Friday, March 28, 2025

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can't miss from the world of startups.

This week reminded us that creative accounting doesn't only happen in Hollywood. Some hopes were dashed, but startups are delivering on all sorts of promises, from nuclear reactors to small EVs.

Most interesting startup stories from the week

Image Credits: Hasan Sukkar

The startup news this week was very much a mixed bag, with one public exit finalized and another delayed and a flurry of other developments, both promising and disappointing.

Churn concerns: TechCrunch learned that several companies with logos on 11x's website were not actual customers of the a16z- and Benchmark-backed startup. Sources also said used 11x used creative ways to calculate annual recurring revenue.

Further delays: Cerebras Systems saw its IPO delayed again. The AI chipmaker filed to go public in 2024, but its national security review has been dragging on.

Nuclear: Terrestrial Energy, a U.S. nuclear startup that develops small modular reactors, went public via SPAC and is expecting to net $280 million. Meanwhile, Bill Gates-backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems hit a key milestone to construct its demonstration reactor.

Not enough: Vertical farming company Plenty filed for bankruptcy after raising nearly $1 billion in funding from investors, including SoftBank Investment Advisers, Walmart, Bezos Expeditions, and Jeff Bezos as an angel investor.

Layoffs: Block, the fintech startup co-founded by Jack Dorsey, laid off 931 people, according to a leaked email. The company, which owns Cash App and Square, already conducted layoffs in 2024.

Rumors: Nvidia is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire Lepton AI, a startup that rents out servers powered by its AI chips. And FuriosaAI, a South Korean startup that makes chips for AI applications, is said to have rejected an $800 million acquisition offer from Meta.

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Most interesting VC and funding news this week

Image Credits: Mercury

From pre-seed to a Series E, here are some rounds that caught our attention this week. Plus, some fresh funding for VCs to invest in new deals.

Hot thermometer: Digital banking startup Mercury raised $300 million in primary and secondary funding, including a Series C led by Sequoia. This also more than doubled its valuation to $3.5 billion post-money.

Valuation bump: Island, a company that makes enterprise browsers, secured $250 million in a Series E led by Coatue that valued the Dallas-based startup at $4.85 billion — a significant valuation bump less than one year after its previous round.

Also: Rivian spun out a new micromobility startup called Also, which already received $105 million from Eclipse Ventures. Its goal is to build small EVs, with a flagship product going into production next year for consumers in the U.S. and Europe.

Automated: Fast-growing Berlin-based workflow automation startup n8n raised $60 million in a round of funding led by Highland Europe, with HV Capital and previous investors Sequoia, Felicis, and Harpoon also participating. Sources said the valuation was close to $270 million.

Ramp for LatAm: Mexico City-based YC alum Mendel raised a $35 million Series B and expects its business to reach profitability by late 2025.

Rugs to riches: Arcade, a generative AI marketplace for designing jewelry, simultaneously announced its $25 million Series A funding round and its expansion to home goods, starting with rugs.

No free labor: Former Outreach CEO Manny Medina launched Paid, a new startup that has already raised $11 million in pre-seed funding to make sure AI agents get paid.

More AI: San Mateo, California-based Emergence Capital closed a $1 billion seventh fund to back B2B companies, with a keen interest in AI.

Blue checks: French VC firm Daphni announced the first closing of its third fund, Daphni Blue, with around $215 million secured out of its overall $270 million target.

Beyond voice: Amazon's Alexa Fund expanded its scope beyond voice startups, with a broader focus on AI investments.

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Last but not least 🔥

A new report showcased the world's 20 hottest open source startups. You can find the full listing and more details here. As you may have guessed, more than half of these have AI at their core.