SignalFires: Weekly Signals, Startups & Deals To Watch Alert

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

Apple — The tech giant is exploring AI-powered search capabilities for Safari, ending its $20B annual partnership with Google. Partnered with Anthropic on an AI-powered "vibe-coding" platform to automate coding in Xcode.

Google — Unveiled a policy roadmap with 15 proposals to support the AI boom by modernizing US power infrastructure. Plans to train 130,000 electrical workers for a 70% workforce increase by 2030.

Nvidia — Developing new chips specifically for compliance in the Chinese market following a U.S. export ban on advanced AI chips.

Palantir — The data analytics and software company’s CEO Alex Karp received a $1.1B pay package, reflecting its strong market position and potential growth trajectory.

Disney Delivers Magic — Disney beats expectations with Disney+ gaining 1.4M subscribers and a 13% increase in domestic parks revenue. Plans for a new Abu Dhabi park.

OpenAI — Launches "OpenAI for Countries," assisting nations in developing AI infrastructure and tailored tools to promote democratic AI principles, expanding the Stargate project.

Microsoft — Is a crucial holdout in OpenAI's restructuring, seeking to ensure its $13.75B investment is secure under the new plans.

Starlink — Starlink has received approval to launch in India, aiming to enter the country's vast internet market within 6-9 months.

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MAKING WAVES

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

Neuralink — The speech restoration device received FDA's "breakthrough" designation, expediting its development for patients with severe speech impairments from ALS and stroke. Also adding new AI features.

Foxconn — The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer reported a 25.54% y-o-y revenue increase in April and expects further growth in Q2 despite the trade climate.

Onsemi — The Arizona-based chipmaker expects Q2 revenue of 1.40B−1.50B, surpassing Wall Street estimates driven by stong demand from EV manufacturers.

FutureHouse — Stealth startup focuses on superintelligent AI agents to enhance scientific discovery. New platform automates workflows with agents for literature search, deep reviews, and chemistry.

Unitree — The leading robotics hardware company has partnered with Reborn to enhance AI in humanoid robots. Utilizing Reborn's Roboverse simulator and extensive human motion datasets.

Don't Die — Bryan Johnson founded a new religion viewing the ”body as God” and aligns AI with human survival to address existential risks, promote community and health practices.

Rove — Founded by Max Morganroth, Rove enables Gen Z to earn airline miles without credit cards by converting shopping points into miles via affiliate marketing.

Real Intent — The real estate startup uses behavioral data & AI agents to predict homeowner transactions, reaching $1M ARR in 6 months with 1000+ zips claimed by top brokerages under its 1AgentPerZip™ model offering exclusive tradeable rights.

[OPEN DEALS] RAISING DOLLARS:

Startups, firms or funds raising capital this week

Thinking Machines Lab — Mira Murati aims to raise $2B for her secretive startup at a $10B valuation, with minimum investments of $50M, and she will retain non-dilutive control.

Foundation — Sankaet Pathak, ex-CEO of Synapse, is raising $100M for his new humanoid robotics startup, aiming for a $1B valuation and to address labor shortages. Synapse was bankrupt in 2024.

Databricks — Databricks is in advanced talks to acquire Neon, a startup known for its serverless PostgreSQL database, for over $1B, aligning with Databricks' strategy to boost its AI capabilities.

IN THE MONEY

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

Massive Deals

Anysphere — The AI coding startup raised $900M at a $9B valuation, led by Thrive and prior investors Andreessen Horowitz and Accel.

Wonder — The parent of Grubhub and Blue Apron secured $600M at over $7B with aims to create a "super app for mealtime."

Rippling — The San Francisco-based workforce management platform raised a $450M Series G round, valuing it at $16.8B. 20K+ customers and $570M in ARR, It also conducted a $200M tender offer for employee liquidity.

Atlas Data Storage — The Twist Bioscience spin-off focused on DNA data storage has raised a $155M seed round. Twist retains a minority stake aiming for adjusted EBITDA breakeven by fiscal 2026.

Statsig — The Seattle-based software testing and analysis tools startup, raised a $100M Series C at a $1.1B valuation after ending acquisition talks with Datadog, amidst competition with Eppo.

Large Deals

Orca AI — The Israeli startup secured a $72.5M Series B to advance its autonomous shipping platform using Starlink and AI to reduce maritime collisions and operational costs, with early defense contracts.

Toloka — Jeff Bezos' firm led a $72M investment in the AI data company, which focuses on leveraging human expertise alongside AI for growth in the U.S. market. Split from Yandex, for operational independence.

Tobin Scientific — Tobin Scientific, focused on life sciences infrastructure, secured $65M to expand storage and logistics and support growth and M&A in pharmaceutical hubs.

Smaller Deals

Recraft — The AI startup focuses on generating brand-compliant images. It raised $30M after outperforming DALL-E and Midjourney. The platform boasts over 4M users and $5M in ARR.

Rainmaker Technology — The CA-based cloud seeding startup raised a $25M Series A led by Lowercarbon Capital to uses drones and weather modeling to enhance agricultural and water supply stability.

Glide — The New York startup focuses on digital transformation for community banks and credit unions. It secured $15M in Series A funding to streamline banking processes, and expand.

Posha — Posha, a countertop robot simplifying meal prep secured $8M to expand its offerings, aiming to become a staple kitchen appliance, akin to microwaves and dishwashers.

EXIT WATCHING

Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

DoorDash — The U.S. delivery service is acquiring U.K. rival Deliveroo for $3.86B to expand in Europe and diversify revenue. Will also purchase SevenRooms for $1.2B to boost its B2B offerings.

OpenAI — Acquired AI-assisted coding tool, Windsurf, for ~$3B to enhance ChatGPT’s coding features amid rising competition. Windsurf was previously valued at $1.25B.

Datadog — Datadog has acquired Eppo, a feature-flagging and experimentation platform, for an estimated $220M to enhance its product analytics and AI capabilities.

Anduril — Defense tech company Anduril acquired Klas to enhance real-time edge computing capabilities for military applications.

Employer.com — The automation company has acquired tax credits fintech startup MainStreet to bolster its business back office solutions. MainStreet was reportedly profitable before the acquisition.

Clay — Clay, a sales automation startup, is offering employees the chance to sell shares at a $1.5B valuation, led by Sequoia. It plans to repeat annually.

Recurly — The subscription management platform has acquired Redfast and Prive to expand into physical goods subscriptions and enhance customer engagement with predictive analytics, aiming to drive revenue growth.

IPO WATCH

Hinge Health — Specializing in digital therapeutics and wearable pain relief devices, it is pursuing an IPO on Nasdaq under ticker HNGE. Reported a 50% revenue increase to $124M and a $17.1M profit in Q1 2025.

CoreWeave — The cloud computing company is seeking $1.5B in debt after a disappointing IPO, having initially aimed for $2.7B. It faces $7.5B debt, interest payments by 2026. In talks with JPMorgan.

THE FUNDING BUZZ

VC & PE Activity To Watch

Bill Gates Foundation — Bill Gates announced his foundation will deplete its assets by 2045, committing to donate 99% of his $107 billion fortune — over $200B.

G42 — UAE-based AI giant, backed by Mubadala, plans a major US expansion by investing tens of billions, establishing a US entity and cutting China ties. Microsoft invested $1.5B in G42.

Coatue Management — Launching a new tech fund targeting high-growth companies, backed by Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell's family offices with a $1B commitment. The fund seeks a minimum investment of $50,000.

Bosch Ventures — The firm has launched a $270M fund targeting North American deep-tech startups with plans to invest in automotive, climate tech, cybersecurity, & gen AI in manufacturing.

Buffett Out — Warren Buffett retires as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at 94 after a 60-year tenure, recommending Greg Abel as successor.

Insight Partners — The New York-based VC firm confirmed that personal data was stolen during a January social engineering cyberattack, affecting employees, LPs.

Benchmark — The U.S. Treasury is reviewing Benchmark's $75M investment in Chinese AI startup Manus due to 2023 investment restrictions despite Manus being incorporated in the Cayman Islands and not developing its own AI models.

Strive — Strive CEO is raising capital to acquire undervalued public companies and convert their treasuries into Bitcoin, marking the start of the BTC Treasury Cycle.

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FOR INVESTORS
Open Deals
Investors– request an intro to startups - invest@techbuzz.ai.

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 invest@techbuzz.ai with your deck.
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FOR EMPLOYERS
Job Candidates

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