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The first week of February was eventful not only on the geopolitical stage but also in the realm of startups and venture capital, with numerous announcements and significant funding exchanges taking place.
Top Startup Highlights of the Week
Startups have adopted varying strategies regarding the age-old question of collaboration, alongside a cautionary reminder about high burn rates and potential IPOs on the horizon.
Collaborative Efforts: In the wake of a prior partnership with Aurora Innovation, Volvo Autonomous Solutions has teamed up with the self-driving truck startup Waabi to co-develop and launch autonomous trucks. The initial commercial pilots are expected to kick off in Texas shortly, with a driverless demonstration scheduled for the end of the year.
Additionally, space innovators OurSky and PlaneWave have merged to establish Observable Space, a new entity focused on developing next-gen telescopes.
Branching Out: The robotics firm Figure AI has decided to part ways with OpenAI to concentrate on its own in-house AI developments, following a notable breakthrough. The startup aims to fabricate a versatile humanoid robot intended for both commercial and domestic applications.
Meanwhile, Google’s X has spun off Heritable Agriculture, a venture leveraging AI to enhance crop yield. Under Astro Teller’s guidance, the “moonshot factory” continues to launch various initiatives.
Acquisition News: XOi, a company specializing in software for maintenance personnel, has acquired its rival Specifx to broaden its repair data repository. This acquisition, funded by a recently disclosed $230 million funding round, was completed for an undisclosed amount.
Burn Rate Blues: The struggling Canadian accounting startup, Bench, reportedly exhausted $135 million over several years before ultimately declaring bankruptcy.
Potential IPOs: TechCrunch has compiled a list of tech companies that might go public this year, notably including two space and defense tech ventures, Karman and Voyager Technologies, both of which filed to go public last month. Although Deel wasn’t listed, significant secondary sales indicate that the IPO the fintech/HR startup hinted at for “the 2025/2026 timeframe” may be approaching.
Key VC and Funding Updates This Week
This week also highlighted notable funding activities, including various deal rounds, the introduction of new funds, and opportunities for fund-of-funds.
Advertising Technology: Canadian programmatic advertising startup StackAdapt has secured $235 million in a growth funding round, led by the Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), which is part of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Fund of Funds: The Indian government has unveiled a new fund of funds with a total of $1.15 billion allocated for startups, forming part of its federal budget for 2025-26. This fund is expected to have a broader mission compared to past programs, with plans to explore a dedicated deep tech fund too.
Indian Language Models: Bhavish Aggarwal, the billionaire co-founder of Ola, has committed to invest $230 million into Krutrim, the AI startup he founded, aiming to boost the development of Indian language models.
Deep Tech Investments: Munich-based CVC Hitachi Ventures has successfully raised $400 million for its fourth fund, which will continue to focus on Series A investments in deep tech startups, dedicating 55% of the capital specifically for subsequent funding rounds.
Impact of Ozempic: The dietitian-matching startups Berry Street and Fay each raised $50 million in funding as the popularity of GLP-1 drugs has positively influenced nutrition counseling services.
Cybersecurity Education: French startup Riot obtained $30 million in Series B funding, aiming to pivot from solely educating employees about cybersecurity threats to actively guiding them in mitigating risks. The company has achieved a post-money valuation exceeding $170 million and has reached $10 million in annual revenue in 2024.
New Fund Launch: German venture capital firm Cherry Ventures has launched a new $500 million fund for early-stage and follow-on investments. Its previous fund, established in 2022, concluded with around $312 million.
Initial Fund Announcement: The Paris-based European venture capital firm Emblem has raised $85 million for its inaugural fund, with general partners who have previously invested in companies such as Gourmey and Sorare.
Final Notes
According to the French AI Report, European AI startups collectively raised $8 billion in 2024. The report, published by early-stage venture capital firm Galion.exe, growth investment company Revaia, and consulting firm Chausson Partners, revealed that 70% of the total funds were allocated to seed through Series B rounds, indicating potential growth as the ecosystem evolves.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
Fanpage: TechArena.au
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