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Startups Weekly Recap

Welcome to Startups Weekly, your go-to source for the latest highlights in the startup world. Want it delivered straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up today!

This week’s roundup covers bold new bets, global funding rounds, fresh venture capital (VC) developments, and a crucial cautionary insight.

Top Startup Stories

This week’s stories remind us that revisiting past ideas with fresh perspectives can lead to exciting breakthroughs. Notable developments include a merger shaking up WordPress’ AI landscape and innovative approaches in desalination technology.

Desalination Innovation

A new wave of startups is advancing deep-sea reverse osmosis. This technology, now more accessible, promises water production with up to 50% less energy than traditional onshore methods.

Bridging the Gap in Africa

While Y Combinator (YC) has scaled back its focus on emerging markets, African YC alumni are stepping up. They're launching local accelerators to support startups in the region.

Making AI Personal

WaveForms AI, led by Alexis Conneau, is working on creating more personable audio large language models. Inspired by the movie Her, the company is committed to avoiding the dystopian scenarios often depicted in AI narratives.

Automattic Acquires WPAI

Automattic, the company behind WordPress, has acquired WPAI, an AI solutions startup. The WPAI team will spearhead AI advancements within WordPress.

Key Fundraising Highlights

As the year winds down, notable funding rounds showcase diverse investments across industries and regions:

Archer Aviation ($430M)

The VTOL aircraft maker secured $430 million, bringing its total funding to nearly $2 billion. It also partnered with Anduril to develop defense-focused aircraft.

Upvest (€100M)

Berlin’s Upvest, which provides a stock-trading API for European fintech firms, raised a $105 million Series C round led by Hedosophia.

Anybotics ($60M)

The Swiss robotics startup, known for industrial quadruped robots, added $60 million to its Series B funding to fuel U.S. expansion.

Flare ($30M)

The Canadian threat exposure management company raised $30 million in Series B funding. Flare aims to help SMBs combat rising malware threats.

Aqemia ($38M)

The French AI-powered drug discovery firm raised its second round of the year to grow its team and establish a London office.

Numia ($3.5M)

Argentina’s Numia, which integrates offline and online customer data, closed a $3.5 million seed round. The profitable startup is raising capital for strategic expansion.

Venture Capital Updates

OpenAI Startup Fund ($44M)

The fund raised $44 million through its fifth special-purpose vehicle, with support from Microsoft and other OpenAI partners.

Dimension Capital ($500M)

This oversubscribed fund will invest in tech and life sciences, including AI biotech ventures like Chai Discovery and Enveda Biosciences.

Tiger Global’s Struggles

Tiger Global’s 15th hedge fund, known for its aggressive investment approach, reported significant paper losses exceeding 15%.

A Word of Caution

Mitchell Green, founder of Lead Edge Capital, shared concerns about overvaluation in the VC space. With excessive capital chasing overpriced startups, his firm now leans towards private equity-style control deals instead of traditional VC investments. “Paying 100x or 500x revenue is a recipe for disaster,” he warned.

Stay tuned for next week’s insights, and keep innovating!