As 2025 comes to a close, we’re seeing macroeconomic growth slow, venture capital scrutiny increase, and technology’s role shift from “nice to have” to mission-critical. Industries are under pressure to modernize on margins, not just for growth, but in order to survive.
Meanwhile, enterprise leaders are doubling down on digital tools: treating data strategy as product strategy, prioritizing front-line workflows and mobile-first experiences, and reckoning with the operational debt of spreadsheets, paper logs, and legacy systems.
Enter this month’s wave of purpose-driven startups rewriting how work gets done across identity, insurance, logistics, health, and more. Let’s take a look at the mission-driven startups that closed rounds in October.
AI & Security Companies
ConductorOne
Location: Portland, OR
ConductorOne raised a $79M Series B led by Greycroft with participants including CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, Accel, and Felicis. The AI-native identity platform helps enterprises manage access across humans, bots, and AI systems. It replaces spreadsheets and manual permissions with one intelligent source of truth. The new capital will accelerate product innovation, expand enterprise adoption, and help companies move faster without sacrificing safety.
Conceal
Location: Augusta, GA
Conceal completed a $26M Series B round, led by Two Bear Capital and joined by AllegisCyber and Gula Tech Adventures, to expand its browser-native zero-trust security platform that protects users from phishing and ransomware attacks. Its plug-free, invisible defense makes web browsing safer and simpler. The round will fuel global growth and product development so friction-free protection reaches more users worldwide.
Gravwell
Location: Coeur d'Alene, ID
Gravwell secured $15.4M in a Series A led by Two Bear Capital, with participation from Gula Tech Adventures and Next Frontier Capital. Gravwell helps IT and security teams see everything happening across their networks and clouds in real time. Its data analytics platform unifies logs, events, and metrics into one view so users can turn noise into actionable insights. Funding will be used to scale its analytics infrastructure and reach more complex enterprise environments.
Polygraf AI
Location: Austin, TX
In an effort to make artificial intelligence more accountable, Polygraf AI raised a $9.5M Seed round led by Allegis Capital, with Alumni Ventures, DataPower VC, and Domino Ventures participating. Its technology continuously monitors how AI systems make decisions, looking for bias, errors, or misuse in real time. The new funding will support product growth and deployment across industries that need AI to be safer, fairer, and more transparent.
Fintech & Financial Infrastructure
EPIC
Location: Dallas, TX
EPIC closed a $10M Series A led by FM Capital, with participation from Automotive Ventures and strategic industry backers, to help further modernize one of auto finance’s most outdated pain points: loan payoff and title transfer. Its digital platform replaces piles of paperwork and phone calls with instant, verified digital transactions. The funds will power nationwide expansion and continued innovation in auto fintech.
Routefusion
Location: Austin, TX
Cross-border payments startup Routefusion raised a $26.7M Series A, led by PeakSpan Capital, to make global money movement faster and more transparent. Routefusion simplifies global payments for fintechs and businesses expanding across borders. Its global payments platform cuts through outdated banking systems to make transactions instant and transparent. The new investment will expand its partner network, strengthen liquidity and compliance capabilities, and scale engineering and go-to-market teams.
MGT Insurance
Location: Greenwood Village, CO
MGT Insurance announced a $21.6M Series B led by Mubadala Capital, with Clocktower Ventures and Tacora Capital participating, to continue building a smarter, more automated insurance platform. By digitizing underwriting and claims workflows, MGT is reducing complexity for both partners and policyholders. The company plans to use the funds to expand into new markets and enhance its technology for speed and transparency.
Calculum
Location: Miami, FL
Calculum secured a $1.42M Seed round from private investors (prior backers include Vestigo Ventures and Humla) to bring AI-driven working capital optimization to finance teams everywhere. Its platform helps businesses uncover hidden cash in their supply chains by using AI to analyze payment data and cash cycles. The funding will help expand globally and embed deeper analytics into enterprise finance operations.
AI & Productivity Tools
Luster
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Sales-tech startup Luster raised $3M in a Seed round, co-led by High Alpha and Ivy Ventures, to make selling smarter. Its AI enablement platform surfaces insights, automates routine outreach, and helps reps focus on what actually closes deals. Luster is scaling its product roadmap, and the funding will help accelerate its comprehensive growth initiatives, including research and development of its core AI platform.
Syntracts
Location: Washington, DC
Syntracts raised $6.7M in Seed funding led by Hyperplan, with Khosla Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Myriad participating, to turn complex contracts into structured, searchable data. The company uses AI to read, summarize, and organize legal documents so teams can find what they need in seconds instead of hours. The new funding will go toward refining its AI models and scaling adoption among legal and procurement teams.
Health & Biotech
VitriVax
Location: Boulder, CO
VitriVax closed a $17.25M Series B, co-led by Adjuvant Capital and RA Capital Management, to revolutionize vaccine access through its breakthrough formulation technology. By making vaccines stable longer without constant refrigeration, the company helps healthcare providers reach communities where cold storage is unreliable. Funds will advance manufacturing and clinical development, accelerating global vaccine equity.
Operations & Modernization
Sweatpals
Location: Austin, TX
Wellness-tech platform Sweatpals raised a $12M Seed, led by Patron, a16z Speedrun, and HartBeat Ventures, to redefine how people connect through communities. Its “daylife” app brings users together for local events and community-led workouts. The funding will drive expansion into 12 new markets and enhance tools for creators, gyms, and studios to grow thriving wellness communities.
Scotch
Location: Denver, CO
Scotch brings modern tech to mom-and-pop liquor stores and secured a $10M Seed round from undisclosed investors. Its point-of-sale software replaces paper logs and outdated inventory tools with automated compliance tracking and customer analytics. The new funds will help expand distribution and deepen its retail data capabilities.
VC is in a moment of transition: slower economic headwinds, more cautious capital, and less tolerance for “growth above all else.” Yet that makes purpose-led innovation more essential than ever. When labor is scarce, supply chains are fragile, and compliance burdens grow, the companies that deliver measurable efficiency, frontline usability, and human-centric design are positioned to win.
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