🏗️🧱 Softbank Bets $87B on French AI Campuses

Dear {{First_Name|Friend}},

As June begins, physical AI pushes deeper into hardware, with Orbital Industries raising $50 million to manufacture AI-designed modular data center infrastructure and Tianji Intelligence closing $138 million to mass-produce force-control components for humanoid robots. Data center capital flows hit new heights as SoftBank pledges $87 billion to build 5 GW of AI campuses across France and IREN locks in $3.6 billion in GPU financing backed by a Microsoft cloud supply agreement.

Mobility scales on two fronts, with ZERON raising $200 million to accelerate commercial driverless heavy-haul trucking in China and Stord doubling its valuation to $3 billion with a $250 million raise for agentic warehouse robotics. Energy transition commands record checks as Focused Energy secures $240 million — the largest fully secured fusion Series A in history — and Nextpower acquires Prevalon Energy for $365 million to enter the battery storage market.

Stay sharp,

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Orbital Industries Raises $50M Series B for AI-Manufactured Hardware
London's Orbital Industries secured $50 million led by Plural and NVIDIA to build AI-designed modular data center cooling infrastructure and advanced materials. (Read more)

Meituan and Tencent Back Tianji Intelligence's $138M Series B+
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SoftBank Pledges €75B ($87B) to Build 5GW French AI Campuses
SoftBank committed €75 billion to build 5 GW of AI data center capacity across France — one of the largest private infrastructure bets ever. (Read more)

I Squared Capital Acquires 10 Cogent Data Centers for $225M
I Squared paid $225 million for 10 Cogent colocation sites, pledging $1 billion more to rebuild them as a national AI inference network. (Read more)

IREN Closes $3.65B GPU Financing to Fulfill Microsoft AI Contract
IREN locked in $3.65 billion in debt financing backed by a Microsoft cloud supply deal, funding a scale-up to 480 MW of AI capacity by year-end. (Read more)

Pure DC Secures $2.7B to Accelerate European AI Hyperscale Expansion
Pure Data Centres raised $2.7 billion in debt against its Dublin and Amsterdam campuses to fuel AI hyperscale buildout across Europe. (Read more)

ZERON Raises $200M Series B2 for Autonomous Heavy-Duty EV Trucks
Chinese truck startup ZERON raised $200 million, hitting $400 million in 2 months as driverless heavy-haul operations near commercial launch. (Read more)

Maritime Sensing Startup Quartermaster Closes $43M Series A
Quartermaster raised $43 million to expand its ship-mounted sensor network across 600+ vessels, mapping 10 million square miles of ocean. (Read more)

Stord Closes $250M Series F to Fuel AI-Powered Logistics at $3B
E-commerce fulfillment platform Stord doubled its valuation to $3 billion with a $250 million raise to deploy agentic robotics in warehouses. (Read ore)

Pod Acquires EO Charging to Expand Fleet Depot Electrification
EDF-owned Pod acquired EO Charging to create the UK's largest smart EV charging platform for commercial fleets and logistics depots. (Read more)

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Focused Energy Closes $240M Series A for Germany's First Laser Fusion Plant
Laser fusion startup Focused Energy set a global funding record with $240 million to build a 1 GW plant at Germany's former Biblis nuclear site. (Read more)

Nextpower Acquires Prevalon Energy for $365M to Enter BESS Market
Solar firm Nextpower is acquiring Prevalon Energy for $365 million, adding 6 GWh of installed battery storage and AI data-center power contracts. (Read more)

Thea Energy Raises $100M Series B to Scale Stellarator Fusion
Thea Energy closed an oversubscribed $100 million round led by Thomas Tull's USIT to build its Eos stellarator and target a commercial plant by 2030. (Read more)

Dutch Grid Optimizer Eddy Grid Raises €7.5M ($8.7M) After 900% Growth
Utrecht's Eddy Grid secured €7.5 million to expand its renewable energy trading platform into Germany following 900% revenue growth in 2025. (Read more)