Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly roundup of the essential happenings in the startup ecosystem. Want to receive this directly every Friday? Subscribe here.
This week, our newsletter zeroes in on startups, but it also touches on how major tech firms are broadening their influence through acquisitions and investments.
Highlighted Startup News of the Week
With tech IPOs remaining sporadic in the U.S., merger and acquisition news took the spotlight this week. Additionally, we have a new startup to keep an eye on.
Charged into public markets: Blaize, an AI chip company founded by former Intel engineers in 2011, focusing on edge computing, made its public debut on Tuesday after announcing plans to go public via a SPAC the day before.
Buy now, pay later: Sources report that Amazon is expected to acquire Indian BNPL startup Axio for over $150 million. This move will enhance the company’s efforts in expanding financial services in India, one of its rapidly growing markets.
Car commerce: eBay is looking to purchase Caramel, a startup facilitating the final steps of car transactions for buyers and sellers. This acquisition follows eBay’s purchase of Cargigi, a marketing tech company for car dealerships, and the U.K.-based classifieds site Motors.co.uk.
Moody’s acquires Cape: Moody’s has agreed to acquire Cape Analytics, a geospatial AI startup, though the financial terms remain undisclosed. This acquisition will help Moody’s establish a property database aimed at providing local risk insights to its insurance clients.
A vision for AGI: Distinguished AI researcher François Chollet has partnered with Zapier co-founder Mike Knoop to create Ndea, an AI research lab striving to “develop and operationalize” artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Notable VC and Funding Developments This Week
Mammoth aspirations: Colossal Biosciences has secured $200 million in a Series C funding round, reaching an astounding $10.2 billion valuation with the ambitious goal of resurrecting the woolly mammoth and two other extinct species.
Soaring high: Rapidly growing space infrastructure firm Loft Orbital has raised $170 million in Series C funding, co-led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners. While the exact valuation hasn’t been disclosed, this amount surpasses the total of $160 million raised across all prior funding rounds.
Avatar revolution: Synthesia, a UK startup leveraging AI to create video content with avatars, finalized a Series D funding round of $180 million led by NEA, achieving a valuation of $2.1 billion.
Biology’s GPT: French AI startup Bioptimus has raised $41 million to establish a foundational AI model tailored for biology, specifically trained for various biological applications.
Healthcare digital shift: Aiming to become the leading fintech player in healthcare, Berlin-based company Nelly has secured $51 million in Series B funding to aid medical practices in transitioning to digital workflows.
Quantum progress: Startup SEEQC, specializing in quantum computing, closed a $30 million Series A extension led by Booz Allen and NordicNinja to expedite the commercial launch of its chips and enhance their performance.
Intel’s spin-off: Intel has announced plans to separate its corporate venture arm, Intel Capital, into an independent fund, set to operate separately in the latter half of 2025, with Intel remaining as an “anchor investor.”
Funding for founders: Powerset, a venture initiative co-founded by former AngelList alum Jake Zeller, aims to distribute $1 million to a select 5 to 10 founders, enabling them to invest in other startups.
Nvidia’s expansion: Shortly after TechCrunch highlighted Nvidia’s investments, the company has added another: MetAI, a Taiwanese startup creating AI-driven digital twins.
And Finally
After two years of interviewing founders for the recently concluded Found podcast on TechCrunch, Rebecca Szkutak received a wealth of insights about startups. In this post, she outlines the five most impactful pieces of advice she encountered. Some may be surprising — for instance, “It pays off not to be first” — but all are highly valuable.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
Fanpage: TechArena.au
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