Issue #09 | Tuesday, May 19 2026
✉️ Letter from the Editor
Evidence of Momentum… That is what investors are looking for as they evaluate not only which founders to fund, but also which founders to meet.
Founders who are building also need to be carving out time to prove their fundability, in their own words, across public platforms.
There are many different ways to approach this, but as a fan of keeping things simple and repeatable, let’s start with a fan favorite strategy: ‘speak in numbers’.
Founders who want to build an external reputation that proceeds them — well before they sit down with their latte across from an investor — need to be number dropping on the regular.
Numbers That Speak — Numero Uno: Revenue Growth
The first number that must always be at the tip of a founder’s tongue — and fingertips — is their positive uptick in ARR [Annual Recurring Revenue]. If I am an investor scrolling your LinkedIn posts, I want that number to be prominent.
Examples:
“We grew ARR from $200K to $1M in 9 months.”
“Revenue increased 38% quarter-over-quarter.”
“We doubled enterprise contracts in two quarters.”
We see these number-driven statements sprinkled into most funding announcements and extended coverage, BUT, that’s really not enough.
Numbers that speak need to be layered into the founder’s external profile, in his or her own words. These numbers need to be present continuously.
Here is your High Signal Founder insight of the week:
Reposting your funding announcement is the bare minimum. Reposting with upbeat rah rah commentary is a step up, but still only about 30% effort.
The gold star move — the 110% effort — is infusing the numbers into your repost, then, crafting an original post (or article) to let the numbers really SING.
🗒️ In other notes…
$482 million USD: The total capital raised by 16 companies with one or more female founder, as reported this week.
The largest raise this week was Photonic (Dr. Stephanie Simmons) — $200M at a $2B valuation.
A NYC-based all-women venture team — Kalos Ventures — raised $78.8M in their oversubscribed debut fund focused on addressing an aging population and the reshaping of jobs by AI.
Categorically, this week’s funding signals show more women founders building the technology behind some of the world’s fastest-growing historically male-dominated industries — AI, quantum computing, healthcare, and business software.
As it relates to positioning… Women founders are increasingly positioning themselves not only as founders, but as category builders, technical experts, and operators shaping the future infrastructure of major industries.
Key takeaways…
💡 1. Investors are backing women founders solving big technical problems.
💡 2. Founders are focused on infrastructure innovation. In other words, they are helping large systems — hospitals, factories, supply chains — work better.
The signals in this digest come from a variety of credible sources. If you have a tip, opp, data point, or story you would like to include, please send it to [email protected].
Thank you for being a valued subscriber of WINS LIST.
Amie
Amie Sheridan | Editor, WINS LIST
📶 Capital Signal
The biggest stories about women and capital this week
📈 Founder Raises
4AM (Jade Begueli and Sabrina Sade) raised $4M Seed to build skincare cleansing wipes brand led by CAVU Consumer Partners.
Algorithmiq (Sabrina Maniscalco) raised €18M to develop quantum computing algorithms for chemistry, materials science, and life sciences co-led by United Ventures and CDP Venture Capital.
Avant Genomics (Rachelle Turiello and Renna Nouwairi) raised $3M to improve liquid biopsy sample preparation for cancer detection and care from TitletownTech, Halyard Ventures, Virginia Venture Partners, CAV Angels, and Global Impact Fund (Carrie Rich).
Degron Therapeutics (Lily Zou) raised $40M Series A extension to advance molecular glue-based targeted protein degradation therapies led by Lapam Capital.
Elliptic (Simone Maini) raised $120M Series D to scale blockchain analytics and crypto compliance infrastructure led by One Peak.
Fifth Dimension (Dr. Kate Jarvis) raised $26M Series A to build AI-driven decision intelligence software for the real estate industry led by HV Capital.
Flick (Zoey Zhang) raised $6M Seed to build AI filmmaking platform backed by True Ventures, Google Ventures, Y Combinator (Jessica Livingston), and Lightspeed.
Hint (Martha Stewart) raised $10M Seed to build AI-powered home management platform led by Slow Ventures.
Holmes (Sofie Buyse) raised $1.3M Pre-Seed to build autonomous software testing platform for AI-generated code led by Syndicate One.
NanoStruct (Dr. Henriette Maaß) raised $3M Seed to develop food bacteria-detection technology co-led by High-Tech Gründerfonds, Bayern Kapital, and AUXXO Female Catalyst Fund (Dr. Gesa Miczaika and Bettine Schmitz).
Nectar Social (Misbah Uraizee and Farah Uraizee) raised $30M Series A to build agentic community management and social listening platform co-led by Menlo Ventures and Anthology Fund.
Origin Lab (Anne-Margot Rodde) raised $8M Seed to build marketplace infrastructure for licensed world-model training data led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Photonic (Dr. Stephanie Simmons) raised $200M at a $2B valuation to build commercial-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing infrastructure led by Planet First Partners.
Ruka Hair (Ugo Agbai and Varaidzo Tendai Moyo) raised $4.5M to scale ethically sourced hair extension brand co-led by Freedom Trail Capital (Ayanna Alexander-Laine) and Henkel Ventures.
Scarlet Therapeutics (Marjolein Meinders) raised $4.3M Seed to develop gene therapies for rare blood disorders using red blood cell technology led by Eos Advisory.
Stock (Abby Nawrocki) raised $1.5M Pre-Seed to build supply chain technology platform led by M25.
🏦 VC Signals
Indaco Venture Partners (Antonella Beltrame) launched a new $21.8M fund to invest in life sciences and biotech startups across Lombardy.
Kalos Ventures (Ashley Bittner) raised $78.8M debut fund to back early-stage technology startups.
Ugly Duckling Ventures (Louise Lachmann) announced €35M in commitments for its second fund focused on B2B startups across medtech, resilience, and business services.
💬 Investor Speak
Notable commentary from women in venture capital
Adjacent to her firm’s oversubscribed $78.8M debut fund…
“Our founders are building real solutions to help people thrive in this time of major societal and economic upheaval. We are excited to continue leading early-stage investments across workforce, care, and education. If you’re a founder building in any of these spaces, we’d love to hear from you. LFG. 🪩”
👀 If I’m Reading the Signs…
Narrative intelligence around venture funding communication
Founder Signal Assessment: Nectar Social
Founders (sisters) Misbah and Farah Uraizee are building their credibility around a category-level shift: the idea that social platforms are becoming the new customer acquisition and commerce infrastructure for brands.
Their announcement was picked up by Techcrunch, among other outlets.
Their messaging points to scale, inevitability, and category creation, and they are showcasing measurable proof points early:
10 million conversations managed weekly
5x growth in three months
$100 million in attributed revenue tied to social engagement
High-profile customers — Figma, Liquid Death, and e.l.f. Beauty — strengthens their signal with strong institutional validation.
Formerly Meta employees, the Uraizee sisters are not only building traction; they bring platform expertise directly tied to the problem they are solving.
Both founders shared their funding announcement… Nectar’s Founding AI Strategist took it to the next level with her commentary.
“Marketing has an outdated workflow. As an ex-marketer, I lived it. Watch hundreds of UGC videos. Read thousands of comments. Pull insights. Write a brief. By the time it's done, the moment is gone. AI closes that gap. The same way AI revolutionized engineering, it's now transforming marketing. Nectar is the agentic operating system for the modern marketing team.
10M+ conversations per week. $100M+ in attributed revenue. 5x growth in three months. 60% lift in response rate for some of the most viral brands out there — like E.L.F. BEAUTY.
The brands that define the next decade will be built on infrastructure like this. Lucky to work with the best of the best like Liquid Death, goop, Tower 28 Beauty, Inc., Kosas, Caraway Home, Graza & more 🍊”
🎬 Signing Off
That’s a wrap on issue #09.
WINS LIST tracks the signals shaping women founders and investors.
In today’s ecosystem, visibility matters.
👀 We are seeing founders and VCs leveraging their own channels to amplify their traction.
👀 We are seeing startup storytelling begin six to twelve months before a raise.
👀 We are seeing funding announcements lead to press tours.
👀 We are seeing women founders showcasing credibility, momentum, and demand.
Follow along with us as we unbox investor perspectives and frame out the fundability metrics they evaluate when considering not only where their investments should go, but also which founders to meet.
We do not represent nor are we compensated by any of the businesses we cover.
Thank you for being a valued subscriber.
See you next week.
— WINS LIST
