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The week after Thanksgiving is usually full of announcements, and this year was no exception. Blame it on the holiday season, but you could even say that some funding round announcements were really heartwarming.
This week's most interesting startup stories
Image credit: Ladder
This week brought new companies to closely track, salary insights, a slew of YC alumni, and more.
New page: Three members of Google's NotebookLM team have left the company to follow in the footsteps of AI pioneer François Cholet and found their own startup.
Salary disparity: Kruze Consulting, a CPA firm specializing in venture-backed startups, shared insights on average salaries for early-stage employees and confirmed that the Bay Area continues to maintain high numbers. There, very senior engineers enter seed startups and their salaries range from $180,000 to $235,000, compared to $160,000 to $210,000 in other fields.
Arm wrestling: Ladder, the fitness startup that recently raised $105 million in Series B funding, points out the similarities between its strength training app and Peloton's new Strength+ app, and uses it for its own marketing and advertising. I turned it into an opportunity.
Back IRL: As announced, Y Combinator's latest demo day for startups in the Fall 2024 class was held in person.
This week's most interesting fundraisers
Image credit: Heirloom Carbon
This week we have funding news for several startups that are tackling big problems, one of which is allegedly making popcorn.
Clean atmosphere: Heirloom Carbon secures $150 million in Series B funding to help scale its carbon capture technology.
Heart Health: Cardiovascular imaging startup Cleerly applies AI to detect coronary artery disease early and receives $106 million in Series C extension round to continue working towards this mission has been procured.
Fighting cancer: Orakl Oncology, a French research spin-off that combines data and biology to bring new medicines to cancer patients, is funded by non-dilutive funding from Bpifrance and recently by European VC fund Singular. The company has raised nearly €15 million to date, including an equity round led by .
Firefighting: Named after Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, Firedome, a startup that uses flame retardant-filled projectiles to stop wildfires, has a pre-seed round led by Third Sphere and Gravity Climate raised $3 million.
Popcorn time: Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner are looking to raise $10 million for consumer startup Khloud, rumored to be a protein popcorn brand, according to an SEC filing.
This week's most interesting VC and fund news
Image credit: Omri Caspi
Scoring again: Former NBA athlete Omri Casspi has raised $60 million for Swish Ventures, a new venture fund backing cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI startups. The Israeli player previously launched a $36 million fund, Sheva Capital, but its investment period has ended.
Initial public offerings: Dutch investment group Prosus sees five potential IPOs from its Indian portfolio in the next 18 months. This will represent a significant share of India's 20 startups aiming to go public in 2025.
Funding timing: French venture capital firm Daphni, in collaboration with partners, launches Time4, a fund with a mission of investing in entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds and impactful projects, with a target amount of €100 million. I launched it.
Last but not least
Image credit: Simone Viani/Unsplash / Unsplash
Voyager Ventures investment director Leonardo Bunchik and other climate technology investors are cautiously optimistic about the policy changes the second Trump administration is considering. According to TechCrunch, these are not universally detrimental to the sector, and some may even benefit climate change technologies.