Summary:
OpenAI raises $6.6 billion, reaching a $157 billion valuation.
Whatnot surpasses $2 billion in annual GMV, showing promise in live commerce.
Poolside secures $500 million for AI coding advancements.
CRV returns $275 million to investors amid maturity concerns.
Kevin Ryan advises founders to consider selling their companies.
Welcome to Startups Weekly, your essential recap of this week's startup landscape. Subscribe for our weekly insights delivered straight to your inbox every Friday!
Hot Topics in Startup Funding
This week, we spotlighted AI funding news alongside some cautionary notes regarding potential market overheating. Fortunately, we also discovered some intriguing startups making waves in their respective fields.
Image Credits: Whatnot
Major Headlines
BillionAI: OpenAI has successfully raised $6.6 billion, achieving a formidable $157 billion valuation. In addition, they secured a $4 billion revolving credit line and launched a new interface to enhance their offerings. Interestingly, reports suggest OpenAI may have advised investors against supporting competitors like Anthropic and xAI. In the meantime, Anthropic has made headlines by hiring OpenAI co-founder Durk Kingma.
Attack of the Clones: Y Combinator found itself in hot water for backing PearAI, an AI coding startup accused of cloning another open source project without proper credit.
Livestreamed Shopping: The platform Whatnot reported a remarkable $2 billion in annual GMV, indicating a resurgence in live commerce in the U.S.
Noteworthy Fundraises
Image Credits: Series Entertainment
Some startups are making headlines with their funding rounds:
- Poolside, an AI coding startup, raised $500 million to enhance its operations with 10,000 Nvidia GPUs.
- Submer, a Barcelona-based startup specializing in immersion cooling, secured $55.5 million to expand its customer base.
- 11x.ai, which develops AI sales bots, raised approximately $50 million led by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Eon, a cloud backup startup, emerged from stealth with $127 million funding, achieving a $750 million valuation.
- Series, a generative AI game-development platform, raised $28 million from notable investors like Netflix and Dell.
VC and Fund News
Image Credits: Kimberly White / Stringer / Getty Images
In venture capital news:
- CRV returned $275 million to investors due to concerns about the overvaluation of mature startups.
- Ali Rowghani, former Y Combinator managing director, is launching Maxq, targeting $250 million for its initial fund.
- Index Ventures is expanding its investment team in New York, looking to recruit several new members.
Insights from Kevin Ryan
In a discussion with TechCrunch, investor and entrepreneur Kevin Ryan emphasized the importance of timing when considering selling a startup, suggesting that many founders should contemplate this option more seriously.
Stay tuned for more updates from the startup world next week!
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