This Week in SaaS - Jan 6 - 12, 2026

📚 New Blog Posts & Videos

1. Video: The Best SaaS Marketing Strategy for 2026 🎥
2. How To Create SaaS Ad Creatives for Meta, LinkedIn, & Google
3. How to Use AI to Design Ads
4. How to Structure Your Digital Ad Campaigns
5. How to Launch Retargeting Ads on Meta, LinkedIn, and Google
6. How to See Your Competitors' Ads
7. CEO Mastermind Recap for the Week of Jan 5 - 8, 2026

💸 Big SaaS VC Rounds

1. Cyera (AI-driven data security posture management; SaaS) – raised a $400M Series F at a $9B valuation on Jan 8, 2026; funds will expand its cloud data security platform, deepen AI-driven detection/remediation, and scale global enterprise GTM.
2. Rain (enterprise stablecoin payments infrastructure; SaaS/fintech) – raised a $250M Series C at a $1.95B valuation on Jan 9, 2026; funds will expand stablecoin-powered issuance/settlement products, scale enterprise launches, and grow into new markets.
3. LMArena (AI model evaluation + benchmarking platform; SaaS) – raised a $150M round at a $1.7B valuation on Jan 6, 2026; funds will scale its evaluation infrastructure, grow the technical team, and expand research/benchmark coverage.
4. Swap (commerce operating system: cross-border logistics + returns + payments workflows; SaaS) – raised a $100M Series C on Jan 7, 2026; funds will expand into new geographies, enhance payments capabilities, and build out an end-to-end commerce suite.
5. Trybe (spa, bathhouse, leisure & activity management platform; SaaS) – raised a $30M Series A on Jan 12, 2026; funds will support global expansion, product development, and partner-led growth across hospitality/leisure operators.
6. Protege (governed marketplace/platform for real-world AI training data; SaaS) – raised a $30M Series A extension on Jan 8, 2026; funds will expand dataset supply, strengthen governance/compliance, and scale enterprise adoption.
7. Flywheel (medical imaging data management + analysis; vertical SaaS) – raised a $27.5M equity round on Jan 8, 2026; funds will support product expansion for clinical trials/medical devices and continued platform scaling.
8. Luxury Presence (AI-powered marketing + CRM for real estate agents; SaaS) – raised a $22M Series C on Jan 8, 2026; funds will expand its unified marketing/CRM stack and scale sales + partnerships across broker networks.
9. Interos (AI-powered supply-chain risk intelligence; SaaS) – raised an additional $20M on Jan 7, 2026; funds will deepen AI capabilities for risk prediction and expand enterprise deployments.
10. Prudentia Sciences (AI-native due diligence for life sciences dealmaking; SaaS) – raised a $20M Series A on Jan 7, 2026; funds will expand product capabilities, deepen diligence intelligence, and scale commercial operations internationally.
11. Presto Phoenix (enterprise Voice AI for QSR operations; SaaS) – raised $10M on Jan 8, 2026; funds will scale deployments, improve voice/ordering automation, and expand restaurant partnerships.
12. MagicCube (mobile/tap-to-phone payments + identity platform; SaaS/fintech) – raised $10M on Jan 9, 2026; funds will expand beyond tap-to-phone into biometrics/identity and grow strategic distribution (including Verifone).

🤝 SaaS M&A Deals

1. Hg Capital AgreeS to Acquire OneStream ($6.4B equity value; enterprise finance management platform; US) – announced on Jan 6, 2026; the take-private positions OneStream to accelerate product investment (including AI roadmap) with long-term capital and strategic support.
2. Flexera Agrees to Acquire ProsperOps & ChaosGenius – announced on Jan 6, 2026; the acquisition adds autonomous public-cloud savings optimization into Flexera’s broader tech spend and risk intelligence platform. 

🚀 SaaS IPOs & S-1 Filings

• Discord (community communications & collaboration platform; consumer SaaS; US) – filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO on Jan 6, 2026 (reported); the filing signals Discord’s preparation for a potential public listing as it looks to scale monetization across subscriptions, developer tools, and enterprise/community offerings while maintaining flexibility on timing amid evolving market conditions.
• Amagi Media Labs (cloud-based video advertising, analytics, and monetization software; SaaS; India) – publicized IPO details and timetable during the week of Jan 6–12, 2026, with the offering scheduled to open on Jan 13, 2026; the listing is expected to include a mix of fresh issue and secondary shares, supporting continued expansion of Amagi’s SaaS platform for CTV, linear TV analytics, and global ad-tech operations.

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Usage-based pricing requires “billing engineering,” not just pricing strategy: invest in metering, aggregation, real-time visibility, and bill-shock guardrails so customers can predict spend and trust invoices.
• “Shadow AI” is becoming a measurable leakage problem: tighten sanctioned-tool policies, add DLP/CASB controls, and monitor prompts/inputs like data egress (especially for code, credentials, and regulated data).
• If you’re deploying AI agents in GTM, treat them like a scaled playbook, not a magic tool: document top-performer workflows, train agents on them, and keep explicit oversight + security boundaries.

📰 Community News

• Apply to join the SaasRise community for SaaS CEOs and Founders with $1M+ in ARR
• Apply to join the GrowthRise community for B2B Marketing Leaders

‍

See you next week with the next edition ofThis Week in SaaS.

-Ryan Allis, CEO of SaasRise