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 Sometimes problems are just that: problems. But often, they are also fodder. This week brought us a mix of startups facing adversity, sometimes of their own doing, and others that are thriving.<\/p>\n Some startups racked up revenue and contracts; others racked up lawsuits.<\/p>\n Ramping up<\/strong>: Fintech startup Ramp more than doubled its annualized revenue<\/a> to $700 million. In a recent secondary share sale, it also nearly doubled its valuation<\/a> to $13 billion.<\/p>\n Bang a gong<\/strong>: Revenue prediction startup Gong surpassed $300 million in annualized revenue<\/a>, putting the AI company on the path to a potential IPO.<\/p>\n Mach speed<\/strong>: Mach Industries, a defense tech startup backed by Sequoia, landed a contract with the U.S. Army<\/a> and has plans for its first factory, its 21-year-old founder Ethan Thornton said.<\/p>\n Boomerang<\/strong>: After years of controversy, including a now-settled legal battle, Ryan Breslow is once again the CEO of Bolt<\/a>, the fintech company he founded, which was once valued at $11 billion.<\/p>\n One lawsuit<\/strong>: Passes, a direct-to-fan monetization platform for creators that raised a $40 million Series A led by Bond Capital in 2024, has been sued<\/a> for allegedly distributing child sexual abuse material.<\/p>\n Another lawsuit<\/strong>: <\/strong>One board member of climate-friendly fintech startup Aspiration plead guilty to wire fraud<\/a> and one co-founder was arrested for allegedly conspiring to defraud investors, according to a federal criminal complaint.<\/p>\n Several startups announced large rounds this week \u2014 in AI as usual, but also in different categories that help others navigate hairy situations.<\/p>\n AI maker<\/strong>: Anthropic raised a $3.5 billion Series E<\/a> led by Lightspeed Venture Partners at a $61.5 billion post-money valuation.<\/p>\n AI partner<\/strong>: Turing, which contributes to the building of LLMs, raised a $111 million Series E<\/a> led by Malaysia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad at a $2.2 billion valuation.<\/p>\n HR competition<\/strong>: Indian HR unicorn Darwinbox raised $140 million<\/a> to expand internationally and challenge competitors like Deel.<\/p>\n Counter drones<\/strong>: U.S. defense tech startup Epirus raised a $250 million Series D<\/a> to counter drone swarms. Germany-based Alpine Eagle secured around $10.96 million in funding<\/a> for its airborne solution to the same problem.<\/p>\n Avoiding volatility<\/strong>: Tel Aviv-based startup Grain emerged from stealth with $50 million in funding<\/a> to help businesses hedge against FX volatility.<\/p>\n Navigating tariffs<\/strong>: With cross-border trading barriers in the spotlight, Swap raised $40 million<\/a> to build tools that help merchants deal with tariffs and other hurdles.<\/p>\n Avoiding chemo<\/strong>: New York-based startup Ataraxis AI raised a $20.4 million Series A<\/a> to predict the cancer outcome of individual patients and whether chemo can be avoided.<\/p>\n Larger fund<\/strong>: Thirty-year-old firm Foundation Capital, an early backer of Solana and Cerebras, raised an 11th flagship fund of $600 million<\/a> \u2014 20% more than its predecessor.<\/p>\n Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, has no patience for growth at all costs and what he calls the \u201crot economy,\u201d but don\u2019t mistake this for tech hate. In a recent episode of the Equity podcast, he argued there\u2019s an opportunity for startups<\/a> to do better than Big Tech in putting users first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMost interesting startup stories from the week<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Most interesting VC and funding news this week<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Last but not least<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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