Welcome to the latest roundup of startup news from October. This month, wearable technology is having a moment. Barclays analysts predict smart glasses could become the most disruptive innovation since mobile phones.
Meta Glasses have proven to be a huge hit with consumers. The original Ray Ban model pushed the shares of EssilorLuxottica to an all-time high after a record quarter where the value increased by 10%. The launch of the Oakley-Meta Vanguard model this past week has created further buzz around the promise of smart glasses.
However, the story of wearable tech isn’t limited to the power moves of the big tech companies.
Startups are playing a leading role and coming up with some of the most creative innovations within the wearable tech space.
Finnish company Oura is arguably one of the standout stories here. This month, the company raised $900 million in a new Series E funding round, bringing its valuation to $11 billion, built on the interest around its ‘smart ring’ that collects data on dozens of personal health and wellness metrics of its users for unparalleled personalized insights.
The round for Oura was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, but we can see investors across the board backing wearable tech.
Data published this month shows that startups in the wearables sector are drawing record amounts of venture capital thanks to products that range from smart contact lenses and wireless biosensor technology to smart collars for livestock. With the notable interest in consumer products and healthcare innovations, wearable tech is closing the month on a high.
If we zoom out to look at funding trends more broadly, we can see that VCs continue to back megarounds. In fact, 70% of all U.S. startup funding in 2025 went to jumbo-sized financings, which equates to around $157 billion spread across more than 300 reported rounds.
While we wait to see if this trend continues into 2026, it offers some positive news for startups as a signal that firms are willing to bid competitively on the most promising companies.
To close, let’s take a closer look at headline startup news from around the world, showcasing the emerging ideas and innovations.
Waydev AI gives software developers unprecedented insights
This month, an AI-native conversational platform for software developers hit the market.
Waydev AI fuses AI measurement with intelligence to deliver clear, data-backed answers in visual reports and tables to give developers immediate feedback with helpful insights.
Waydev created this to address the fact that most teams lack meaningful measurements to distinguish value from risk when using AI coding tools. With 90% of developers today already using AI this leads to higher instability, increased failures, and more downstream rework on a large scale.
With Waydev AI, leaders simply connect their development tools – GitHub, Jira, Cursor, and more — and start asking questions in natural language, such as AI adoption rates in a given quarter or how AI has impacted cycle times and bug rates.
Construction industry set to benefit from first AI co-pilot for estimates
Provision is on a mission to bring AI to the construction industry and help to reduce the $500B lost each year due to errors in project cost estimation.
This month, the startup raised a $7M USD seed round to further develop its AI co-pilot for construction estimators with best-in-class accuracy, analyzing both image- and text-based data.
The round was led by Cercano Management with participation from Y Combinator, One Way Ventures and others. This brings Provision’s total funding to $8.7M USD.
The startup also launched Scope Agent to help contractors build project scopes of work to bring a custom-built intelligent solution to help individuals build project scopes of work following a year of incredible growth for the startup.
Prezent inches closer to unicorn status with $400M valuation after latest funding round
This October, enterprise business presentation platform Prezent secured $30M of funding in a round led by Multiplier Capital, Greycroft, and Nomura Strategic Ventures. The Los Altos, California startup also announced the acquisition of Prezentium in a cash plus equity deal.
This brought the total valuation of the company to $400 million and marked a milestone in Prezent’s mission to build an all-in-one AI platform aimed at transforming business communication, particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors.
Founded by Rajat Mishra, Prezent uses AI to automate and enhance business communications through data-driven, industry-specific presentation tools.
AI innovation in Guadalajara goes international with Ness Digital Engineering
The strength of software engineering in Mexico got a boost as global full-lifecycle digital services transformation company Ness Digital Engineering (Ness) opened its new office in Guadalajara.
In a move that underscores Latin America’s rising importance in the global tech ecosystem, the new offices in Puerta de Hierro, one of Guadalajara’s most prestigious business districts, will focus on building a high-impact, nearshore Center of Excellence for AI-driven Intelligent Engineering.
This reflects both customer demand and Ness’s intent to make Mexico a true hub for Intelligent Engineering, where new software products and platforms will be conceived and built.
The offices will also bring hundreds of new employment opportunities to the region for top tech talent.
The Guadalajara center launches with 50 employees by the end of 2025, with aggressive growth plans to scale to 200+ employees by the end of 2026 and 300+ employees by the end of 2027.
Solar developers find new growth with GeoAI prospecting from Planno
This month, Daniel Domingues, founder and CEO of Planno, detailed the benefits of GeoAI for solar developers.
GeoAI helps solar developers to find and qualify untapped rooftops at scale, not through guesswork, but by combining satellite imagery, LiDAR and solar irradiation data with machine learning models.
Solar energy is the fastest-growing source of power in the US in a positive milestone for the future of renewable energy. However, finding untapped new leads now takes more time, more effort and more resources for solar developers who need sharper tools, stronger data and far more precise targeting to stay ahead.
These algorithms can automatically detect, measure, and classify rooftop potential, turning massive volumes of geospatial data into precise, actionable intelligence.
New identity exposure management tool from Flare tackles growing threat of compromised credentials
Exposed credentials remain one of the most common entry points for attackers. According to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, stolen credentials were involved in 88% of web application attacks, while CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report found that the average time from compromise to breakout is just 48 minutes. The surge of Infostealer Malware-as-a-Service has made credential theft easier and faster than ever.
According to data from Flare, 50 million breached identities circulate weekly across Telegram and dark web marketplaces. This gives threat actors a constant supply of stolen logins and browser data to bypass multi-factor authentication and take over accounts.
To tackle this, the cybersecurity specialist startup has introduced Identity Exposure Management (IEM), a new capability aimed at preventing compromised employee accounts from triggering large-scale cyber incidents. Many of the largest breaches in recent years stem from attackers simply logging in,” said Nick Ascoli, Director of Product Strategy at Flare. “Each exposed account represents a critical risk. Detecting and remediating these exposures before attackers exploit them is mission-critical.”
AI is the dominant theme at the Maintenance Heroes 2025 Conference in Latin America this October
For the fourth year, the Maintenance Heroes 2025 Conference, held on October 29 and 30, marked a milestone in the evolution of industrial maintenance in Latin America by focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on asset management.
Organized by Fracttal, the event brought together international experts and industry leaders under the theme “AI for Future Maintenance Leaders,” addressing how the technology is transforming processes, leadership, and sustainability in the industry.
Through a hybrid format, the conference explored everything from the practical applications of AI to reflections on ethics and leadership in the digital age, consolidating it as the leading regional meeting point for those driving innovation and sustainable development in maintenance.
Robomagister launches Kickstarter for AI-powered autonomous kitchen robot
This month, innovation is set to hit the kitchen.
Italian startup Robomagister made its U.S. debut by launching a Kickstarter campaign for Liffo, an AI-powered autonomous kitchen robot designed to prepare meals without supervision.
After raising nearly $12 million in Italy and unveiling the device at CES Las Vegas in early 2025, founders Massimiliano Delsante and Stefano Pedrazzi brought their innovation to American kitchens. Liffo automates the entire cooking process, from recognizing ingredients to executing Michelin-star-curated recipes, all managed through a mobile app.
Blending Italy’s culinary heritage with advanced robotics, the campaign invited users to experience a new era of intelligent, effortless home cooking. “With Liffo, we’re not just adding technology to the kitchen, we’re redefining it.” said Massimiliano Delsante, co-founder of Robomagister.
Deloitte Australia leverages AI technology from Credibl to power ESG reporting platform
Credibl and Deloitte Australia have launched SustainNext Climate Reporting, a collaboration designed to help businesses address the growing complexities of climate disclosure.
The solution brings together Credibl’s AI-powered smart sustainability stack with Deloitte’s 175-year history in assurance and sustainability advisory, creating a platform that dramatically simplifies climate reporting.
The news comes at a strategic point in time. At the start of 2025, sustainability reporting became mandatory in Australia for large enterprises and, from July 2026, even more companies will be required to submit climate-related financial information in line with the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) framework.
SustainNext Climate Reporting will address the major shift in how sustainability data is collected, verified and reported,
Onside and Playgama open new path for web games on iOS
Onside.io and Playgama have announced a partnership that brings Playgama’s catalog of web games to iOS through Onside’s alternative app store, operating in full compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
The collaboration shows how HTML5 games can be packaged and distributed as native iOS apps without going through Apple’s App Store. It’s an early example of how the post-DMA landscape is beginning to reshape mobile distribution across Europe, giving developers new, more flexible routes to reach players.
“This is what mobile distribution should look like in the post-DMA era: fast, flexible, and built around the publisher,” said John Snoek, COO of Onside.
