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This week we have confirmed that trading could occur in a troubled world, but price considerations and adjustments are now part of the photo.
The most interesting startup story of the week
Uncertain times are rarely good for M&AS. This raises the fear that tariff disruption could undermine the outlook for startup exits in 2025. But don’t expect a full trading drought, as confirmed in this week’s news.
Price Awareness: Anysphere, the company behind the cursor, is growing so fast that the acquisition by Openai is reportedly off the table. It has not yet been confirmed whether Openai will acquire Windsurf instead, but competition between the two AI coding assistant rivals is intensifying.
Airplane View: DataDog has acquired AI-powered data observability startup metaprene. The terms of transactions have not been disclosed.
Hired: Eric Trenberg became the latest partner of A16Z after the VC company hired him and his podcast network, Turpentine.
Downsize: Ather Energy, an Indian EV startup that is about to publish, has trimmed its IPO size and target ratings, citing market conditions.
Most Interesting VC and Funding News This Week
This week we have confirmed that the atmosphere coding is as hot as possible, but startups from several other sectors have also raised funds. Plus, there is still some funds to be deployed in emerging markets.
Vibe Coding: Supabase is the launch of an open source database that benefits from Vibe Coding Tools hype, raising a $200 million Series D at a $900 million valuation of $200 million just seven months after the C round.
Adaptive Computer is a vibe coding startup that distinguishes itself from its own way by focusing on non-programmers from day one, and raised funds, a $7 million seed round led by PebbleBed.
Too many chats: ManyChat has raised a $140 million Series B, led by Summit Partners, providing AI-enabled tools to manage and automate conversations across multiple messaging channels.
Goal Flaws: Endor Labs is a startup building tools to scan code generated by AI for vulnerabilities, locking the $93 million Series B round led by DFJ Growth.
Sovereign AI: Noxtua, a Berlin-based legal AI startup previously known as Xayn, has raised a $92.2 million Series B following the development of sovereign AI for legal use cases such as drafting legal documents.
Shear Money: Fintech API Brokerage Startup Alpaca has expanded internationally with the $52 million Series C.
Virtual CISO: Cynomi, a London- and Tel Aviv-based startup that provides AI-powered “virtual CISOs” to SMBS, has raised a $37 million Series B co-led by Insight Partners and Antée Capital.
Super Power: After gathering a waitlist of 150,000 people, health tech startup SuperPower has been released and announced it has raised a $30 million Series A backed by several celebrities.
Debt Finance: Froda, a Swedish fintech startup that developed SMBS’s debt finance platform, has secured a $22.7 million Series B, led by Swedish fund Incore Invest.
Cheat Code: Changin “Roy” Lee, a 21-year-old Colombian student who was suspended after developing a fraudulent tool for job interviews, has raised $5.3 million in seed funding for his startup, which provides AI tools to “check everything.”
Copy Paste: Supported by over 75 unicorn founders and VCS, Fluent Ventures distributes $40 million to international founders, replicating a proven business model in emerging markets.
Last but not least, it’s important
In case you missed it, TechStars recently updated its standard trading. This invests $220,000 in a startup that enters a three-month program. This is $100,000 more than before, and there are new trading terms that mirror the Y-combinator.