NYC startups raise $102M in one day, led by Genius AI's $44M

Key Takeaways

• Genius AI (formerly GlossGenius) raised $44M Series D, bringing total funding to $125M
• Seven startups collectively raised over $102M in a single day across health, fintech, and consumer sectors
• Mental health platform firsthand is raising up to $32M, signaling continued investor interest in healthcare tech

Seven New York startups disclosed funding rounds totaling more than $102 million on July 27, 2026. Genius AI, a service business automation platform formerly known as GlossGenius, led the pack with a $44 million Series D. The single-day haul spans healthcare, fintech, consumer goods, and insurance, a cross-section that suggests VC appetite in New York remains broad even as the broader market stays selective.

Genius AI: from beauty scheduling to full-stack automation

Genius AI's $44 million round was led by Lux Capital with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Imaginary Ventures, L Catterton Growth, 2048 Ventures, and StepStone Private Ventures. The company has now raised more than $125 million since Danielle Cohen-Shohet and Leah Cohen-Shohet founded it in 2016.

The rebrand from GlossGenius to Genius AI signals a pivot. GlossGenius built its name on salon and spa scheduling software. The new name suggests a push toward broader service-industry verticals, likely gyms, wellness studios, and other appointment-driven businesses, with AI-powered automation at the core. The platform handles scheduling, payments, marketing, and client management, a full operating system for small service providers who cannot afford separate tools for each function.

For founders in adjacent spaces, this is worth watching. Genius AI competes with Mindbody, Vagaro, and Square Appointments on scheduling. Its bundled approach, combining marketing and client management with payments, mirrors the all-in-one playbook that HubSpot and Zoho CRM use for sales teams. If Genius AI executes, it becomes the default stack for brick-and-mortar service businesses.

Healthcare gets two bets: MeridianMade and firsthand

MeridianMade raised $20.3 million according to an SEC filing, with 36 investors participating. Founded in 2026 by Ron Belldegrun and Mia Funt, the company is building new consumer health products. The filing is sparse on details, but the investor count suggests a syndicate of angels and small funds rather than a single institutional lead.

Firsthand, a mental health platform focused on people with serious mental illnesses, closed $10 million of a planned $32 million round. Andrew Hayek and Samir Malik founded the company in 2021. The single-investor close hints at a strategic backer rather than a traditional VC syndicate. Mental health remains a crowded category, but firsthand's focus on underserved populations with serious conditions sets it apart from the wave of wellness apps targeting general anxiety.

Both rounds reflect a thesis that healthcare consumer products still have room to grow. Investors are moving past telehealth fatigue and funding companies with specific clinical or demographic niches.

Consumer and food: Smash Foods raises $18M Series A

Smash Foods, a CPG brand making fruit spreads and snacks sweetened with dates and chia seeds, raised $18 million in Series A funding. L Catterton led the round with participation from The Family Fund and Eclair Ventures. Anna Peck and Steven Ford founded the company in 2020.

The round is notable because L Catterton also participated in Genius AI's round. The firm's consumer focus makes it a logical backer for both a service-business platform and a better-for-you food brand. Smash Foods fits the ongoing shift away from refined sugars. Dates and chia seeds have become staples of the clean-label movement, and the brand is positioned to compete with Rx Bar-style snacks and artisanal jams in grocery.

Fintech and insurance: Cashboard and Trivora

Cashboard raised $5 million in seed funding led by FINTOP with participation from TTV Capital, bringing its total to $6.9 million. Julian Rowlands founded the company in 2021. The platform gives finance teams a governed semantic layer so AI models can automate recurring FP&A work.

Translation for founders: Cashboard sits between your data warehouse and your AI tools, ensuring that when you ask an LLM to build a forecast or variance analysis, it pulls from consistent, governed definitions. This is the kind of infrastructure that CFOs need before they can trust AI-generated financial reports. Competitors include Mosaic, Pigment, and Cube, all chasing the same FP&A automation thesis.

Trivora Insurance raised $4.6 million of a planned $8.7 million round, according to SEC filings. Farhan Shah founded the managing general agency in 2024. Trivora delivers automated underwriting and streamlined broker workflows. Nineteen investors participated, suggesting a mix of angels and small checks.

The outlier: Shelsky's raises $542K

Shelsky's, a Brooklyn delicatessen and bagel shop, raised $542,000 from 12 investors. Peter Shelsky and Rudi Shenk founded the business in 2011. This is not a tech company. It is a bagel shop that hand-rolls and kettle-boils its product.

The filing likely reflects an expansion or franchise play. Small restaurant raises rarely make funding roundups, but Shelsky's presence here is a reminder that not every SEC filing is a venture-scale bet. For founders, the lesson is straightforward: investor appetite exists at every scale if the unit economics work.

What ties these rounds together

Three patterns stand out. First, L Catterton appeared twice, in Genius AI and Smash Foods. The firm is doubling down on consumer and service-business infrastructure. Second, healthcare funding is alive but selective. Firsthand and MeridianMade both target specific populations rather than broad wellness. Third, fintech infrastructure, Cashboard and Trivora, continues to attract seed capital even as flashier fintech categories cool.

The total disclosed amount, roughly $102.4 million, does not include the unfilled portions of the MeridianMade, firsthand, or Trivora rounds. If those close in full, the actual capital deployed from this cohort exceeds $160 million.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Genius AI raise in its Series D?

Genius AI raised $44 million in Series D funding led by Lux Capital. The round brings the company's total capital raised to more than $125 million since its founding in 2016.

What does Genius AI (formerly GlossGenius) do?

Genius AI provides a technology platform that helps in-person service businesses automate scheduling, payments, marketing, and client management workflows. The company was originally focused on salons and spas but is expanding to broader service verticals.

Which NYC startups raised funding on July 27, 2026?

Seven startups disclosed funding: Genius AI ($44M), MeridianMade ($20.3M), Smash Foods ($18M), firsthand ($10M), Cashboard ($5M), Trivora Insurance ($4.6M), and Shelsky's ($542K).

What is Cashboard and why did it raise funding?

Cashboard is a financial planning and analysis platform that provides a governed semantic layer for AI models to automate recurring FP&A work. It raised $5 million in seed funding led by FINTOP to help finance teams use AI for forecasting and variance analysis with consistent data definitions.

Who led the Smash Foods Series A?

L Catterton led Smash Foods' $18 million Series A. The Family Fund and Eclair Ventures also participated in the round.

Source: AlleyWatch