Summary:
Thanksgiving week brought heartwarming funding announcements.
Kruze Consulting revealed that Bay Area startups pay significantly higher salaries.
Ladder raised $105 million and is in a marketing rivalry with Peloton.
Heirloom Carbon secured $150 million for carbon capture technology.
Omri Casspi launched a $60 million fund for cybersecurity and AI startups.
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Most Interesting Startup Stories from the Week
This week was bustling with exciting announcements and heartwarming funding news following Thanksgiving. Here are the highlights:
New Ventures: Three members of Google’s NotebookLM team have left to start their own venture, following the footsteps of AI pioneer François Chollet.
Salary Insights: Kruze Consulting shared data revealing that seed-stage founders in the Bay Area pay their early employees significantly more, with senior engineers earning between $180,000 - $235,000.
Fitness Rivalry: Ladder, a fitness startup, recently raised $105 million in Series B funding and is now highlighting similarities with Peloton’s new Strength+ app.
Back to In-Person: Y Combinator’s latest Demo Day for Fall 2024 took place live, marking a return to in-person events.
Most Interesting Fundraises This Week
This week featured notable funding rounds:
Heirloom Carbon raised $150 million to enhance its carbon capture technology.
Cleerly, a cardiovascular imaging startup, secured $106 million to advance AI technologies for early coronary artery disease detection.
Orakl Oncology, a lab spinoff, raised nearly €15 million for its innovative cancer drug development.
FireDome, named after Israel’s missile defense system, secured $3 million to combat wildfires using fire-retardant projectiles.
Khloud, a new consumer startup from Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner, is reportedly seeking $10 million for a protein popcorn venture.
Most Interesting VC and Fund News This Week
Omri Casspi, former NBA player, raised $60 million for Swish Ventures, focusing on cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI startups.
Prosus anticipates five IPOs from its Indian portfolio in the next 18 months, contributing to a surge in potential public offerings.
Time4 Fund, launched by French VC firm Daphni, aims to invest €100 million in diverse entrepreneurs and impactful projects.
Last but Not Least
Climate tech investors, including Leonardo Banchik from Voyager Ventures, express cautious optimism about potential policy changes from the second Trump administration, which could benefit the sector.
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