Shortly after Alphabet, Google’s parent company, abandoned its plans to acquire HubSpot, the tech giant shifted focus to another significant acquisition. Google is in advanced discussions to purchase Wiz, a cloud security startup, for $23 billion. Despite being only four years old, Wiz has already reached $500 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). This offer surpasses Wiz’s last valuation of $12 billion, but sources indicate only a 50% chance the deal will go through, as the company may prefer to pursue an IPO.
SoftBank Acquires Graphcore
SoftBank is making moves in the AI sector with its acquisition of Graphcore, a UK-based AI chipmaker once seen as a competitor to Nvidia. Although Graphcore’s processors have not matched Nvidia’s popularity, SoftBank aims to leverage this acquisition to advance its AI initiatives.
Deel’s M&A Spree Continues
Payroll provider Deel has been on an acquisition spree, recently acquiring Hofy, a startup that supplies and manages equipment for remote workers, for over $100 million. Hofy had previously raised $30.2 million in venture capital funding.
HeadSpin’s Downfall and Acquisition
HeadSpin, once heralded as a rapidly scaling software company, saw its valuation plummet from $1.1 billion in 2020 after its founder was convicted of fraud. Recently, private equity firm PartnerOne acquired HeadSpin for just $28 million, leaving most former employees with worthless options.
Keely Cat-Wells’ Inclusive Job Platform
Disability activist Keely Cat-Wells launched Making Space, a talent acquisition platform designed for disabled workers. Despite investment challenges, Cat-Wells secured a $2 million pre-seed round from Utah-based VC Beta Boom.
Exa’s AI Scalability
Exa, an AI platform specializing in large-scale internet searches, raised $17 million from Lightspeed, Nvidia, and Y Combinator.
Coast’s Back-to-Back Funding Rounds
Coast, a financial services platform for transportation, defied the trend of disappearing back-to-back funding rounds by raising $40 million in a Series B from ICONIQ Growth, just four months after securing $25 million in a venture round.
Tribe AI Secures Strategic Funding
Tribe AI, after six years of bootstrapping, raised $3.2 million to help businesses implement AI strategies through contracted experts.
VCs in the Spotlight
This week, venture capitalists remained prominent despite the scarcity of new fund news. Andreessen Horowitz co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz recorded a nearly two-hour podcast discussing their support for Trump, driven by concerns over AI regulation and crypto policies. Meanwhile, Craft Ventures founder David Sacks spoke at the Republican National Convention, though his reception was lukewarm.
Menlo Ventures and Anthropic’s AI Fund
Menlo Ventures and LLM maker Anthropic have launched a $100 million fund to support pre-seed, seed, and Series A AI startups. Notably, the number of AI companies raising $100 million or more this year has already reached 28, with more expected in the near future.
