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Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of what you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here.
This week’s newsletter is about startups, but it’s also about big tech companies expanding their reach through acquisitions and investments.
The most interesting startup stories of the week
With tech IPOs still a rarity in the US, M&A dominated exit news this week. Also, we have a new startup to track.
Burning through the public market: Blaize, an AI chip startup founded by Intel engineers in 2011 that focuses on edge applications, went public on Tuesday. Expressing its desire to do so through a SPAC the day before
Buy now, pay now: Amazon Hall Indian startup BNPL is set to buy Accio More than $150 million, according to sources. This will help the e-commerce giant accelerate its push into financial services in India, one of its fastest growing markets.
car sales: eBay Caramel acquisition planA startup that helps car sellers and buyers complete the final steps of the transaction It previously acquired Cargigi, an advertising and marketing technology company for car dealerships, as well as UK classifieds site Motors.co.uk.
Moody’s bought Cape: Moody agrees Acquire geospatial AI startup Cape Analytics for an undisclosed sum. This will give the financial services company the ability to build a property database that it plans to use to provide local risk insights for its insurance customers.
An idea for AGI: High-profile AI researcher Francois Cholet worked with Zapier co-founder and head of AI Mike Knoop. Launch NdeaAn AI research and science lab is looking to “develop and operationalize” artificial general intelligence (AGI).
This week’s most interesting VC and funding news
Huge ambitions: Vassal Biosciences Raised A $200 million Series C round of funding A whopping $10.2 billion valuation with equally big ambitions to bring back the woolly mammoth and two other extinct species.
take off: Fast-growing space infrastructure startup Loft Orbital Raised $170 million in Series C funding Co-led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners. It declined to disclose its valuation, but it is more capital in one round than the combined $160 million it has raised so far.
Rise of the Avatars: Synthesia, a British startup whose AI technology helps companies create avatar-based videos, Closed a Series D funding round of $180 million $2.1 billion valuation led by NEA.
GPT for Biology: French AI startup Bioptimus raised $41 million Building a basic AI model for biology, specifically trained for downstream biological applications.
Digital switch: With ambitions to become the largest fintech startup in the healthcare industry, Berlin-based startup Nellie has emerged $51 million in Series B funding To help more medical practices switch to a digital workflow.
Quantum acceleration: Quantum computing startup SEEQC launched A $30 million Series A extension Co-led by Booz Allen and NordicKinger to accelerate the commercial rollout of its chips and improve their capabilities.
Spinning off: Intel announced plans His corporate ventures spin off handsIntel Capital, a standalone fund, will start working independently with Intel as an “anchor investor” in the second half of 2025.
Founder and Investor: Powerset, the investment program co-founded by angelist alum Jack Zeller that acts as a kind of decentralized venture fund, will give five to 10 founders $1 million to invest in other startups.
Nvidia’s AI empire: Just a few days after TechCrunch’s roundup Nvidia’s startup investmentAdded another: yearA Taiwanese company that makes Al-Powered Digital Twins.
Last but not least
More than two years after interviewing founders on TechCrunch’s recently concluded Found podcast, Rebecca Sajkutak hears her fair advice about startups. In this postHe shares the five recommendations that stand out the most. Some are counterintuitive – “it pays to not be the first” – and all are worth reading.
