Welcome to Startups Weekly \u2014 your weekly recap of everything you can\u2019t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday?<\/em> Sign up here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The aftermath of DeepSeek\u2019s launch<\/a> was arguably the biggest tech story of the week, especially for anyone keeping a close eye on public markets. But private companies, too, made headlines.<\/p>\n In startup land, even a small profit is newsworthy and could lead to tomorrow\u2019s IPOs. In the meantime, we look at an M&A and some mission-driven startups fighting fire.<\/p>\n Scooting along<\/strong>: Swedish shared micromobility startup Voi reported its first profitable year<\/a>. While modestly cash-positive, these 2024 results put the scooter and e-bike company in a better position to explore an IPO in upcoming years.<\/p>\n Merging humanoids<\/strong>: OpenAI-backed Norwegian robotics startup 1X acquired Kind Humanoid<\/a>, whose three-person team had started working with high-profile designer Yves B\u00e9har in 2024.<\/p>\n On track<\/strong>: French health insurance startup Alan revealed that it generated approximately $525 million in revenue<\/a> in 2024 and confirmed its goal to reach profitability by 2026.<\/p>\n Firefighters<\/strong>: In the aftermath of Southern California\u2019s recent devastating fires, TechCrunch\u2019s Tim De Chant rounded up startups that help measure and mitigate wildfire risk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some significant rounds were announced this week, but perhaps even more interestingly, we saw some sizable valuation increases.<\/p>\n Hot like fusion<\/strong>: Nuclear startup Helion raised a $425 million Series F round of funding<\/a> to help build a fusion reactor for Microsoft. This new round is smaller than the previous one, but valuation increased to $5.245 billion.<\/p>\n Perking up<\/strong>: Barcelona-based corporate travel management platform TravelPerk closed a $200 million Series E round of funding at a $2.7 billion valuation<\/a> \u2014 almost twice its previous $1.4 billion valuation.<\/p>\n Quantum race<\/strong>: With $104 million in Series B funding<\/a>, French startup Alice & Bob secured one of the larger rounds for a quantum computing startup in Europe.<\/p>\n AI against cancer<\/strong>: Quibim, a Spanish startup that\u2019s developing AI models for medical imaging, raised a $50 million Series A round of funding<\/a> to double down on its U.S. expansion plans. Its flagship product, QP-Prostate, focuses on prostate cancer detection.<\/p>\n Challenging Autodesk<\/strong>: Motif, a startup developing architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software, secured $46 million<\/a> in seed and Series A funding to challenge its founders\u2019 former employer, Autodesk, with a next-generation design platform for buildings.<\/p>\n Bigger target<\/strong>: Regulatory filing revealed that 8VC, the Austin-based VC firm led by Palantir founder Joe Lonsdale, is hoping to raise around $1 billion<\/a> for its sixth fund. Its previous flagship vehicle closed at $880 million in 2023.<\/p>\n Taking it to 11: <\/strong>ElevenLabs, which works in the AI audio field, announced that it raised $180 million in a Series C round<\/a>, valuing the company at $3.3 billion post-money. Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ Growth are co-leading investment.<\/p>\n Apologies for ending on a negative note, but data suggests that 2025 will be another brutal year of startup wind-downs<\/a>. However, AngelList CEO Avlok Kohli provided a more positive outlook, noting that these figures \u201care still very low relative to the number of companies that were funded across both years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMost interesting startup stories from the week<\/h2>\n
Most interesting VC and funding news this week<\/h2>\n
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Last <\/strong>but not least<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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