Welcome to Startups Weekly, your go-to source for a quick rundown of key developments in the startup ecosystem. Interested in staying updated every week? Subscribe to get this newsletter delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.
This week’s edition touches on both startups and the expanding influence of Big Tech, marked by both acquisitions and substantial investments.
Acquisition and IPO News
With tech IPOs remaining infrequent in the U.S., mergers and acquisitions (M&As) dominated the exit landscape this week, along with one noteworthy new entrant.
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Blaize: This AI chip startup, established in 2011 by former Intel engineers, focuses on edge applications. The company went public Tuesday after announcing plans to do so via a SPAC.
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Axio: Amazon is reportedly set to acquire the Indian BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) startup Axio for over $150 million. This acquisition will enable Amazon to accelerate its push into financial services within India, an especially fast-growing market for the e-commerce giant.
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Caramel: eBay plans to acquire Caramel, a startup streamlining car transactions. This follows the acquisition of Cargigi, an advertising and marketing tech company catering to car dealerships, as well as the U.K. classifieds site Motors.co.uk.
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Cape Analytics: Moody’s reached an agreement to acquire Cape Analytics, a geospatial AI startup, for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition gives Moody’s the ability to create a property database to analyze neighborhood risk for its insurance clients.
New Ventures in AI
- Ndea: High-profile AI researcher François Chollet joined forces with Zapier co-founder Mike Knoop to launch Ndea, an AI research and science lab. Their objective is to “develop and operationalize” artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Venture Capital and Funding News
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Colossal Biosciences: Colossal Biosciences raised a $200 million Series C funding round, with a massive $10.2 billion valuation. The company is looking to revive the woolly mammoth and two other extinct species.
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Loft Orbital: The rapidly growing space infrastructure startup Loft Orbital secured $170 million in Series C funding. The round was co-led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners. Although the valuation was not disclosed, this raise exceeds the combined $160 million it had acquired previously.
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Synthesia: The British startup Synthesia, which uses AI technology to generate avatar-based videos, closed a Series D funding round of $180 million led by NEA, achieving a valuation of $2.1 billion.
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Bioptimus: The French AI startup Bioptimus has raised $41 million to further develop an AI model for biology specifically designed for biological applications.
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Nelly: To further digitize the healthcare sector, Berlin-based Nelly raised $51 million in Series B funding. The firm aims to assist more medical practices in transitioning to digital workflows.
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SEEQC: Quantum computing startup SEEQC received a $30 million Series A extension, co-led by Booz Allen and NordicNinja. This funding will accelerate the commercial rollout of its chips and enhance their capabilities.
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Intel Capital: Intel announced plans to spin off Intel Capital, its corporate venture arm, setting it up as an independent fund that will begin operating in the latter half of 2025. Intel will serve as an “anchor investor.”
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Powerset: Powerset, a co-founded investment program by AngelList alum Jake Zeller and operating as a decentralized venture fund, will provide founders with a $1 million investment to support other startups.
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MetAI: Nvidia’s investments included Taiwanese company MetAI, which focuses on AI-powered digital twins.
Startup Advice
After conducting numerous interviews with founders for TechCrunch’s Found podcast, Rebecca Szkutak compiled the five most impactful pieces of advice shared.
Note: This advice may not be suitable for all startups.
Here are the recommendations:
- Pay attention to what you spend your money on.
- Think about whether it’s the right time for your startup.
- It pays off not to be first.
- Acknowledge that you are not right.
- Go on a walk if you have a problem.
