WHAT’S INSIDE

• Tech Companies to Watch: Startup news and deals from the last week

• Big Movers: The Big tech movers, shakers and partnerships this week

• Making Waves: Companies making a buzz in the Tech world

• Open Deals: Startups raising capital this week

• In The Money: Significant raises last week and why they matter

• Exit Watching: Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

• The Funding Buzz: VC & PE Activity To Watch

BIG MOVERS

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

Trump Mobile — Introduced Trump Mobile, featuring a $47.45/month plan with unlimited services and the $499 T1 phone—a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen Android, now available for preorder.

OpenAI — Secured a $200M contract with the U.S. DoD to develop AI systems for national security and administrative tasks. The deal may further strain ties with Microsoft, known for its extensive government contracts.

X Money? — X is developing a physical debit card with Visa, featuring customizable options and peer-to-peer transfers, as part of its evolution into an "everything app".

Meta — Google and OpenAI plan to end their partnerships with the data labeling firm Scale AI after Meta acquired a 49% stake. Other AI firms like Microsoft are expected to reevaluate their ties with Scale putting more pressure on Meta.

Waymo —The Google autonomous vehicle spinoff is seeking a permit to test robotaxis in NYC aiming to operate without human drivers, tackling regulatory hurdles in the bustling urban landscape.

Texas Instruments — Plans to invest over $60B in expanding U.S. manufacturing by building seven chip plants in Texas and Utah, creating 60,000 jobs.

Teaming Up

Meta — In talks to hire Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, and potentially acquire a minority stake of their $1B venture fund in a strategic move to enhance its AI investments.

Masayoshi Son's AI Hub — Masayoshi Son plans a partnership with TSMC to create a $1 trillion industrial complex in Arizona. Focused on AI and robotics, emulating Shenzhen's success.

Meta x Oakley — Teamed up on a new pair of sports-focused smart glasses that can record 3K video, play music, handle calls, and respond to Meta AI prompts. Start at $399 from 11 July, with double the battery life of Meta’s Ray-Bans.

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MAKING WAVES

Startups, trends and signals to watch in the USA this week

Ramp — The fintech startup hit a massive $16B valuation in a $200M Series E led by Founders Fund and backed by Peter Thiel. It has seen rapid growth with $300M ARR in 2024.

Surge AI — The San Fran data-labeling startup earned $1B last year, surpassing Scale AI's $870M. Notably, Surge achieved this without external investors, emerging as a formidable competitor in the evolving sector.

Whatnot — This livestream shopping app is projected to sell $6B in goods by 2025 via the exploding live-streamed commerce trend. Despite being unprofitable, it has garnered significant VC and ranks among the top US shopping apps.

Regencell Bioscience — The Hong Kong-based biotech firm's stock surged nearly 60,000% YTD despite lacking revenue, fueled by a stock split and retail interest.

[OPEN DEALS] RAISING DOLLARS:

Startups, firms or funds raising capital this week

xAI — Elon Musk's AI startup is $4.3B in equity funding after almost depleting its previous resources. This follows efforts to raise $5B through high-interest debt to fund infrastructure expansion.

Cohere — The AI start-up founded by ex-Google researchers in Canada is seeking over $500M for expansion, aiming for a valuation of $5.5B-$6.5B. ARR has doubled, surpassing $100M, despite competition from established players and new entrants.

AI Professionals University — The AI education startup is raising $10-15M at a $50M valuation in a Series B round. Founded in 2024, AIPU aims for global expansion, planning to certify over 1M students by 2027.

IN THE MONEY

Companies that raised money in the past week and why they matter

Massive Deals

Thinking Machines Lab — Mira Murati’s AI startup raised a $2B seed round at a $10B valuation led by Andreessen Horowitz, aiming to attract more high-profile AI talent.

TerraPower — Bill Gates' nuclear technology company raised $650M from investors, including NVentures aiming to build a nuclear power plant in Wyoming to address rising AI energy demands.

Applied Intuition — The AI vehicle technology startup raised $600M at $15B ahead of a potential IPO with investments from notable firms like BlackRock and Kleiner Perkins.

Helsing — Daniel Ek led a €600M investment in the German defense tech company at €12B to focus on AI-driven battlefield data visualization, drones and submarines.

Teamworks — The sports technology leader raised a $235M Series F at over $1B aiming to enhance AI-powered solutions for elite sports teams globally and solidify its leadership across various operational areas.

Tennr — The health AI startup focused on streamlining the patient referral process, raised a $101M Series C at $605M from IVP, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed, and Iconiq.

Mach Industries — The defense tech startup founded by Ethan Thornton raised $100M at $470M to develop advanced weapon systems via significant U.S. military contracts.

Large Deals

Canary Technologies — The hospitality AI startup raised $80M in Series D funding at $600M to expand globally in partnerships with major hotel brands and develop new AI products.

Nabla — The AI healthcare startup raised $70M in a Series C round to enhance its AI assistant for clinical workflows, benefiting over 130 healthcare organizations by improving clinician efficiency and patient care.

Eigen Labs — The Seattle startup launched EigenCloud, a platform enhancing trust for Web2 and Web3 apps. It secured $70M from a16z to integrate Eth's restaking protocol with tools for data, compute, and dispute resolution.

Actio Biosciences — The CA-based company raised a $66M Series B to advance drug research for rare genetic diseases with a focus on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and KCNT1-related epilepsy.

Maven AGI — The Boston-based AI customer support startup raised a $50M Series B led by Dell. With $7M in ARR and 30 enterprise clients and resolves up to 93% of inquiries.

Pano AI — The wildfire detection tech startup raised a $44M Series B to enhance its AI technology to better support over 250 first responder agencies across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Browserbase Inc. — The browser automation company raised a $40M Series B led by Notable at $300B to advance its headless browser and new tool, Director, by expanding its workforce.

Smaller Deals

Multiplier — Founded by ex-Stripe exec Noah Pepper, this accounting firm acquisition company raised $27.5M to integrate AI to challenge the Big Four by improving profit margins through AI.

Senra Systems — The California-based aerospace startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, raised a $25M Series A to modernize precision assembly, collaborating with top aerospace and defense partners.

WorkWhile — The flexible labor platform raised $23M in Series B funding to enhance its marketplace for hourly workers for over 1M users in frontline jobs.

Cluely — The AI startup, based on helping users "cheat on everything," raised $15M led by Andreessen Horowitz. Co-founder Roy Lee is targeting 1Bn views with strong marketing.

Grifin — The investment app, founded in 2017, raised $11M in Series A funding to enhance its adaptive investing model. With over 500,000 users, it aims to introduce an AI chatbot for financial advice.

Crosby — The hybrid AI law firm secured a $5.8M seed to enhance its blend of AI and human legal expertise aiming to review contracts in under an hour, with over 1,000 contracts reviewed to date.

Alta — Jenny Wang's AI personal styling startup raised $11M to advance a virtual closet and outfit recommendation tool. Backed by Michelle Obama's stylist and industry figures.

EXIT WATCHING

Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

Base44 — Wix acquired the bootstrapped vibe coding startup for $80M. Founded by Maor Shlomo, it quickly amassed 250,000 users and achieved profitability. The acquisition enhances Wix's no-code offerings.

Saturn — Social media giant Snap acquires social calendar app popular in U.S. high schools, which will operate independently while integrating features into Snapchat to enhance real-world connections.

IPO WATCH

Slide Insurance — The Florida coastal property insurance provider raised $408M in an upsized IPO, selling 24M shares at $17 each.

Caris Life Sciences — The CA-based AI cancer diagnostics startup raised $494M in its IPO, selling 23.5M shares at $21 each, achieving a valuation of $5.9B.

THE FUNDING BUZZ

VC & PE Activity To Watch

Endeavor Catalyst — The global VC firm is raising a $300M fund to back high-growth startups in emerging markets, targeting funding gaps. With over $540M raised across four funds, over $1B invested.

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FOR INVESTORS
Open Deals
Investors– request an intro to startups - [email protected].

Before we restart our placements of raising startups, we’re sharing an open call to send in your own company. Just shoot us an email with a deck and we may feature you in this bulletin.

For detailed pitch materials, please email [email protected] with your deck.
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Job Candidates

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