In one week, investors poured over $3 billion into AI infrastructure, medtech, and fintech. Several deals were valued at over $1 billion, and an early Series A round was valued at $6 billion even before the product launch.

Between May 18 and 22, the venture market saw a sharp surge in interest in AI infrastructure and medtech: MiRus attracted $1.5 billion in corporate funding, and Hark raised $700 million in a Series A round with a valuation of around $6 billion. The top ten deals of the week also included Modal Labs with $355 million, Exa with $250 million, and Mercury with $200 million, highlighting the demand for AI infrastructure and fintech platforms. For founders in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, this is a signal: global trends are shifting towards deep tech and complex financial infrastructure. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), working with international clients, are already restructuring their service portfolios to meet this wave of demand.

MiRus' Major Round and the Trend Towards Medtech and Medical Devices

The main event of the week was MiRus' $1.5 billion corporate funding round. As part of the deal, Boston Scientific acquired about 34% of MiRus, securing a controlling stake in one of the most promising players in the medical device market. MiRus specializes in high-precision implants and robotic solutions for spinal surgery and cardiology, placing it at the center of a market that, according to Grand View Research, already exceeds $500 billion annually and is growing at about 5-6% per year.

The deal is important for two reasons. Firstly, this is not a typical venture round but a major corporate investment, effectively making MiRus a strategically controlled entity within Boston Scientific. Secondly, the $1.5 billion amount in a single round for medtech is at the level of late-stage M&A, not just growth financing. This signals that large medical corporations are willing to pay a premium for access to innovative technologies and to secure the supply of high-tech products for years to come.

For the startup ecosystem, this means that medical devices and digital medtech are moving from the category of 'long and risky projects' to the category of assets that global corporations are willing to compete for. For countries with a strong engineering school, including Kazakhstan and Central Asia, this opens up opportunities in niches where mass pharmaceutical production is not required, but expertise in materials science, mechatronics, and embedded development is critical. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz), capable of building complex software-hardware complexes and medical data collection systems, can become technology partners for local medical centers and international players.

Moreover, the MiRus deal shows that investors are clearly favoring projects with a clear monetization path at later stages: regulatory barriers are high, but once a product enters clinical recommendations and receives approvals from relevant regulators, revenue becomes predictable and protected. This contrasts with many purely consumer-oriented digital services, where revenue can drop sharply due to changing trends.

Hark and the Record-Breaking $700 Million Series A: Betting on AI Gadgets

The second key deal of the week was Hark's $700 million Series A round with a stated valuation of around $6 billion. According to available information, the company is preparing to launch a consumer product this summer and is positioning itself in the segment of 'futuristic AI gadgets'. These could be wearable devices with integrated generative AI, voice assistants based on large language models, and constant cloud processing of user context.

What makes this round interesting? Historically, Series A rounds involve raising between $5-30 million for product companies and up to $50-80 million for capital-intensive projects. $700 million in Series A is a signal that investors are considering Hark not as a typical early-stage startup, but as a potential 'category leader' in the new wave of consumer AI devices that can quickly scale to tens of millions of users. In fact, this is a bet that AI gadgets will become the next mass consumer device after the smartphone.

Two aspects are important for the tech business. Firstly, Hark, judging by the size of the round and the valuation, probably already has significant R&D and pilot production capacity. This underscores the trend: to compete in the new wave of AI hardware, a combination of strong software and hardware teams, as well as access to electronics supply chains in Asia, is needed. Secondly, such a round could trigger a race of analogs, when dozens of companies around the world will start building their versions of 'AI companions' and 'context assistants'.

For businesses in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, this is an opportunity not so much to create their own mass hardware, but to develop software, cloud platforms, localization, and integration of such gadgets with banking, telecom, and e-commerce services. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) are already working on projects that require building high-load APIs, real-time analytics systems, and multilingual voice interfaces. Against the backdrop of the growing market for AI devices, the demand for such integration and development services will only increase.

AI Infrastructure: Modal Labs, Exa, and Explosive Demand Growth

In addition to the high-profile deals in medtech and AI gadgets, the week also saw major rounds in AI infrastructure. Modal Labs raised $355 million in a Series C round with a valuation of around $4.65 billion and a stated annual recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately $300 million. The company provides an infrastructure platform for launching and scaling AI and data application workloads in the cloud, targeting developers and machine learning teams.

Another notable player is Exa, which raised $250 million with a valuation of around $2.2 billion. Exa operates in the segment of advanced computing and AI tools, simplifying developers' access to resources for training and inference of models. Against this backdrop, Mercury, a fintech platform for businesses, closed a round of $200 million with a valuation of around $5.2 billion, confirming that the infrastructure approach is in demand not only in AI but also in financial services: banks as a service, payment APIs, and financial operational platforms.

What unites these companies? They all sell not a final consumer product, but a platform and infrastructure for other businesses. This is a model that is particularly interesting for B2B markets in developing countries: instead of investing millions of dollars in their own data centers and MLOps teams, companies can rely on ready-made infrastructure. With an ARR of $300 million and a multiplier of around 15x, Modal Labs demonstrates that the market is willing to generously value mature AI infrastructure companies.

For the Kazakhstan market, this is a direct benchmark. According to the Ministry of Digital Development, in 2023, the country's ICT market exceeded 1.3 trillion tenge, and IT services exports are approaching $500 million. However, the share of AI infrastructure services is still minimal. This is a niche where companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) can build services based on global platforms like Modal, meeting local needs: from MLOps for banks and retail to data platforms for industry and logistics.

Venture Capital and CFO Services: How Startups Prepare for Rounds

The surge in major rounds this week again raises the question of the quality of financial preparation of startups. According to industry analysts, a successful exit to major rounds often takes 6-12 months and requires not only a strong product but also a mature financial infrastructure. Materials from Siift.ai, published on May 22, 2026, emphasize: venture capital is not a loan but a transfer of equity, strict terms of management, and constant pressure for growth. Investors expect returns of x5-x10 over a horizon of 7-10 years, which imposes requirements on the scalability of the model.

In such conditions, the role of CFO services for startups is increasing. According to Meru Accounting, the typical functions of a 'fractional CFO' (partially outsourced financial director) include budgeting, cash flow management, financial modeling, investor reporting, and fundraising support. For a startup at the pre-seed or seed stage, the cost of a full-time CFO may be too high, but the services of an external team working 20-40 hours a month are significantly cheaper and help to reach rounds with better metrics.

For founders in Central Asia, this is especially relevant: many teams are technically strong but lack experience in building financial models to Western standards. Here, local service companies that can combine technical and financial expertise come to the fore. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) often act not only as a technology contractor but also as a partner in preparing data for investors: they build product analytics, collect cohort metrics, and automate management reporting.

Venture capital, as Siift.ai emphasizes, implies no fixed repayment schedule or interest, but instead gives the investor voting rights, a seat on the board of directors, and protective clauses for subsequent rounds. For founders, the goal becomes not just attracting money, but balancing the amount of capital raised, growth rate, and maintaining a controlling stake. A competent CFO or outsourcing team can model how capitalization and founders' share will change under different scenarios - from moderate growth to aggressive scaling.

Global Trends and Opportunities for Kazakhstan and Central Asia

The aggregated data on the deals of the week demonstrates several clear trends. Firstly, investors are clearly shifting their focus towards complex, capital-intensive, and technology-intensive niches: medtech, AI infrastructure, advanced fintech. Secondly, the valuation of companies with a clear revenue and infrastructure model (like Modal Labs with an ARR of around $300 million) is growing faster than that of purely consumer services without sustainable monetization. Thirdly, even early rounds, as in the case of Hark, can reach hundreds of millions of dollars if investors believe in the formation of a new consumer category.

For regional teams, this is a chance to integrate into global value chains without necessarily creating their own 'unicorns' from scratch. They can take on the roles of technology and service partners, specializing in localization, custom development, integration, and support of complex solutions. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) are already working at the intersection of several markets: helping foreign product teams enter Kazakhstan and Central Asia, and local startups build architecture and infrastructure to meet the requirements of global investors.

Another important trend is the growth in the number of solo founders. According to Carta, cited by Sramana Mitra, the share of startups with a single founder has increased from 23.7% in 2019 to over 36% today. For such teams, it is especially critical to have a reliable external technological and financial framework to compensate for the lack of co-founders with complementary expertise. This further increases the demand for outsourcing IT companies and CFO services.

Finally, the geographical factor should be considered. Although the deals mentioned are concentrated in the developed ecosystems of North America and Europe, the demand for product development, testing, and support in the time zones of Asia and the Middle East is growing. Central Asia, with its growing IT education, competitive labor costs, and improving regulatory environment, can become one of the beneficiaries of this wave. For businesses in Kazakhstan, this is a reason to review strategies: investing in AI competencies, partnerships with global infrastructure players, and forming product teams capable of working at an international level.

Что это значит для Казахстана

For Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the current wave of major rounds in AI infrastructure, medtech, and fintech is not abstract global statistics, but a direct benchmark for the industry's development strategy. According to government data, Kazakhstan's IT market volume has already exceeded 1.3 trillion tenge, but a significant part of this amount is accounted for by classic services and integration, while the share of products and platforms is still limited. Against the backdrop of Modal Labs demonstrating an ARR of around $300 million and a valuation of $4.65 billion, it becomes obvious: global capital is looking not just for outsourcing, but for platform solutions and AI infrastructure.

The path for regional companies can be two-tiered. The first level is service-oriented: companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) can use global AI platforms to build solutions for local markets, from banks and telecoms to mining and logistics enterprises. The second level is product-oriented: gradually extracting typical modules from service projects and turning them into independent SaaS products oriented for export. The growth in the number of major deals in AI and fintech means that by the time such products reach annual revenues of $2-5 million, there will already be enough niche investors in the market ready to finance their scaling.

An additional factor is the geography of time zones and languages. Kazakhstan and its neighbors can become a natural hub for companies that need round-the-clock support and development coverage for clients in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This increases the importance of investing in English language, engineering education, and corporate development standards. Against this backdrop, the current surge in global deals is a signal for regional businesses: the window of opportunity is open, but to take advantage of it, partnerships, infrastructure, and product competencies need to be built now.

MiRus raised $1.5 billion in corporate funding, with Boston Scientific acquiring about 34% of the company.

The week's major deals, ranging from hundreds of millions to $1.5 billion, show that investors are ready to aggressively finance AI infrastructure, medtech, and fintech platforms with a clear monetization model. Valuations in the billions at early stages, like Hark, signal the formation of new categories of devices and services around generative AI. For Kazakhstan and Central Asia, this is an opportunity: while global capital is building infrastructure, regional players can occupy key service and product niches. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) can already integrate into this wave, becoming technology partners and creators of export-oriented solutions.

Часто задаваемые вопросы

What is a Series A round and how much do startups usually raise?

A Series A round is the first major institutional round when a startup already has a product and initial metrics, and money is needed for scaling. The typical size of a Series A for tech companies is $5-30 million, for more capital-intensive projects it can reach $50-80 million. Against this backdrop, Hark's $700 million in Series A looks like an exception and underscores investor confidence in the AI gadget market. For startups from Kazakhstan, the benchmark for the size of a Series A on the global market is more likely $5-15 million with revenues of $1-3 million per year.

How does venture capital differ from bank loans for a startup?

Venture capital is the purchase of equity in a company, not a loan: it has no fixed repayment schedule or interest rate. The investor earns when their share grows many times in price when the company is sold or goes public, usually within 7-10 years. A bank, on the other hand, issues a loan at interest with a clear payment schedule, and it is not interested in your capitalization as long as you meet the terms of the agreement. For fast-growing startups with high risk, venture capital is often the only realistic source of large sums in the tens of millions of dollars.

What are the risks of raising a large funding round for a startup?

A large round of hundreds of millions of dollars means a significant dilution of founders' shares and increased investor control through the board of directors and protective clauses. The pressure to grow becomes maximum: the company is expected to increase revenue many times over 3-5 years, and failure may result in down-rounds or management changes. In addition, excessive capital can lead to inefficient spending: staff, marketing, and infrastructure growth faster than product-market fit. Therefore, financial consultants and CFO services recommend modeling several scenarios and choosing the size of the round to match the actual growth stages.

How long does it take to prepare a startup for a funding round?

Full preparation for a round usually takes 3 to 9 months, depending on the stage of the company and the complexity of the structure. During this time, the startup puts its financial statements in order, prepares a data room, builds product analytics and growth models, and forms a list of target investors. The negotiation and due diligence process can add another 2-4 months, especially if the round amount exceeds $10-20 million. As a result, from the first contact to signing documents for a major round, it often takes 6-12 months, which is important to consider when planning cash flow.

How can a startup from Kazakhstan save on preparation for a round and still attract an investor?

One working approach is to use outsourcing teams that combine technical and financial expertise instead of hiring a full in-house staff. Companies like Alashed IT (it.alashed.kz) can handle development, DevOps, analytics, and part of data preparation, while external CFO services can handle financial modeling and reporting. This allows for a 30-50% reduction in fixed costs compared to creating internal departments, while maintaining the level of preparation at the level of foreign investors' expectations. Additionally, you can save by standardizing reporting early and automating metrics: the less manual work, the cheaper and faster the audit and due diligence.

Читайте также

Источники

Фото: Tsimur Asayonak / Unsplash