Spotlight, Soxton, Security
Luana becomes the youngest self-made female billionaire. Massive rounds across prediction markets, chemistry, cybersecurity, and legal ops. Plus new roles and rising stars from Forbes 30u30!
This is Teli Labs’s weekly newsletter: Her Hustle, a place to learn all about the new and the next in female entrepreneurship. We highlight the women who are building startups—from those launching from dorm rooms to experienced professionals turning their bold visions into reality.
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Luana Lopes Lara, Co-Founder of Kalshi, a prediction market, raised $1B in funding led by Paradigm at an $11B valuation. At 29, Luana is world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.
Jana Jensen, Co-Founder & COO of Excelsior Sciences, a platform developing AI-enabled chemistry for automated small-molecule discovery and manufacturing, raised $95M in funding co-led by Deerfield Management, Khosla Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners.
Sanaz Yashar, Co-Founder & CEO of Zafran Security, an Tel Aviv-based AI-native threat exposure management platform, raised $60M in Series C funding led by Menlo Ventures.
Cecilia Ziniti, Co-Founder & CEO of GC AI, an AI platform for in-house legal teams, raised $60M in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners and Northzone.
Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini, Co-Founders of Ricursive Intelligence, a frontier AI lab accelerating semiconductor chip design, raised $35M in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital at a $750M valuation.
Rebecca Schaevitz, Co-Founder & CPO of Mixx Technologies, a silicon-integrated optical connectivity platform for AI infrastructure, raised $33M in Series A funding led by ICM HPGC Fund.
Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, Co-Founders of Phia, an AI-powered shopping platform, raised $30M in funding led by Notable Capital at an $180M valuation.
Rebekah Gee and Rebecca Kavoussi, Co-Founders of Nest Health, a whole-family primary care platform for Medicaid households, raised $22.5M in Series A funding.
Diane Yu, Co-Founder & CEO of Tidalwave, an agentic AI mortgage point-of-sale platform, raised $22M in Series A funding led by Permanent Capital.
Kaledora Fontana Kiernan-Linn, Co-Founder & CEO of Ostium, a decentralized derivatives exchange for real-world assets, raised $20M in Series A funding co-led by General Catalyst and Jump Crypto.
Helen Hastings, Founder & CEO of Quanta, an AI-powered accounting platform, raised $15M in Series A funding led by Accel.
Janine Sengstack, Co-Founder & CSO of Junevity, a biotech developing siRNA-based metabolic therapeutics, raised $10M in new seed funding led by Goldcrest Capital and Godfrey Capital.
Hala Borno, Founder & CEO of Trial Library, an AI-enabled clinical trials access platform, raised $10M in Series A funding co-led by SemperVirens Venture Capital and Next Ventures
Ariadna Font Llitjós, Co-Founder & CEO of Alinia AI, a compliance platform for regulating and controlling AI systems at scale, raised $7.5M in seed funding led by Mouro Capital.
Simone Korgsgaard Jensen, Founder & CEO of Radical Health, an AI oncologist platform designed to give every patient access to expert-level cancer care, raised $5M in pre-seed funding led by Khosla Ventures.
Caroline Dell, Co-Founder & CEO of Goodword, an AI-powered networking copilot to helps users build and maintain professional relationships, raised $4M in seed funding led by Human Ventures.
Chloe Samaha, Co-Founder & CEO of BOND, an AI Chief of Staff platform for executives, raised $3M in seed funding led by Fellows Fund.
Ina Jovicic, Co-Founder & CEO of eNOugh, a chest-worn wearable that uses AI for threat detection and autonomous protective responses, raised $2.7M in funding led by A*Ventures.
Logan Brown, Founder & CEO of Soxton, an AI-native legal platform automating and democratizing startup legal services, raised $2.5M in pre-seed funding led by Moxxie Ventures.
Michelle Masek & Nadia Jamshidi, Co-Founders of Honeyjar, a PR-focused AI workspace unifying media research, list building, event tracking, and comms workflows, raised $2M in pre-seed funding led by Human Ventures and SNR Ventures.
Forbes 30u30 was released this week. Here are some of the ladies doing big things!
AI: Carina Hong (Axiom), Selin Kocalar (Delve), Eden Ovadia (Finny), Victoria Toli (Finny), Isa Fulford (OpenAI), Grace Magny-Fokam (Folia Technologies), Hahnbee Lee (Mimily), Sharon Lee (Moonlake AI), Emma Qian (Nova Intelligence), Alejandrina Gonzalez Reyes (Sonant AI), Cecilia Shen (Utopia Studios), Sarah Wooders (Letta)
Retail & E-commerce: Jenny Wang (Alta), Aliett Buttelman (Fazit Beauty), Nina La Bruna (Fazit Beauty), Chloe Beaudoin (Apicotton), Jessica Miao (Apicotton), Olivia Bae (Perseve Hair), Marilyn Califano (Hempress Hygienics), Elisabeth Detrow (Ace Grip Socks), Stephanie Devli (Happy Camper), Sarah Cheung (SACHEU), Sarah Ebert (Pressed Floral), Sarah Ganzenmuller (Rediem), Phoebe Gates (Phia), Sophie Hengst (The Dailee), Alexia Ioannou (Nou), Paige Lorenze (Dairy Boy), Onama Okeke (Corvane), Abigail Price (Abrode), Ruth Sack (Streets Ahead)
See the winners in the other categories here.
Valerie Chapman introduced Ruth AI, an AI-powered career platform helping women negotiate salaries, build personal brands, and navigate careers with confidence to close the gender wage gap.
Women drive 60% of US healthcare spending and remain the system’s most underserved users. Kathrin Folkendt highlighted 8 venture opportunities for 2026 including hormonal health solutions, AI as the first clinical touchpoint, early detection models, and more.
Carta data shows that 2021 and 2022 VC fund vintages are deploying capital more slowly and may struggle to finish investing, while 2024 funds are deploying faster than normal.
Spring Cash offers fast, flexible PO and invoice financing for CPG brands at industry-low rates, helping emerging consumer companies access working capital without traditional fundraising friction. Learn more here.
Adobe data shows AI-driven shopping referrals now convert about 16 percent higher than non-AI, with AI conversion rising sharply while traditional conversion declines.
Later-stage companies have cut headcount the most, with $50M+ ARR teams down 59% from 2022.
✨ CharCharms is hiring Spring & Summer 2026 interns across finance, marketing, content creation, influencer management, graphic design, and operations for its water bottle accessory brand making hydration fun and personalized.
📘 RippleMatch is hiring an Account Executive to help expand its verified-skills marketplace that connects students and recent grads with early-career opportunities.
📦 Garage (YC W24) is hiring an Executive Assistant in NYC to support its founders and ops for its marketplace for emergency vehicles and surplus equipment.
💧 Relixir (YC X25) is hiring a full-time Growth & Ops generalist to support its inbound engine that powers AI search traffic for brands.
📵 Kanso is hiring a full-time Operations & Experience Coordinator in NYC to help run its phone-free community events, manage venues and partners, and support expansion into new markets.
🐦 Jobright.ai is hiring a Growth Intern to run its Campus Ambassador squad and own end-to-end growth projects for its AI job search agent.
💖 Not Your Mother’s Haircare is hiring Spring 2026 Campus Ambassadors, targeting students at Syracuse, UCF, Houston, SDSU, Indiana, Western, Toronto, and more for its salon-inspired haircare brand.
📣 Verbatim is hiring a Campaign Manager to run influencer campaigns and manage creator relationships for its boutique marketing agency supporting SaaS and eComm brands.
🍞 One Mighty Mill is hiring two Boston-based creative interns, a YouTube Content Intern and a LinkedIn Content Intern, to help capture and share brand storytelling for its bread & bagel company.
🌟 Foundess issued a last call for nominations for Foundess 25, its annual list spotlighting impactful womxn redefining entrepreneurship. Nominate by December 12th.
🔥 Buildn’Chill opened applications for Canada’s first all-expenses-paid retreat for female founders. No panels, no pitches, just s’mores over a campfire, vision boards and quality time with the girls that get it.
🌏 MLV opened applications for its Product Management Associate Program for US college students with roots in Hong Kong, Vietnam, or Singapore, offering spring startup training remotely and a summer in Asia launching a revenue-generating education venture.
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Love,
Daniela, Adrian, & The Teli Team