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There are only a few days left in the year, and even with a short work week in the US due to Thanksgiving, there's been plenty of startup news to wrap up since last Friday. Oh, and by the way, thanks for reading.
This week's most interesting startup stories
Image credit: J Studios
If you're looking for some weekend reading, here are some recent insights worth digging into.
From time to time: The timing of ServiceTitan's IPO may not be entirely due to market conditions. Details indicate that the software company was poised for an initial public offering, and VCs told TechCrunch that an initial public offering is possible.
Salary Benchmark: The U.S. government's contract database USASpending.gov reveals the total compensation defense technology startup Anduril pays its top employees. There are some technicalities to breaking it down by year, but the gist is that it pays very well.
Newcomer: Scaling up start-ups is a key priority of the European Union's new top team, which includes three MEPs responsible for key technology policy areas. This includes Ekaterina Zakharieva, who will become the EU's Commissioner for Emerging Research and Innovation.
Attack of the Clones: It's not just AI code editors: Y Combinator often backs startups developing similar products, a study by data analytics startup Deckmatch found. The study also revealed other interesting insights into what types of startups YC tends to accept.
This week's most interesting fundraisers
Image credit: Eyewa
Fundraising season isn't over yet, with deals of all sizes announced this week.
DTC Eyewear: Eyewa, which sells a wide range of eyewear products through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce and retail platform in five markets in the Middle East, has secured $100 million in a Series C round led by General Atlantic.
Cradle of Love: Cradle, a startup applying AI to protein design, has raised $73 million to build its lab and team. Founded in 2022, it previously raised a $24 million Series A round in 2023.
Shopify for games: Israeli startup Appcharge, which sees itself as a kind of “Shopify” for games and offers more monetization options to game developers, has raised $26 million. The round was led by Nordic VC Creandum and valued at $100 million.
Voice Cloning: Clone voices on command Y Combinator alumnus PlayAI raises $21 million seed round co-led by 500 Startups and Kindred Ventures to invest in generative AI voice models and voice agent platform completed.
Goodbye, Dr. Google: Roon has raised a $15 million round co-led by Forerunner Ventures and Firstmark, with participation from past investors Sequoia Capital and TMV. The health tech startup, currently valued at $68 million, aims to replace “Doctor Google” with video-based Q&A with doctors.
This week's most interesting VC and fund news
Image credit: Patrick McDermott / Contributor / Getty Images
Building a legacy: Basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo started a VC firm. The company will reportedly be called “Build Your Legacy Ventures” and will focus on investments in sports and entertainment.
Cyber Accelerator: Early-stage fund Cleo Capital announced the launch of a cybersecurity accelerator to support up to 10 pre-seed and seed startups. They will each receive $250,000 in exchange for 7% equity and participation in this 12-week remote program.
Last but not least
Image credit: abzee / Getty Images
Latin American fintech is worth watching in 2025, with 2024 numbers showing the market is starting to turn around. “I think this region is underfunded due to the financial crisis. [post] It’s a 2021 correction,” Mike Packer, partner at QED Investors, told TechCrunch.