In 2023, Matt Engfer was at back-to-back lien auctions in Texas. At auctions like this, bidders buy abandoned units with no idea what’s inside, gambling on mysteries. 

So, the opening of a unit can get dramatic. The lock comes off, the door curls up, and everyone inhales. And on this particular Texas day, that first unit was an out-of-left field treasure trove, filled with artwork worth tens of thousands of dollars. The second unit was even more memorable. 

“They opened it up,” Engfer laughs. “And what did they find there? A mouse-breeding apparatus to feed snakes with. You’re definitely not supposed to keep live animals in a storage unit. But this thing was filled with mice that were being sold to snake owners.”

Is this the best story I’m going to hear this week? Almost definitely. But it’s also a view into how surprising the self-storage business can really get. Self-storage is one of those classic invisible but ubiquitous industries—the overflow of life needs to go somewhere, and there are a lot of people in the world. And because this is 2026, it tracks that it would have its own legacy software, which Engfer believes can be improved upon. 

That’s why Engfer and Adam Fleming in 2022 founded self-storage software company Cubby. The company now counts more than 400 operators with north of 2,000 facilities among its customers, a group that includes Atomic Storage Group and American Self-Storage. It’s also reached a key financial milestone: Cubby just raised a $63 million Series A, led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Fortune has exclusively learned. The company’s existing investors include Third Prime and Bienville.

Cubby, in some sense, is looking to solve the classic enterprise software problem: That existing legacy software is considered by many to be outdated. Even before starting Cubby, Engfer was met with skepticism.

“Industry folks were sober-minded, and not overly enthusiastic. It was clear it would be hard, but there was a lot of opportunity.”

Read the full story about Engfer’s journey—and how he notched a major fundraising milestone here.

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle
X: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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VENTURE CAPITAL

- Zanskar, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based developer of AI technology for geothermal exploration, raised $115 million in Series C funding. Spring Lane Capital led the round and was joined by Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and others.

- Datarails, a New York City-based AI-powered finance operating system, raised $70 million in Series C funding. One Peak led the round and was joined by Vertex Growth, Vintage Investment Partners, Zeev Ventures, and others.

- L-Nutra, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based nutrition technology company, raised $36.5 million in Series D funding from Mubadala.

- Infinitopes, an Oxford, U.K.-based cancer vaccine biotech company, raised $35.1 million in seed funding. Octopus Ventures and Amplify Bio led the round and were joined by Macmillan Cancer Support and existing investors.

- Fracttal, a Madrid, Spain-based developer of an AI platform designed for maintenance operations, raised $35 million in funding. Riverwood Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors.

- Optalysys, a Leeds, U.K.-based photonic computing company, raised £23 million ($30.9 million) in a Series A extension. Northern Gritstone led the round and was joined by imec.xpand and others.

- Furl, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based developer of AI agents for security remediation, raised $10 million in seed funding. Ten Eleven Ventures led the round and was joined by Corey Thomas and Open Opportunity Fund.

- Phoebe, a New York City-based platform designed to automate agency operations in home health care operations, raised $9.5 million in seed funding. Quiet Capital led the round and was joined by Slow Ventures and others.

- ABZ Innovation, a Szentendre, Hungary-based developer of drones designed to assist in agriculture, logistics, and other industrial operations, raised €7 million ($8.2 million) in funding. Vsquared Ventures led the round and was joined by Day One Capital and Assembly Ventures. 

- AiStrike, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based developer of AI technology designed for preemptive cyber defense, raised $7 million in seed funding. Blumberg Capital led the round and was joined by Runtime Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, and others.

- PraxisPro, a Houston, Texas-based AI platform designed for sales reps in life sciences, raised $6 million in seed funding. AlleyCorp led the round and was joined by FlyBridge, South Loop Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners, and others.

- Yuki, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based data cost optimization company, raised $6 million in seed funding. Hyperwise Ventures led the round and was joined by VelocitX, Tal Ventures, and others.

- Sparkli, a Zurich, Switzerland-based AI-powered learning platform designed for children, raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. Founderful led the round and was joined by ARC Investors and Innosuisse.

- Claim Health, a New York City-based AI-powered revenue operations platform for post-acute care, raised $4.4 million in seed funding. Maverick Ventures led the round and was joined by Peak XV, Y Combinator, DHVP, and others.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Allshares, a portfolio company of Bregal Milestone, acquired Stock & Option Solutions, a Franklin, Tenn.-based compensation and plan administration company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Godspeed Capital acquired Engineering Resource Group, a Flowood, Miss.-based mechanical engineering design firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Main Post Partners acquired HomeWell Care Services, a Buckburnett, Texas-based franchise provider of in-home care for seniors and homebound individuals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- StayTerra, backed by Garnett Station Partners and Bessemer Ventures Partners, acquired a majority stake in Vacation Homes of Hilton Head, a Hilton Head Island, S.C.-based luxury property management company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- TowerBrook acquired a majority stake in MSA Mizar, a Milan, Italy-based insurance claim management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Water Street Healthcare Partners acquired a majority stake in GlobalMed Logistix, a Norcross, Ga.-based medical device logistics company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

PEOPLE

- a16z, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture capital firm, promoted Matt Bornstein to general partner on the firm’s Infra Fund and promoted Alex Immerman to general partner of the firm’s growth fund.

- Bessemer Venture Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, promoted Sofia Guerra to partner.

- Bullish, a New York City-based venture capital firm, hired Lindsay Kaplan as a venture partner. Kaplan previously served as an investment partner at Next Wave NYC and is co-founder of Chief.

- Emergence Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, promoted Lotti Siniscalco to general partner.

- NightDragon, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, promoted Hannah Huffman and Dorin Baniel to partner. 

The deals section in the Jan. 21, 2026 edition of Term Sheet misstated the investors in Ethos Technologies. Fortune regrets the error.