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Welcome to Startups Weekly — a weekly roundup of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want this in your inbox every Friday? Register here.
This week’s newsletter is all about startups, but also about Big Tech companies expanding their reach through both acquisitions and investments.
The most interesting startup stories of the week
While tech IPOs are still rare in the US, M&As dominated exit news this week. Plus, we have a fresh start to watch.
The public markets are on fire: Blaize, an AI chip startup founded in 2011 by Intel engineers and focused on edge applications, went public on Tuesday. It announces its intention to do so through a SPAC the day before.
Buy now, pay now: Amazon Indian startup BNPL is set to acquire Axio according to sources, more than 150 million dollars. This will help accelerate the e-commerce giant’s push into financial services in India, one of its fastest growing markets.
Car sales: eBay Plans to buy Caramela startup that helps car sellers and buyers complete the final stages of the transaction. It previously bought Cargigi, an advertising and marketing technology company for car dealers, as well as UK classifieds site Motors.co.uk.
Moody’s buys Cape: Moody’s agreed Get geospatial AI startup Cape Analytics for an undisclosed amount. This will enable the financial services firm to build a property database that it plans to use to deliver local risk insights for insurance clients.
An idea for AGI: High-profile AI researcher Francois Chollet sat down with Zapier co-founder and head of AI Mike Knoop. Run Ndeaan AI research and science lab that seeks to “develop and operate” artificial general intelligence (AGI).
This week’s most interesting VC and finance news
Mammoth ambitions: Colossal Biosciences raised $200 million in Series C funding with the equally grand ambition of bringing back the woolly mammoth and two other extinct species at a hefty price tag of $10.2 billion.
Flight: Loft Orbital, a fast-growing space infrastructure startup Raised $170 million in Series C funding Co-led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners. It declined to disclose a valuation, but it is more than the $160 million it has raised to date in one round.
Rise of the Avatars: Synthesia, a British startup whose AI technology helps companies create avatar-based videos, It closed a $180 million Series D funding round Managed by the $2.1 billion NEA.
GPT for Biology: French AI startup Bioptimus collected 41 million dollars to develop a foundational AI model for biology tailored for downstream biological applications.
Digital key: Berlin-based startup Nelly grew up with the ambition to become the biggest fintech startup in the healthcare industry $51 million in Series B funding helping more medical practices transition to a digital workflow.
Quantum acceleration: Quantum computing startup SEEQC has been raised $30 million Series A extension Working with Booz Allen and NordicNinja to accelerate the commercialization of their chips and improve their capabilities.
Turn around: Intel announced its plans spin off the corporate venture armIntel Capital has become an independent fund that will launch independently in the second half of 2025 with Intel as an “anchor investor”.
Founders and investors: Powerset, an investment program founded by AngelList alum Jake Zeller that acts as a kind of decentralized venture fund, will provide 5-10 founders. $1 million to invest in other startups.
Nvidia’s AI empire: Just a few days after TechCrunch summarized it Nvidia’s startup investmentsone more added: yearA Taiwanese company that creates AI-powered digital twins.
Last but not least
After more than two years of interviewing founders for TechCrunch’s recently concluded Found podcast, Rebecca Szkutak has heard her fair share of advice about startups. In this articlehe shared five recommendations that stood out the most. Some are intuitive – “Not being first pays off” – and all are worth reading.
