Startups · Top stories
FedEx Orders 2,000 Electric Trucks from Harbinger in $300 Million Deal
FedEx placed an order for 2,000 electric trucks from EV startup Harbinger, valued at $300 million, with deliveries expected by the end of next year. This significant order marks Harbinger's largest bulk deal to date and follows FedEx's previous investment in the company, indicating growing adoption of electric commercial vehicles in logistics.
BAG Ventures, founded by Google alumni, raises $11.3M for early-stage AI startups
BAG Ventures, co-founded by former Google VP Bonita Stewart and ex-CapitalG partner Jackson Georges Jr., closed an $11.3 million fund to invest in early-stage AI startups. The firm focuses on companies with clear enterprise value, anticipating a shift from AI experimentation to demand for proven, economically viable solutions.
Tesla secures $30 billion in new credit lines for Cybercab, Optimus, and Semi scaling
Tesla obtained $30 billion in new credit lines from Citibank and Wells Fargo. These funds are intended to support the scaling of its Cybercab robotaxi, Optimus robot, and Tesla Semi projects.
Tiny Health Secures $33M in Series B Funding for Microbiome Testing Platform
Tiny Health, a company specializing in at-home microbiome testing, raised $33 million in a Series B funding round. This funding will support the expansion of its platform, which analyzes gut data to provide insights into health, particularly for infants and pregnant individuals.
Protego Ventures closes $125 million debut fund for Israeli defense technology investments
Protego Ventures, an Israeli defense tech venture capital firm, has closed its first fund at $125 million. The fund will invest $5 million to $15 million per company in startups addressing defense and security needs, with a focus on Israeli and global markets.
Maritime intelligence startup Quartermaster raises $140M Series B funding
Quartermaster, a maritime intelligence startup, secured $140 million in Series B funding, following a $43 million Series A round in May. The funding will support the expansion of its SmartMast technology, which uses weather-hardened sensors to collect real-time maritime data, providing enhanced awareness for governments, shipping companies, and insurance providers.
Crusoe Reportedly Raises $3 Billion at $30 Billion Valuation
Crusoe, an AI infrastructure and cloud provider, has reportedly raised $3 billion in new funding, bringing its valuation to $30 billion. This funding follows a recent $13 billion cloud contract with Jane Street and indicates significant growth in the AI infrastructure market.
Letterboxd Reportedly Up for Sale, A24, Sony, and New York Times Among Bidders
Film social networking app Letterboxd is reportedly for sale with an asking price over $300 million. A24, Sony Pictures, and The New York Times are among the entities that have expressed interest in acquiring the platform. This potential acquisition highlights the value of engaged online communities to media companies and advertisers.
Lightspeed targets $250M for new India fund, focusing on early-stage AI investments
Lightspeed is raising a new $250 million fund, Lightspeed India Partners V, to focus on early-stage AI startups in India. This fund is half the size of its predecessor and reflects a strategic shift towards AI and a synchronized fundraising cycle with its global funds.
Feather Robotics develops modular humanoid robot system for developers, achieves $1M revenue
Feather Robotics, a new startup, is building a modular hardware and software toolkit for humanoid robots, aiming to be the "Android of robotics." The company has already generated over $1 million in revenue by selling its customizable robots to customers for tasks like cooking and lab cleaning.
Databricks Acquires Spreadsheet Startup Row Zero to Integrate BI, AI Agents, and Spreadsheets
Databricks acquired Row Zero, a cloud spreadsheet startup, to combine its AI agent capabilities with a familiar spreadsheet interface for data analysis. This acquisition aims to allow users to interact with secure enterprise data in a spreadsheet format without transferring it to less secure environments.
Lovable's Annualized Revenue Exceeds $600M, Up From $500M in June
Lovable, a vibe-coding platform, announced its annualized revenue run-rate has surpassed $600 million, an increase from $500 million reported in June. The company attributes this growth to its focus on enterprise clients, now including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies.
SoftBank issues $11.1 billion in bonds to fund OpenAI investment
SoftBank Group issued $11.1 billion in dollar and euro-denominated bonds to finance a $10 billion payment for its follow-on investment in OpenAI. This bond issuance supports SoftBank's strategy to increase its stake in OpenAI to approximately 13% with a cumulative investment of $64.6 billion.
Ema Raises $77M in Series B Funding to Automate Enterprise Processes with AI Agents
Ema, a startup specializing in AI agents for corporate process automation across HR, IT, and finance, secured $77 million in Series B funding. This investment brings its total funding to $140 million and aims to expand its role in replacing traditional enterprise software and IT services.
DoorDash to pay $131.5 million for NYC delivery worker wage violations
DoorDash will pay $131.5 million in a settlement with New York City for violating minimum wage and delivery worker protection laws, including over $83 million to resolve a dispute on calculating pay for online time between deliveries. This settlement addresses late or missing payments for over 260,000 workers and establishes a compliance monitoring program for future adherence to regulations.
Cyera Secures $400 Million Investment, Reaching Over $12 Billion Valuation
Data security company Cyera raised an additional $400 million from Goldman Sachs Alternatives, bringing its valuation to over $12 billion. This funding will support the expansion of its platform capabilities and company growth, particularly in securing AI operations.
Binance invests $100 million in Circle to expand USDC stablecoin globally
Binance invested $100 million in stablecoin issuer Circle and will promote USDC on its platform as part of a five-year agreement. This partnership aims to expand USDC's global reach and increase its competitiveness against other stablecoins in international markets.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures announces 21 startups in its sixth Fellows cohort
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) has selected 21 startups for its sixth Fellows program cohort, focusing on technologies to address future electricity demand increases. These startups span various sectors, including nuclear fusion, agriculture, robotics, and data center power efficiency, aiming to support the anticipated tripling of electricity demand due to global electrification efforts.
Morphotonics Raises €40M to Expand Nanoimprint Lithography into Data Centers
Morphotonics, a Dutch company specializing in nanoimprint lithography (NIL) for display manufacturing, has raised €40 million in funding. This investment will enable the company to scale production and enter the data center optical components market, in addition to its existing work on AR glasses displays.
Kairos Power Secures Up to $100M from Samsung C&T for Google Reactor Project
Kairos Power received an investment and engineering services worth up to $100 million from Samsung C&T to build a 50-megawatt demonstration reactor for Google. This collaboration aims to accelerate the development of nuclear power solutions to meet the increasing energy demands from AI data centers.
UK startup Unit1 raises $20M to create 'hyper-realistic' digital avatar concerts
UK music tech startup Unit1 secured $20 million in funding to develop 'hyper-realistic' digital avatars for recreating classic concerts. The company aims to stage shows with digital performers alongside live musicians, offering a lower-cost alternative to dedicated virtual concert venues.
Angle Health Raises $200M Series C at $2.7B Valuation, Includes $400M Tender Offer
Angle Health, a health insurance startup, secured $200 million in Series C funding and a $400 million tender offer, valuing the company at $2.7 billion. This funding round and tender offer allow employees to cash out shares, impacting the company's financial structure and growth trajectory in the health insurance sector.
Manus seeks $500M funding at $4B valuation after Meta merger blocked by China
Chinese AI startup Manus is reportedly seeking to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, following the termination of its acquisition by Meta due to Chinese regulatory concerns. The company has resumed independent operations and is considering an IPO in Hong Kong, indicating its continued growth ambitions despite the failed merger.
Mazama Energy Raises $135M Series B for Super-Hot-Rock Geothermal Development
Geothermal startup Mazama Energy secured $135 million in Series B funding to develop horizontal wells in super-hot rocks, aiming to generate 15 megawatts of electricity per well. This funding will advance their enhanced geothermal technology, which targets deeper, hotter rock formations to produce significantly more power than traditional methods, potentially supporting large-scale energy demands like AI data centers.
Skalar Launches New Fintech Model to Finance Startup Customer Acquisition Costs
Skalar, a new fintech company, launched a financing model for startups to fund customer acquisition costs without equity dilution or fixed repayment schedules. The company provides capital for sales and marketing, and repayment is tied directly to the revenue generated by the acquired customers, with Skalar absorbing shortfalls if customers generate less revenue than expected.
UK ARIA Funds $94 Million for Drone-Based Internet Service Experimentation
The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is investing $94 million into 18 projects focused on developing drone-based internet services, called high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS). This initiative aims to provide wireless communication to areas not served by terrestrial networks, offering an alternative to satellite internet solutions.
Superhuman Acquires AI Notetaker Fathom to Integrate Meeting Context into Productivity Suite
Superhuman has acquired Fathom, an AI-powered meeting notetaker with over 400,000 monthly active users, to integrate meeting context and action items directly into its productivity platform. This acquisition allows Superhuman to expand into agentic AI work by proactively surfacing relevant information from meetings, rather than building a notetaker internally.
Y Combinator Demo Day features deep tech startups, including nuclear-powered data centers
Y Combinator's latest Demo Day showcased a cohort with a strong focus on deep tech, including companies like Atomarine, which is developing nuclear-powered floating data centers, and Dipole Labs, which is creating optical networking hardware for AI data centers. This batch featured more grounded valuations compared to previous cohorts, with several startups addressing complex technical challenges.
Fusion Power Startups Partner with Defense Sector for Funding and Laser Weapon Development
Fusion power startups are increasingly partnering with the defense industry as climate tech venture funding slows. This collaboration provides new funding sources for expensive fusion research and allows defense contractors to explore advanced laser technologies for weapons systems. Xcimer, a laser-based fusion startup, recently announced an investment and partnership with RTX, a defense conglomerate.
Mecka AI Nears $500M Valuation in Sequoia-Led Funding Round for Robot Training Data
Mecka AI, a startup specializing in collecting human motion data for training humanoid robots, is close to securing a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at approximately $500 million. This financing follows a $60 million round three months prior, indicating rapid investor interest in solutions addressing the data bottleneck for general-purpose robotics.
VR game developer Polyarc, known for the Moss series, has closed down
Polyarc, the studio behind the virtual reality games Moss and Moss: Book II, has ceased operations after nearly 12 years. The closure impacts at least 29 staff members and highlights challenges in the VR game development ecosystem, particularly following shifts by major platforms like Meta.
Khosla Ventures to Open First Office Outside Sand Hill Road in New York City
Khosla Ventures is opening a new office on 14th Street in New York City this fall, marking its first expansion beyond its Menlo Park, California headquarters. The new location will house investors and an "executive briefing center" to connect portfolio companies with Fortune 500 firms, aiming to facilitate customer acquisition and pilots.
Nscale Appoints Former OpenAI Executive Fidji Simo to Board Ahead of Potential IPO
Nscale, a UK-based AI data center startup, has appointed Fidji Simo, former OpenAI and Instacart executive, to its board of directors. This appointment occurs as Nscale prepares for a potential IPO this fall, aiming to strengthen its leadership with experience in scaling large technology platforms.
Collaborative Fund Invests in D.C. United, Following Thrive Capital's Pro Sports Ownership Model
Collaborative Fund, a venture capital firm, has acquired a stake in the soccer club D.C. United and its stadium, Audi Field. This move follows Thrive Capital's recent entry into professional sports ownership, signaling a new trend of venture capital firms investing in sports franchises.
Proxima Fusion to build €140M factory for high-temperature superconducting tape
Proxima Fusion announced plans to construct a €140 million factory to produce high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tape, a key component for its fusion reactors. This investment aims to secure a critical supply chain element currently dominated by Asian manufacturers and is crucial for the company's reactor design, which relies on HTS tape to generate magnetic fields for plasma containment.
Spirit Airlines' Data Sale to Google Raises IP Concerns for Startup Springshot
Spirit Airlines' bankruptcy auction of operational data to Google is facing opposition from Springshot, a startup whose platform was used by Spirit. Springshot claims the sale likely includes its proprietary data and intellectual property, setting a potentially harmful precedent for startups in bankruptcy proceedings.
Bending Spoons Acquires Collaboration Tool Miro for $1.36 Billion, 90% Below 2021 Valuation
Bending Spoons has acquired Miro, a collaboration tools maker, for $1.36 billion in cash, which represents a significant decrease from Miro's $17.5 billion valuation in late 2021. This acquisition highlights the unwinding of software-as-a-service (SaaS) valuations since 2021 and the shift in enterprise spending habits post-pandemic.
Maven Robotics Raises $100M to Scale Warehouse Automation with Third-Gen Robots
Maven Robotics, a startup specializing in warehouse automation, has emerged from stealth with $100 million in funding. The company plans to use the capital to build 250 third-generation robots designed for mixed palletizing tasks, addressing a labor-intensive process in distribution centers.
Mach Industries Doubles Valuation to $3.7B After $600M Series C Extension
Defense tech startup Mach Industries raised an additional $600 million in a Series C extension round, doubling its valuation to $3.7 billion in three months. The company manufactures unmanned military vehicles and weapons, and recently acquired solid rocket motor startup Exquadrum to address supply bottlenecks.
European Founders and VCs Urge Lawmakers to Preserve EU-Wide Company Statute
European startup founders and venture capitalists have issued an open letter to lawmakers, advocating for the preservation of a proposed EU-wide company statute. This initiative aims to create a common legal framework for companies across the bloc, reducing fragmentation and fostering entrepreneurship.