’ lifespan, raised $100M in Series C funding led by age1.
Kate Barnard Roberts (President) and Emma Nosseir (Chief of Staff), Co-Founders of Atlas Oncology Partners, a value-based oncology enablement platform embedding interdisciplinary care teams into community oncology practices, raised $28M in Series A funding led by Flare Capital Partners.
Richa Kaul, CEO & Founder of Complyance, an AI-native governance, risk, and compliance platform helping enterprises automate continuous data risk monitoring, raised $20M in Series A funding led by GV.
Catheryn Li, Co-Founder & CEO of Simple AI, a voice AI agent platform automating inbound sales and support calls for consumer brands, raised $14M in seed funding led by First Harmonic with participation from YC.
Jana Tian, Co-Founder & CEO of Upside Robotics, a Waterloo-based agtech startup building solar-powered autonomous robots that reduce fertilizer use in corn crops, raised $7.5M in seed funding led by Plural.
Yidian (Loir) Liu, Co-Founder & COO of PolyGone Systems, a Princeton University spinoff developing cleantech solutions to remove microplastics from waterways, raised $4M in seed funding led by FYRFLY Venture Partners.
Luci Holland, Founder & CEO of Veritas, a commerce security startup building tamper-resistant NFC microchips and digital certificates to make luxury goods impossible to counterfeit, raised $1.75M in pre-seed funding led by Seven Seven Six.
👠 Sophia from Phia is hiring an NYC-based Marketing Intern to create viral short-form content and help a $185M Series A startup push toward 1B views.
🤖 Shensi from Merge is hiring Product Marketing Managers, Event & Content Marketing Managers, and a Brand Designer in SF & NYC to join their AI integrations platform.
💘 Ava from Hoppy is hiring College Membership Leads to launch and grow the video-first, women-curated dating app on campuses, with paid leadership roles and performance bonuses.
💁♀️ Maggie from Hot Smart Rich is hiring operators to help scale a top business podcast and Gen Z media brand at the intersection of startups and pop culture (LA).
🧑💻 Patricia from RentAHuman AI is hiring Software Engineer Interns at $60/hr to build AI agents for real-world tasks.
💛 Bandana is hiring a Software Engineering Intern in Brooklyn to help build its worker-centric job platform.
🏢 SideShift is hiring NYC-based interns across content, marketing, partnerships, growth, and customer success to support their UGC creator marketplace.
🎥 Weel (YC S24) is hiring an AI Video Specialist and a Growth Marketer in SF to create AI content, run UGC and micro-influencer campaigns, and scale a driving companion app.
💡 Opennote (YC S25) is hiring UGC Creators to make fun productivity & lifestyle content for an AI notebook startup. Paid per post ($30–$75+ & bonuses).
🧠 Headstream is accepting applications for Cohort VI of the Headstream Accelerator, offering $30K non-dilutive funding and a 16-week program for early-stage edtech and digital health startups focused on youth mental well-being (apps due March 15).
🧬 Redesign Health is launching Spark, a five-week NYC-based intensive for early-career, AI-native builders to develop, validate, and pitch a healthcare startup thesis with hands-on mentorship from operators and AI-focused healthcare leaders (applications close Feb 28).
💰 Anna from Female Invest is awarding £10,000 through the Changemaker Award (sponsored by Monzo) to fund a woman’s startup, project, or idea, with finalists pitching live in London for International Women’s Day.
💁♀️ Teli Labs matches and introduces young talent to founders at top early-stage startups & SMBs. Join here! Check out our job board with 10k live startup roles.
Young founders are making waves! Check out the last two editions of Builders Report by Teli Labs, where we spotlight standout young founding teams. In each edition, the founders themselves share insights on their business, traction, and vision for the future.
Edition 3: Five young teams building in stablecoin payments (Crebit, a16z speedrun), AI video training datasets (Shofo, YC), skiing and snowboarding matchmaking (Shredder), real-time Gen Z social coordination (Pinned Social), and AI-powered sustainable fashion discovery (Masira).
Edition 2: Six young teams building voice AI-powered dating (Known, $10M seed), gourmet viral slime (Sliimeyhoney, $2.9M revenue, 1.1M Tik Tok followers), AI-native video production (Cocreate, YC), real-time AI photography coaching (Serve), B2B campus security (LockGuard), and AI drug toxicity prediction (Helios).
Something big is happening. This article went completely viral this week, racking up 82M+ views on X. The author draws a parallel between today and the calm before COVID: most people think this is overblown when we're actually in the midst of a much larger shift. The piece isn't groundbreaking enough to explain its massive reach, but it offers some solid takeaways. Key advice: pay for the best models, use them daily on real work (not just search-style prompts), automate your highest-leverage tasks, build financial resilience, and develop the habit of adapting quickly.
Crebit launches on the App Store. The fintech is using stablecoins to make cross-border payments 4–10% cheaper than traditional banks. The team has processed $1M+ in FX volume in the past three months, targeting international students and global payers. Co-founders Jensen Coonradt (MIT) and Simmi Sen (Stanford) both graduated high school in 2024. Jensen previously built a patent-pending algae biofiltration system and an ultrasonic backpack for the visually impaired, while Simmi founded Tints, worn by Offset and Meghan Trainor.
Health on autopilot. Miora, co-founded by Karina Repko, is building a daily AI health assistant for women that books your workouts (ClassPass integrations), orders goal-aligned meals, and dynamically adjusts fitness, recovery, and nutrition based on your cycle and energy.
If you are still applying to jobs, read this. Wispr CEO Tanay Kothari (Stanford CS, Forbes 30U30) argues that candidates can skip the line by shipping work before you are hired. Builders ship features, analysts send product teardowns, operators close deals — all before submitting an application. The application is not the beginning.
The female philosopher in charge of giving Anthropic “soul.” The WSJ profiled Amanda Askell, the resident philosopher at Anthropic, who helps shape Claude’s sense of right and wrong. Her job includes studying the model’s reasoning, correcting misfires with 100+ page prompts, and guiding its personality using Anthropic’s Constitutional AI framework, a process she compares to raising a child. In response to the WSJ piece, Elon Musk, in typical fashion, commented that “Those without children lack a stake in the future” and added, “Anthropic is Misanthropic.”
📈 Partner with Her Hustle & Teli Labs if you are an early-stage startup interested in hiring top talent.
🗞️ Explore our other newsletters: Builders Report, spotlighting standout young founders, and Teli Digest, a roundup of startup hiring, funding, and ecosystem insights.
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, Hustlers!
Love,
Daniela & Adrian