Friday, September 11, 2026

AI Startups Pull $716M as Global VC Shifts from Crypto to Enterprise Automation

Enterprise AI firms Ivo and Nomagic raised $716M in Series B rounds as institutional investors rotated capital from cryptocurrency to infrastructure plays. New funds Outlast ($450M) and Cogito Capital ($280M) launched targeting AI over digital assets despite crypto's 716M global holders.

ViaNews Editorial Team

February 28, 2026

Source Trace Score12 source documents12 with a live linkVerifiability: Strong
AI Startups Pull $716M as Global VC Shifts from Crypto to Enterprise Automation
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Ivo and Nomagic raised $716M combined in late 2025 Series B rounds as venture capital rotated from cryptocurrency into enterprise AI automation. The capital shift occurred despite global crypto ownership growing 16% year-over-year to 716 million holders across markets including Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Two new specialist funds launched targeting AI infrastructure over digital assets. Outlast's $450M vehicle in January 2026 backs companies building proprietary data platforms. Cogito Capital raised $280M for vertical AI in healthcare and financial services. Partners cited conviction that AI-native architectures will replace current enterprise software globally.

Ivo's funding supports AI workflow automation for procurement and supply chains serving multinational corporations. Nomagic raised parallel capital for autonomous code generation platforms deployed across international development teams. Both attracted institutional money previously allocated to late-stage crypto protocols.

The rotation reflects differing risk profiles between asset classes. Cryptocurrency's $2.1 trillion market capitalization remains tied to evolving regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions from the EU's MiCA regulations to Asia's varied approaches. AI enterprise platforms generate contracted revenue from Fortune 500 deployments seeking labor cost reduction across global operations.

Series B valuations averaged 18x forward revenue for AI automation companies versus 12x for traditional SaaS peers. NYU professor Aswath Damodaran's framework classifies AI as disruptive technology creating new markets rather than optimizing workflows. Investor positioning suggests institutions now view enterprise automation in that category despite crypto's continued growth.

Both startups reported over 50 enterprise customers and 200%+ annual recurring revenue growth before raising institutional capital. The concentration in Series B rounds indicates global investors target proven product-market fit over early prototypes as AI deployment accelerates across industries and geographies.

Source documents

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Source Trace Score12 source documents12 with a live linkVerifiability: Strong
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