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This Week’s Recap
This week brought reassuring signs that dealmaking is still happening on both sides of the table. New unicorns are being minted, and more capital is flowing into AI, but deals are also coming from some unexpected directions.
Most Interesting Startup Stories from the Week
AI News Galore
AI news was plentiful this week, but also varied, from large and small M&As to new launches.
- Typeface, a generative AI unicorn, purchased two companies to expand its enterprise offering:
- Treat, a New York City-based company that uses AI to create personalized photo products.
- Narrato, an Australian AI-powered content creation and management platform.
- Workday acquired Evisort, an AI-powered contract management platform. The companies didn’t disclose the price tag, but Evisort had raised $155.6 million in capital and debt.
FinOps on the Rise
- IBMAcquired Kubecost, a Kubernetes cost optimization startup. This is another sign of the ongoing rise of FinOps, which may also be boosted by the need to lessen the cost and impact of GenAI.
Social AI: A New Social Network with a Twist
- Recently launched SocialAI is a social network with a big twist—it is filled with bots, and that’s on purpose. Founder Michael Sayman told TechCrunch that his goal was for users to be able to bounce ideas off a diverse community of AIs.
Most Interesting Fundraises This Week
Flying Solo: Quick Commerce App Flink
- Quick commerce app Flink raised $150 million, including $115 million in equity. The near-unicorn was once an acquisition target of competitors but is now seeking to forge its own path, with a focus on Germany and the Netherlands.
On Alert: Intezer
- New York-based startup Intezer raised $33 million to make sure security teams aren’t overwhelmed by alerts. Using AI, the startup helps them with not only triaging but also with investigation, which it does much faster than a human would, CEO Itai Tevet said.
Getting Permits: GreenLitera
- NYC-based GreenLitera raised a $28.5 million Series A round to facilitate construction permitting. Its co-founders don’t come from the construction sector but previously worked at Gopuff, which got its own taste of dealing with permits when it tried to launch a ghost kitchen network across the U.S.
Tailwinds: Armenian B2B E-commerce Platform Arara
- Armenian B2B e-commerce platform Arara raised $10 million in funding. The startup plans to use the funds to expand its operations and improve its product offerings.
Most Interesting IPOs Coming Up
Here are all the IPOs reported to be in the works for 2025:
- Cloudflare
- Peloton Interactive
- Zenefits
Related Stories
Here are some other stories that caught our attention this week:
- Apple reportedly launching a new event invite feature code-named Confetti
- Google’s X spins out Heritable Agriculture, a startup using AI to improve crop yield
- Venture debt lenders will play a big role in fire sales and startup shutdowns this year, experts say
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