Seed Watch: AI, Robotics and Healthtech Startups Attract the Most Funding

Author

Ofodile Iloanya
May 16, 2025

Welcome to our weekly edition of Seed Watch- a segment of Market Insyte Digest focused on sharing some of the latest and most intriguing Pre-seed & Seed funding news grabbing the headlines in the startup world.

Since our last edition, early-stage startups have raised approximately $195.5 million in pre-seed and seed deals. Find out the top 3 deals from this week that caught our eye.

  • Startup Name: Cognichip

  • Industry: Artificial Intelligence/Semiconductor

  • Region: United States

  • Amount (USD): $33 million

  • The problem it is solving: Cognichip addresses the high cost, complexity, and long timelines involved in traditional semiconductor design. Current chip development can take 3–5 years and over $100 million before reaching production, making innovation inaccessible to many. There's also a looming global shortage of skilled semiconductor workers.

  • What the Funds Will Be Spent On: The funds will support the development and scaling of Cognichip’s Artificial Chip Intelligence (ACI®) platform, which is a physics-informed foundational model (PIFM) designed to accelerate chip development, reduce costs by up to 75%, and make semiconductor innovation more scalable and accessible.

  • Startup Name: Persona AI

  • Industry: Humanoid Robotics

  • Region: United States

  • Amount (USD): $27 million

  • The problem it is solving: Persona AI is addressing critical labour shortages and hazardous working conditions in industrial sectors such as shipbuilding and manufacturing. These sectors require physically demanding, precision-based tasks that are difficult to automate using traditional robotics.

  • What the Funds Will Be Spent On: The funds will accelerate the development and deployment of Persona’s humanoid robot platform, which will be deployed in physically intensive environments through a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. The investment will also support the execution of an existing partnership with HD Hyundai to deliver humanoid robots within 18 months.

  • Startup Name: Complement 1

  • Industry: Health Tech

  • Region: United States

  • Amount (USD): $16 million

  • The problem it is solving: Cancer care often lacks consistent, personalised support for lifestyle changes—like diet, physical activity, and stress management—which are clinically proven to reduce recurrence, improve outcomes, and lower healthcare costs. Complement 1 addresses this gap by delivering daily, personalised coaching that integrates into cancer care and prevention.

  • What the Funds Will Be Spent On: Scaling up operations and the CoActive coaching infrastructure across the U.S. Enhancing the AI-driven personalisation engine. Partnering with cancer centres, health plans, and employers. Advancing product development to improve the digital experience for patients and coaches