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This week has seen encouraging signs that deal-making is still happening on both sides: new unicorns are being born and more capital is flowing into AI, but deals are also happening from unexpected quarters.
This week's most interesting startup stories
Image credit: Friendly Apps
There was a wealth of AI news this week, ranging from M&A both large and small to new product launches.
AI Portfolio: Generative AI unicorn Typeface has acquired two companies to expand its enterprise offerings: New York City-based Treat, which uses AI to create personalized photo products, and Narrato, an Australian AI-powered content creation and management platform.
AI is back: Global HR company Workday has further expanded its AI-related acquisition slate with the acquisition of AI-powered contract management platform Evisort. The companies did not disclose the purchase price, but Evisort raised $155.6 million in equity and debt.
FinOps reigns supreme: IBM has acquired Kubecost, a Kubernetes cost optimization startup that, as the name suggests, is another sign of the continued rise of FinOps, which may also be driven by the need to reduce the cost and impact of GenAI.
Just you: The recently launched SocialAI is a social network with a big twist. It's full of bots, and that's on purpose. The goal is to enable users to exchange ideas with a diverse AI community, founder Michael Sayman told TechCrunch.
Most interesting fundraising this week
Image credit: Flink
It's been a busy week on the deal front, with some capital flowing to areas and places you wouldn't necessarily expect.
Running alone: Quick commerce app Flink raised $150 million, including $115 million in equity. Once a takeover target for competitors, the near-unicorn is now focused on Germany and the Netherlands and looking to carve its own path.
Stay alert: Intezer, a New York-based startup, has raised $33 million to help security teams avoid being overwhelmed by alerts. The startup uses AI to help with investigations as well as triage, and can do so much faster than a human could, said CEO Itai Tevet.
Obtaining permits: New York-based GreenLite raised $28.5 million in a Series A round to make it easier to obtain building permits. The co-founders aren't from the construction industry, but they previously worked at Gopuff, which had experience obtaining permits when it tried to launch a network of ghost kitchens across the US.
Tailwind: Armenian B2B SaaS startup EasyDMARC raised $20 million in Series A funding to simplify email security and authentication. The company is driving adoption of a technology standard that Google and Yahoo will soon make mandatory for bulk email senders.
This week's most interesting VC and fund news
Image credit: Raja Ghawi and Clelia Warburg Peters / Era Ventures
Acceleration: At Dreamforce, Salesforce Ventures announced that its San Francisco-based AI fund is doubling in size again to $1 billion, a significant acceleration from the total of $5 billion it put in over its first 15 years.
Decacorn Fund: Insights Partners is nearing a massive $10 billion raise for its 13th fund, according to the Financial Times, which also reports on the recent sales of Insight portfolio companies Own and Recorded Future.
Builders: Proptech venture firm Era Ventures has raised $88 million for its first fund, which will invest in startups from seed to Series B. The firm's portfolio includes Honey Homes, a subscription service for handymen, which has raised $21.35 million in venture funding to date.
Last but not least
Image credit: Peter Dazeley / Getty Images
In a recent episode of the Equity podcast, Ashraf Hebela, head of startup banking at JP Morgan, spoke about the recent Startup Insights report and what it will take to create a unicorn in 2024. He also touched on the hot topic of “founder mode.”