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This week was low on M&A and IPO news, but if it’s about you, there should still be some drama and, more importantly, some respectable startups being funded.
The most interesting startup story of the week
From frivolous to more serious, there has been no shortage of legal startup development this week.
Clued Up: Startups launches products like “Truely” to catch people using malware apps for viruses, AI, but the startup says it is ready to go a step further with hardware products that are even more difficult to detect.
Siege: Fashion-troubled startup Caastle faces new lawsuits and allegations after its founder is accused of economic misconduct.
Figure: Hot Robotics’ startup figure AI has requested that the ceasefire and assumed letters be sent to at least two brokers operating the secondary market, requesting that the company’s stock be stopped marketing.
Still fighting: Imagle was Belarus’ first startup hub. Its founder is currently in exile, but the Warsaw and Madrid hubs are supported by European institutions.
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Drama Serial: Deal has officially agreed to provide legal documents in a lawsuit launched by rivals waving over alleged spying.
Flaws: The mystical London-based investor is asking a US bankruptcy judge to stop selling EV Startup Canoo’s assets to the CEO, calling it a “flawed” process.
Most Interesting VC and Funding News This Week
If all the startups that announced this week’s funding round meet their goals, the world may be a better place. Additionally, some funds are ready to support even more entrepreneurs.
Net Cast: Cast AI, a startup building tool for optimizing AI and automated task workloads, has raised a $108 million Series C to promote R&D and geographical expansion.
Strong Run: Israeli startup Lightrun helps an AI-enabled observability platform to debug code, locked into a $70 million Series B co-led by new backer Accel along with former investor insight partners.
Legal Tech: Supio is a startup that uses AI to automate data collection and analysis for legal teams, and has raised a $60 million funding round led by Sapphire Ventures.
Bold Vision: Ixi is a Finnish startup hoping to bring autofocus to prescription glasses, raising $36.5 million from the likes of Amazon Alexa funds to work on its first commercial product.
B2B Transaction: San Francisco-based startup Nuvo has raised a $34 million Series A from Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital, a platform that encourages physical goods purchases between businesses.
OmnireTail, which aims to promote B2B e-commerce in Nigeria and West Africa, has raised a $20 million Series A co-led by Norwegian Development Finance Agency Norfund and Nigerian VC firm Timon Capital.
Early detection: Japanese startup Craif, a spin-out from Nagoya University that uses MicroRNA to develop AI-powered early cancer detection software, has raised a $22 million Series C to promote its expansion and R&D.
Ballooning: We secured a $20 million Series B, led by Bold Capital Partners, a VC company founded by Peter Diamandis, near Space Labs, a startup that can have dual-use applications on balloon-based aerial imaging platforms.
Hot:glacier is the startup behind the robot-enabled recycling fleet already deployed in several US cities, and with participation from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund secured a $16 million Series A led by the Ecosystem Integrity Fund.
Unbroken: A sales tax launch for AI, named after Japanese art that fixed broken pottery, Kintsugi raised $15 million from tax technology solutions provider Vertex and $3 million from existing investors with a $150 million monetary valuation, starting from $80 million in November.
No belp: Hoofprint Biome, a startup that reduces methane emissions by changing cattle microbiome, has raised a $15 million Series A led by SOSV.
UK Upside: UK-based VC Voltion investing in Fintech, AI and SaaS startups has launched a new $100 million fund to double its paper.
One: European entrepreneur-centric platform EWOR launches its own “Founder Fellowship” and commits approximately $68 million to the initiative, competing with Harry Stevings Fellowship Project Europe.
Last but not least, it’s important
You may not have heard of Ali Pertvi, but those who know it have. The Iranian-born Harvard graduate has an impressive multi-year track record, spanning the establishment and exit of several startups and early investments in high-tech giants. He currently leads the eight-year-old venture company Neo, whose early funds are working very well.