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Welcome to Startups Weekly – your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Log in here.
This week was full of news, probably because it’s also the last “real” week of 2024. That’s another way to say goodbye for now, see you in 2025!
Very interesting news to start the week
This week has brought us M&As, and some reminders that it’s always important to keep an eye on things, whether it’s expected LPs or shiny announcements.
Net worth: More than 20 VC firms, many of which invest in security technology, signed the Clean Capital Certificationshowing themselves that they do not and cannot take money from US geopolitical enemies such as China and Russia.
Requirements: AI Hype is distorting VC data. Digging deeper, the investment site is very different for non-AI developersand many who raised a Series A round 18 months ago may be having trouble raising Series B funding, Tribeca Venture Partners co-founder Brian Hirsch told TechCrunch.
The main thing is the signs: Launching nuclear weapons Oklo, with the help of Sam Altman, signed a a broad but non-binding agreement with data center operator Switch. The deal must also begin receiving approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after it was previously rejected in 2022.
AI design: Grammarly is getting the basic Coda yield increasing its size. Unsurprisingly, Coda CEO and co-founder Shishir Mehrotra will be the new CEO of Grammarly, replacing Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, who will be an advisor.
Suggested answers: Mental confusion he discovered Carbona Seattle startup that connects LLMs with external data before creating a solution. This could help Perplexity access “internal databases, cloud storage, or document storage,” the company said.
Very interesting money this week
As startups rush to reveal their latest news before the holidays, there were plenty of announcements this week.
Mammoth pre-IPO round: Databricks earned $10 billion one of the biggest games in VC history. Mammoth Series J could be its last stock before the expected IPO; but while its CEO is not judging 2025, it will end and live in 2026he said.
The latest African unicorn: South African fintech Tyme Group rose $250 million Series D round. Led by Nu Holdings, the parent company of Latin American fintech Nubank, it valued Tyme at $1.5 billion.
Ring maker: The basics of Finnish clothing Oura were promoted $200 million in Series D funding at a cost of $5.2 billion. It included the participation of Fidelity Management and glucose device manufacturer Dexcom, which Oura recently participated in.
Return journey: Canadian travel startup Hostaway, which develops apps for vacation rentals, earned $365 million at a cost of $925 million. The round was led by General Atlantic and will help the company double in size.
Availability speed: Evinced, which helps companies comply with online regulatory requirements, raised a $55 million Series C round to expand in Europe, where new laws will come into force in June.
Fast money: AI startup Decart, based in San Francisco but with operations in Israel, is protected $32 million in new funding for $500 million, just two months after going private.
Earn money: Agave Games, the Turkish developer behind the popular Find the Cat game, raised $18 million in Series A funding will use it to build its team and work on upcoming topics.
The most interesting VC and investment news this week
The speed of the pendulum: Marcy Venture Partners, Jay-Z’s VC firm, merged with Pendulum Opportunities forming MarcyPen Capital Partnerswhich now has $900 million in assets under management.
Backtracking: Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton announced that it is go to the counseling session; 360 Venture Collective will “take a significant role in the management of Backstage” and join the management of the joint venture and financing of the company, which has previously been criticized. and struggle.
Vote of confidence: G2 Venture Partners, an offshoot of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers investing in climate and sustainable startups, is raising $750 million for the third fund which would ensure LP’s stability in its proposition.
Last but not least
We leave you a list of 51 most disruptive startups of 2024 – joint efforts and contributions from several members of the TechCrunch team. Go read, and happy holidays!
