Startups Weekly Recap: Rapid Growth and Investment Highlights

Startups Weekly covers rapid advancements in startups this week, particularly in defense tech and AI. Wix acquired Base44 for $80 million, while Ramp’s valuation jumped to $16 billion. Key funding developments involve significant investments in various sectors, highlighting the continuous shifts in the startup ecosystem.

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Things are heating up in the world of startups. Some companies have gained significant value almost overnight, and the defense tech sector is particularly buzzing right now. A lot of the buzz is coming from the Y Combinator ecosystem, with notable happenings from Israel—often hailed as the “Start-Up Nation.”

In a surprise move, no-code website-building platform Wix has snatched up a mere six-month-old vibe-coding startup called Base44 for a whopping $80 million. Notably, both companies hail from Israel. Another rapid success story is Ramp, whose valuation soared to $16 billion after a Series E fundraising round, up from $13 billion earlier this year.

Meta’s ongoing $14.3 billion push to acquire Scale AI is stirring more than just interest. Recent developments point towards a potential dividend for Scale AI’s stakeholders, but there’s a twist: OpenAI has decided to drop Scale AI as a data provider, complicating the relationship between these giants. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense has handed OpenAI a contract of up to $200 million, which might create further strains between OpenAI and Microsoft.

For those who missed YC’s Spring 2025 Demo Day, don’t worry. We’ve rounded up 11 standout startups that are generating meaningful investor interest. However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows; there was a notorious after-party for the YC Demo Day that the police shut down, involving the AI startup Cluely. As its CEO quipped to TechCrunch, it was “the most legendary party that never happened.”

Funding news this week was largely driven by advancements in defense tech and AI. Applied Intuition, which focuses on software for autonomous vehicles, raised an impressive $600 million Series F at a valuation of $15 billion. Was that your cue to take notice?

In other exciting news, the Munich-based company Helsing attracted a massive €600 million investment led by Spotify’s founder Daniel Ek’s firm, putting its valuation at €12 billion.

Also, a nod to Israeli observability startup Coralogix, which became a unicorn by closing a $115 million Series E, planning to double its workforce in India where a good chunk of its team is based. Mach Industries, another new player in defense tech, confirmed that it raised $100 million and landed at a $470 million valuation.

Notably, Aspora, previously known as Vance, has completed a $50 million Series B funding for its remittance services for the Indian diaspora, now pegged at a $500 million valuation. Sword Health, on its end, is shaking things up in digital health after raising $40 million in a round led by General Catalyst and has decided to postpone its IPO plans until after 2028.

Moreover, Multiplier Holdings is joining the trend of acquiring legacy businesses and has raised $27.5 million across seed and Series A funding. Grifin, a unique startup, helps users buy stock in the brands they love, like Walmart, and secured $11 million in Series A funding.

Polar, a Swedish payment infrastructure platform, is catching eyes with a recent $10 million seed round led by Accel. And let’s not forget the global venture capital firm Endeavor Catalyst, aiming to raise $300 million for its biggest fund yet, focusing on speedy startups in emerging markets.

Wrapping up, Alexa von Tobel, an early investor in Chime who has transitioned to VC, is bubbling with excitement about what she calls Fintech 3.0. “The next wave of innovation won’t come from superficial tweaks but from fundamental deep product reinvention,” she shared with TechCrunch. It’s quite clear the startup landscape is dynamic and evolving at a breakneck speed—stay tuned!

This week’s edition of Startups Weekly highlighted rapid growth in various startups, particularly in defense tech and AI. Significant acquisitions and investments are reshaping the landscape, from Wix’s purchase of Base44 to Ramp’s soaring valuation. Additionally, developments involving Meta and OpenAI reveal complex dance dynamics between startups and major players. As VC activity thrives, expect to see more innovations, especially in Fintech and other emerging sectors, defining the future of tech.

Original Source: techcrunch.com