WHAT’S INSIDE

Top Signals: Apple locks $30B Broadcom deal, SK Hynix hits $1T valuation, & Musk-Altman clash on X as Apple sues OpenAI

Big Movers: Meta surges 18% on Muse Spark 1.1 launch, Paradigm pivots to AI/robotics with $1.2B, & SambaNova hits $11B valuation

Open Deals: Startups raising capital Mercor $20B valuation talks, Crusoe $3B infrastructure raise, and Lovable vibe-coding Series B.

Mega Rounds: SambaNova $1B Series F, Keyfactor $1B+ digital identity security, and Proxima Fusion $469.8M

Exit Watching: Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs like Figma acquiring YC-backed vibe-coding startup, SK Hynix Nasdaq debut, and Kraken CFO exit ahead of IPO.

The Funding Buzz: VC & PE Activity To Watch like Thrive Holdings $2B AI services fund, Fundamentum $200M India growth fund, and Ashley Smith $25M Fund II.

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Big Movers

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

Apple — Secured a $30B deal with Broadcom boosting US chip manufacturing enhancing domestic semiconductor production. Also: filed a lawsuit vs OpenAI over IP theft related to OpenAI’s upcoming consumer AI device with ex-Apple Jony Ive.

Meta — Shares soared 18% following launch of Muse Spark 1.1 - a multimodal AI platform underscoring strong market confidence in Meta’s new cloud/AI strategy.

SambaNova — Achieved a $11B valuation solidifying position as leading AI company challenging Nvidia in the chip sector underscoring rapid growth/strong market positioning.

Paradigm — US firm secured $1.2B funding pivoting from cryptocurrency to AI/robotics positioning for growth in emerging tech sectors diversifying beyond original focus.

Mercor — SF AI-driven analytics startup is on track for a $20B valuation having doubled value in just 9 months highlighting significant market impact/expanding presence.

SK Hynix — South Korean semiconductor giant market value reached $1T boosting Nasdaq shares 13% underscoring leadership in high-bandwidth memory/robust investor confidence.

AI Agent Raises — An AI startup secured $100M autonomously, using a unique fundraising strategy by its own AI Agent, marking a wild industry first showcasing potential for significant growth/innovative market impact.

OPEN DEALS

Open Funding Rounds or VC Fund Raises to watch this week

Mercor — SF startup linking companies with domain experts training AI models, agents negotiating funding at a $20B valuation after a $350M Series C at $10B.

Crusoe — US AI infrastructure/cloud firm negotiating $3B raise at $30B with existing 4.9 GW contracts/40 GW pipeline including 1.2 GW Texas data center JV.

Lovable — Swedish vibe-coding startup in talks securing $300M at $13.2B valuation doubling $6.6B Series B with $500M ARR attracting strong investor interest.

Blue Origin — Jeff Bezos rocket company seeking $10B first external financing at $130B pre-money valuation led Coatue with Bezos contributing additional $2B.

Wonder — The NY startup owning Grubhub/Blue Apron pursuing new funding targeting $9B valuation with CEO Marc Lore potentially investing $200M specializing food-hall takeout.

IN THE MONEY

Companies that raised money in the past week and why they matter

Massive Deals

SambaNova — San Jose AI chip/inference startup raised $1B Series F at $11B valuation led General Atlantic with T. Rowe/BlackRock/QIA/Vista/Intel.

Keyfactor — Independence OH machine identities/digital certificates company raised $1B+ led Summit Partners with Insight/Sixth Street enhancing AI/post-quantum security capabilities.

Proxima Fusion — Munich stellarator fusion startup raised $469.8M at $2.7B valuation with XTX/East X/RWE/Google total funding $743M+ incl. $108M grants.

Oratomic — Pasadena quantum computing startup founded 2026 raised $300M Series A led Khosla Ventures with Bezos Expeditions/Index/General Catalyst advancing Shor's algorithm large-scale compute.

Kraken Technology — UK defense tech startup developing uncrewed surface vessels secured $175M Series B at $1B+ valuation led DTCP with British Business Bank/NATO/Rheinmetall.

Even Realities — Shenzhen smart glasses startup raised $150M pre-Series B led Meituan/Tencent valuing $1B using proprietary Holistic Adaptive Optics technology targeting professionals aged 30-50.

Quaise Energy — Houston millimeter-wave drilling/superhot geothermal startup raised $144M Series B led Prelude Ventures with JERA/Idemitsu/Safar.

Prime Intellect — AI venture achieved unicorn status with $130M Series A round at $1B+ valuation signaling rapid growth/innovation as a leading player in the field.

Norm AI — NY legal AI startup raised $120M Series C at $1.2B valuation led Khosla with Blackstone/Bain/Craft/Coatue/Vanguard totaling $260M+.

Lyzr — NY enterprise AI agents startup raising $100M at $500M valuation using its own AI agent for investor outreach/drafting investment memos.

Gradium — French low-latency voice AI startup secured $100M seed extension backed Nvidia emphasizing rapid growth positioning as a significant AI player.

Large Deals

Databento — Salt Lake City market-data infrastructure startup raised $97M Series B led NEA with DRW/Redpoint/Tribe totaling $127M rivaling Bloomberg/LSEG.

Venus Aerospace — Houston startup secured $90M Series B led Mercury Fund with Lockheed Martin advancing rotating-detonation rocket engines for hypersonic weapons/high-speed space vehicles.

EDX Markets — Hoboken crypto marketplace startup raised $76M Series C led SBI Holdings separating trading from custody/settlement via central clearinghouse.

Ollama — Open-source AI tool raised $65M Series B led Theory Ventures totaling $88M supporting 8.9M developers monthly including 85% Fortune 500 firms.

Super — SF discounts/cashback/credit-building startup raised $65M Series D at $1.2B valuation led TPG.

Kaon AI — Berkeley AI-driven entertainment startup for personalized interactive story worlds raised $60M backed B Capital/Redpoint Ace/Goodwater/DCM.

Pearl Health — NY AI Medicare patient identification startup raised $50M Series C led a16z with Viking Global/AlleyCorp plus $60M debt totaling $110M.

Vendelux — NY B2B event strategy optimization startup raised $50M Series B led Tribeca Venture Partners with HubSpot/FirstMark/Cervin totaling $71M.

CarbonSix — NY Physical AI firm raised $40M Series A enhancing data-flywheel model for manufacturing supporting talent, product dev, infrastructure.

Monogram — Coursera co-founder Eren Bali startup raised $40M seed led DST Global/Lux Capital offering visual-first AI interface launched stealth July 7.

Skapion — DC counter-drone startup raised $36M seed led UP.Partners/Khosla with Stratos, develops mobile counter-drone systems for military/critical infra.

Arkenstone Defense — Menlo Park startup assisting tech companies with US government compliance/payroll/security secured $35M seed led J2 Ventures.

Smaller Deals

Alta — Tel Aviv AI-driven enterprise sales automation startup raised $25M Series A led IN Venture with Mindset/Skywell/Leumi77.

Klinic — Frisco healthtech platform for specialty healthcare provider patient acquisition/care coordination raised $24M seed/Series A led Proofpoint/I2BF.

Hephae Energy Technology — Spring TX geothermal startup secured $17.8M Series A led Susquehanna/Underground Ventures with Nabors commercializing high-temperature super-hot drilling systems totaling $24.7M.

QIZ Security — NY cryptographic security startup raised $17M seed led Bessemer/Merlin Ventures with Evolution Equity/Singtel Innov8 founded just one year ago.

Agave — SF AI accounting/financial reporting startup for construction contractors raised $15M Series A led Accel with Y Combinator totaling $20M+.

Bidbus — LA digital marketplace startup pitting dealerships against each other to bid on used vehicles raised $15M Series A led Ibex Investors.

EdVisorly — LA AI software automating college admissions raised $13.3M Series A led Breachway Capital backed US News/Lumina Foundation/Motley Fool.

Hakimo — Menlo Park AI security startup raised $12M led Zigg Capital with Neotribe/Vertex/Defy totaling $32M enhancing AI monitoring for security cameras.

M1X Global — NY blockchain infrastructure for governments issuing sovereign financial instruments raised $5.5M seed led Paradigm totaling $8.5M.

EXIT WATCHING

Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

Figma — Design platform acquired YC-backed Vibe-Coding startup specializing AI-driven coding tools integrating AI capabilities enhancing design solutions/expanding tech portfolio.

SK Hynix — South Korean semiconductor manufacturer launched its Nasdaq debut after 700% rally fueled by AI boom capitalizing on increased demand for AI technology.

IPO Watch

Open or upcoming IPOs to watch:

Anduril — Valued at $61B, the Defense tech firm’s CEO advises against IPO during current market hype recommending strategic timing approach for any public offering.

SpaceX — Shares are performing well above IPO price as market anticipates upcoming IPOs from Anthropic/OpenAI/SK Hynix though it is challenging for private-equity-backed firms to participate.

THE FUNDING BUZZ

VC & PE Activity To Watch

[OpenDeal] Thrive Holdings — The OpenAI-backed AI holding company is raising $2B from Altimeter/D1 Capital/SoftBank to acquire traditional service businesses transforming with AI tools partnering Accenture on ChatGPT Enterprise.

Fundamentum — Nandan Nilekani stepped down as GP while Fundamentum closed a $200M fund focusing growth-stage technology companies in India.

Ashley Smith — Solo GP closed $25M second fund targeting AI/security startups focusing innovative early-stage technology investments.

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FOR INVESTORS
Open Deals
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