WHAT’S INSIDE

• The latest in Tech: FTC v Meta, Medusa, Trade War, Musk v OpenAI, IRS AI

• The biggest startup deals closed this week

• The hottest companies on the rise in tech

• The latest exit deals and companies going public

• The latest VC & PE news and funds raised

TECH IN THE NEWS

Meta in FTC Crosshairs — The Federal Trade Commission escalates its Big Tech crackdown by questioning Zuckerberg in antitrust trial, seeking to unwind Meta's acquisition of Instagram.

Ransomware Threat — FBI and CISA issue alerts about Medusa ransomware's double extortion strategy targeting healthcare and education sectors with crypto ransom demands.

Trade War Tensions Rise — Tech CEOs warns of mounting pressure on tech giants as U.S. trade policies and tariffs create uncertainty in global supply chains.

OpenAI-Musk Trial Fast-Tracked — OpenAI and Elon Musk agreed to an expedited trial over the for-profit transition, with a $40B funding round hanging in balance.

Overhaul On Hold — The IRS suspends its modernization program to evaluate AI solutions for improving tax processing and customer service efficiency.

Texas Tech Boom — OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle plan massive $500B investment in 20 Texas data centers, expected to drive regional real estate growth.

DEALS WE’RE WATCHING
Closed Deals:

MASSIVE DEALS

Flock Safety — The Atlanta–based surveillance technology firm raised $275M at $7.5B from Bedrock , a16z, GreenOaks, Meritech, Matrix, YC and others, also announcing it hit over $300M in ARR.

Celestial AI — The Santa Clara–based startup raised $250M from Fidelity, BlackRock, Maverick, Tiger Global, AMD, Koch, Temasek, and more ****to enhance photonic AI chip connections and compete with Nvidia.

Cybereason — The Boston cybersec startup raised $120M at a valuation drop from $5B to $300–$400M. SoftBank and Liberty Strategic Capital invested

Mesh — The crypto payments network raised $82M in Series B funding, primarily using PayPal USD stablecoin, to enhance global transactions and conversions for users and merchants. Paradigm, Consensys, PayPal and others invested.

Ditto — The San Francisco–based edge computing startup raised $82M in Series B funding from Sequoia, a16z, and Wing VC to enhance data processing for aviation, AI and more.

Nirvana — The Redwood City–based AI trucking insurance startup raised $80M Series C at an $830M from Lightspeed, General Catalyst, Valor Equity, and Caffeinated.

Omni Analytics — The US–based BI startup secured a $69M Series B led by ICONIQ with input from Lightspeed, and Felicis, aiming to triple revenue to $30M by 2025.

LARGE DEALS

Vori Health — The Nashville healthcare startup raised $53M Series B to enhance its physician-led musculoskeletal care, showing an 800% revenue increase and 91.6% pain improvement rate, to drive value-based care innovations.

Zolve — India/US–based neobank raised $51M equity plus $200M debt from DST Global, Tiger Global, and Alkeon Capital. It seeks to expand to Canada, UK, Australia.

Norm Ai — The US–based compliance AI startup raised $48M to build AI agents that transform regulations into automated solutions. Backers included Battery Ventures, a16z, and TCV.

Bria — The Tel Aviv–based visual gen AI startup raised $40M in Series B from Insight, Bessemer, and MizMaa Ventures, to enhance its attribution engine to include music, video, and text.

Scimplify — The Indian/US agtech startup raised $40M from Nexus, Accel, and M12 to boost access to specialty chemicals for manufacturers in pharma and agriculture.

360 Privacy — Secured a $36M investment from FTV Capital to enhance digital executive protection services, expanding teams and tech amid rising cyber threats.

Motivity — Five Elms Capital invested $27M in the company to boost AI-driven product innovation and expand support for ABA providers, aiming to enhance clinical outcomes for children with autism.

SMALLER DEALS

OpusClip — The San Francisco–based AI video editing startup raised $20M from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 to democratize video creation.

Worth — The AI-powered underwriting fintech founded by sibling entrepreneurs raised $20M to automate small business credit checks through its Equifax partnership, serving 25+ clients with plans for a 2026 credit score launch.

Onyx — The US based open source enterprise search tool secured $10M to enhance features and expand its team, with major clients like Netflix driving growth and scalability in a competitive market.

QuamCore — The Israeli/US quantum computing startup secured a $9M seed to develop a scalable 1 million qubit quantum computer, addressing heat management and system complexity for practical industry applications.

Thanks — The NYC-based post-purchase interactions-focused ad network secured $2.6M in seed funding from Peak XV, Founder Collective, and Side Stage. It plans to enhance its approach by partnering with eBay and Zip to redefine digital advertising.

Nunu AI — The Swiss gaming QA startup raised a $6M seed to expand its AI testing tech beyond gaming. Key backers included EQT, Supercell, and a16z.

Companies to Watch:

Browser Use — The AI startup behind this tool that makes website accessible to AI agents, saw downloads surge from 5,000 to 28,000 p/day within a week. The market for AI agents is projected to reach $42B by 2029.

Manus AI — Partnered with Alibaba's Qwen team to enhance AI capabilities, aiming to compete with OpenAI and DeepSeek by leveraging Qwen's open-source models to boost user base and service.

Applied Intuition — In talks to raise funding at a $15B valuation, doubling its previous value, supported by $400M ARR. Provides simulation software for autonomous vehicle testing.

Chainguard — In talks to raise $350M led by Kleiner Perkins, potentially raising its valuation to $3.5B from $1.1B after a $140M Series C. Existing investors include Amplify and Sequoia Capital.

Supabase — Supabase, a Google Firebase rival, with 450K+ registered devs on its tool, is reportedly raising over $100M led by Accel, valuing it at $2B.

DEALS WE’RE WATCHING
The Funding Buzz 

ICBC — Launched an $11 billion technology innovation fund to support hard technology sectors like semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, transforming policies into actions amid geopolitical tensions.

Bessemer Venture Partners — Raised $350M for its second India fund to invest in AI-enabled businesses, fintechs, and direct-to-consumer brands, focusing on early-stage startups in India.

Leitmotif — Backed by Volkswagen with a $300M investment, this new VC firm funds decarbonization startups, including EVs and nuclear fusion, linking European industry with U.S. innovation.

Graham & Walker — Seattle VC firm is raising a $15M second fund following their $10M first fund in 2021, to invest in early-stage tech companies like Tokki and Planette.

Vento — The Italian VC firm Launched a €75M fund to support Italian startup founders globally, aiming to boost Italy's tech ecosystem.

Founders' Co-op — The Seattle VC firm led by Chris DeVore and Aviel Ginzburg, is raising a new fund focused on early stage startups across the Pacific Northwest.

Exit Watch:

Scopely-Niantic — Saudi Firm Scopely is acquiring Niantic's gaming division, including Pokémon Go, for $3.5B, enabling Niantic to focus on real-world 3D maps via Niantic Spatial; all game employees will join Scopely.

ServiceNow — ServiceNow is acquiring Moveworks for $2.85B to boost its AI capabilities, integrating Moveworks' automation tools with its AI-driven solutions; closing expected in H2 2025.

Rocket Companies — Rocket Companies is acquiring Redfin for $1.75B in an all-stock deal to combine home search and financing; Redfin's CEO will continue to lead, pending shareholder approval in Q3 2025.

Hinge Health — Healthcare startup Hinge Health has filed for an IPO, reporting $390M revenue for 2024 with 33% growth, aiming to expand its client base and reduce costs, potentially encouraging more healthcare IPOs.

AdHawk — Google is finalizing a $100M acquisition of AdHawk, a startup specializing in ultra-low-power eye tracking tech for headsets and glasses, enhancing future Android XR and potential AR glasses.

Wonder — Wonder has acquired Tastemade for $90M to enhance its food delivery app by integrating content production and advertising, following acquisitions of Blue Apron and Grubhub.