Startups Raise Over $1.6B, Investors Raise $1B for New Funds, and $34.3B in M&A

Private Equity

Spain approved a $20.3 billion merger between Orange's Spanish unit and rival MasMovil.

Apollo Global Management is considering a takeover or asset purchase of Paramount Global, valued at $8 billion.

Li Ning is exploring taking his $7.3 billion Hong Kong-listed sportswear brand private.

Nidec and KPS Capital Partners are vying for Siemens’ Innomotics large motors business, with a potential $3.3 billion deal.

Campbell Soup completed its acquisition of Rao's Homemade-owner Sovos for $2.3 billion.

Alcoa is set to acquire Alumina, with the deal valuing the latter’s equity at $2.2 billion.

National Bank of Canada is considering the sale of its Cambodian unit ABA Bank, potentially valued over $2 billion.

Dai-ichi Life Holdings will acquire Benefit One for $2 billion.

Nielsen Holding is exploring the sale of non-core businesses that could fetch $1 billion.

ArcelorMittal will purchase a 28.4% stake in Vallourec for around $1 billion.

Private equity firm Hg is starting the sale of Trackunit, potentially valuing the company at $1 billion.

Scholastic will acquire 9 Story Media Group for $185 million.

BlackRock reduced its stake in Polymetal from 7.44% to 4.01%.

Venture Capital

Applied Intuition: Sunnyvale, CA-based startup offering software for developing and testing automated driving technology, raised $250 million in a Series E round at a $6 billion valuation. Investors: Lux Capital, Elad Gil, Porsche Investment Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Bond, Nico Rosberg.

Bear Robotics: Redwood City, CA-based startup developing restaurant service robots, raised $60 million. Lead: LG Electronics.

Physical Intelligence: New startup making AI software for robots, raised $70 million. Investors: Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, OpenAI, Sequoia Capital.

CodaMetrix: Boston-based startup using AI for medical coding, raised $40 million in Series B. Lead: Transformation Capital. Participants: SignalFire, Frist Cressey Ventures.

Cognition AI: New York and Silicon Valley startup with a software development assistant, raised $21 million. Investors: Founders Fund, Elad Gil.

Empathy: Startup offering AI and human-guided bereavement support, raised $47 million in Series B. Lead: Index Ventures. Participants: MassMutual Ventures, MetLife, New York Life, Securian, Sumitomo.

Eye Security: The Hague-based startup offering cybersecurity services, raised $39.3 million in Series B. Lead: JPMorgan Growth Equity Partners. Participants: Bessemer Venture Partners, TIN Capital.

Kaedim: San Francisco startup converting 2D images to 3D models for gaming, raised $15 million in Series A. Lead: Andreessen Horowitz. Participant: Pioneer Fund.

Nanonets: San Francisco startup developing AI for document processing, raised $29 million in Series B. Lead: Accel India. Participants: Elevation Capital, Y Combinator.

ProteinDistillery: German startup creating vegan protein from biomass fermentation, raised $16.4 million in seed funding. Lead: Green Generation Fund.

Simera Sense: Belgium and South Africa-based startup designing optical equipment for satellites, raised $14.7 million. Lead: NewSpace Capital. Participant: Knife Capital.

Tavus: San Francisco startup making personalized videos with AI, raised $18 million in Series A. Lead: Scale Venture Partners. Participants: Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, HubSpot.

Tierra Biosciences: San Leandro, CA-based startup synthesizing proteins using AI and automation, raised $11.4 million in Series A. Lead: Material Impact. Participants: Prosus Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Hillspire, Freeflow Ventures, Creative Ventures, Social Capital.

Codezero: Vancouver-based startup developing secure microservices tools, raised $3.5 million in seed funding. Lead: Ballistic Ventures.

DBOS: Startup co-founded by MIT's Mike Stonebraker for cloud-based application development, raised $8.5 million in seed funding. Lead: Engine Ventures. Participants: Construct Capital, Sinewave, Gutbrain Ventures.

Key: Palo Alto startup building a professional networking platform, raised $4.3 million. Lead: Felicis. Participants: Liquid 2 Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Archangels Ventures, Cerigo Investments, Everywhere Ventures, Startup Shibuya, MVP Ventures, Xoogler Ventures.

Kravata: Bogotá-based startup integrating web3 services, raised $3.6 million. Investors: Volt Capital, Framework Ventures, Circle Ventures.

Loop: San Francisco startup enhancing restaurant management with software, raised $6 million in seed funding. Lead: Base10 Partners. Participant: Afore Capital.

Milu Health: New York startup connecting health records for cost-saving analysis, raised $4.8 million in seed funding. Lead: Andreessen Horowitz. Participants: BoxGroup, PagsGroup, 81 Collection.

OpenMeter: San Francisco-based startup focused on AI metering, raised $3 million. Investors: Y Combinator, Haystack, Sunflower Capital.

Pienso: Arlington, VA-based startup offering a no-code AI model development platform, raised $10 million. Lead: Latimer Ventures. Participants: Gideon Capital, SRI, Uncork, Good Growth Capital.

Prescient AI: Miami-based startup optimizing advertising for e-commerce with AI, raised $10 million in Series A. Leads: Headline, CEAS Investments. Participants: Blumberg Capital, Focal VC.

SuperAGI: Palo Alto and Bengaluru startup building an artificial general intelligence platform, raised $10 million in Series A. Lead: Newlands VC by WhatsApp founder Jan Koum.

Umaro Foods: Albany, CA-based startup creating seaweed-based "bacon", raised $3.8 million. Investors: Alexandria Ventures Investments, Climate Capital Bio, Ponderosa Ventures, Chris Paul.

IPO

India's Vishal Mega Mart is planning a $1B IPO that would value the budget supermarket chain at up to $5B.

Fundraising

Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia's India arm, launched Peak XV Anchor Fund to take stakes in global seed and early venture funds.