DST Global

A $16 billion Waymo round and a $60 million Aikido Security Series B made 2026Q1 DST Global’s strongest recent coverage period.

Who they are

DST Global appears in coverage as an investment firm associated with Yuri Milner, participating in and sometimes leading large private-company financings. Its stories span consumer internet and fintech investments such as Robinhood, Slack, Checkout and StockX, alongside more recent autonomous-vehicle, developer-security and robotics-related bets.

The recent arc

Coverage accelerated sharply in 2026Q1 around three financing narratives. DST Global co-led Waymo’s confirmed $16 billion round with Sequoia and Dragoneer at a $126 billion valuation, as Waymo prepared US and UK expansion; it also led Aikido Security’s $60 million Series B at a $1 billion valuation. The most recent reports say it may participate alongside a16z, Khosla and Striker in Embo’s proposed $100 million-plus robotics seed round, though that financing remains unconfirmed.

The tension

The coverage centers on DST Global’s place in increasingly capital-intensive technology investing: it is alongside Sequoia and Dragoneer in Waymo, while competing and co-investing with firms including a16z and Khosla in newer AI and robotics opportunities. This differs from its earlier visibility as a lead backer of Robinhood and other high-growth internet companies, and shifts attention toward whether established investors can secure stakes in infrastructure-heavy AI, autonomy and security businesses.

Why it matters

If this pattern holds, DST Global’s news profile will be shaped less by consumer-platform funding and more by its ability to participate in the largest private rounds behind autonomous systems and AI-adjacent software. Waymo’s expansion gives that strategy a prominent operating test, while Aikido and the reported Embo financing suggest exposure across developer security and robotics; the latter remains contingent on a deal being completed.

Related: Waymo raised $16B led by Sequoia, DST, and Dragoneer at a $126B valuat · Sequoia · Dragoneer · Robinhood · Commission-free trading app Robinhood raises $323M Series E led by DST · Yuri Milner's