Welcome to Startups Weekly – your weekly roundup of all things startups. This week was buzzing with news, probably because it’s the last “real” week of 2024. So, it’s time to say goodbye for now and see you in 2025!
The week brought us some interesting startup stories:
Clean capital: Over 20 VC firms, many focusing on defense tech, signed the Clean Capital Certification, pledging not to take money from U.S. geopolitical adversaries like China and Russia.
Have-nots: The AI hype is skewing VC data, making it harder for non-AI startups to raise funds for Series B rounds.
Big deal with caveats: Nuclear startup Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, signed a massive agreement with data center operator Switch pending approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
AI productivity: Grammarly is acquiring startup Coda to broaden its reach, with Coda’s CEO taking over as Grammarly’s new CEO.
On the funding front, we saw some exciting fundraises:
Mammoth pre-IPO round: Databricks raised $10 billion, marking one of the largest VC rounds in history.
Africa’s latest unicorn: South African fintech Tyme Group raised a $250 million Series D round.
Ring maker: Finnish startup Oura raised $200 million in a Series D round.
Travel is back: Canadian startup Hostaway, focusing on vacation rental software, raised $365 million.
Momentum for accessibility: Evinced raised $55 million in a Series C round for expanding into Europe.
Fast funding: San Francisco-based AI startup Decart secured $32 million shortly after coming out of stealth.
Find the money: Turkish startup Agave Games raised an $18 million Series A round for team expansion and new titles.
In VC and fund news:
Pendulum swing: Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners merged with Pendulum Opportunities to form MarcyPen Capital Partners.
Going backstage: Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton is moving to an advisory role, with 360 Venture Collective taking a stake in Backstage’s management entity.
Vote of confidence: G2 Venture Partners is raising $750 million for a third fund focusing on climate and sustainability startups.
And finally, wrapping up with the 51 most disruptive startups of 2024 – a list compiled by the TechCrunch team. Check it out and happy holidays!
