Startups Raise Over $3.8B, Investors Raise $1.1B for New Funds, and Over $25.9B in M&A

Private Equity

• Ithaca Energy in talks for Eni’s UK upstream assets, including Neptune Energy, for $4.9B.
• Liberty Media aims to acquire MotoGP-owner Dorna Sports for over $4.3B.
• Vinci and Aena SME vie for Edinburgh Airport, with Global Infrastructure Partners seeking over $3.8B.
• Inovie Group, backed by Ardian, mulls sale with a valuation above $3.2B.
• CitizenM hotel chain owners, including APG, GIC, and Rattan Chadha, explore sale options after GIC's $2.2B stake acquisition.
• Cinven Group halts Partner in Pet Food sale over valuation issues.
• Keysight Technologies preps ~$1.45B bid for Spirent Communications, following Viavi Solutions’ $1.3B offer.
• Mitsui and Rohto Pharmaceutical close to buying majority in Eu Yan Sang International for ~$800M.
• CPS Energy to purchase Corpus Christi and Laredo gas plants from Talen Energy for ~$785M.
• Genstar Capital seeks buyers for 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, potential $600M sale.
• Schlumberger to acquire 80% of Aker Carbon Capture for ~$400M.
• Honeywell International buys Civitanavi Systems for $217M equity value.
• Brown University and BTG Pactual in talks to join Fortress Investment Group investment with Mubadala.
• ADQ considers bid for Cedrob Group.
• Spindrift Beverage evaluates strategic options, including a sale.

Venture Capital

• Anthropic, a San Francisco AI safety startup, raised $2.75B from Amazon, holding a $4B stake.
• Celestial AI in Santa Clara, CA, raised $175M Series C for AI computing optical interconnects, led by U.S. Innovative Technology Fund and others including AMD Ventures and Samsung Catalyst.
• Hume AI, a New York-based developer of an emotional expression measurement API, raised $50M led by EQT Ventures with backers like Union Square Ventures and Comcast Ventures.
• MyShell in Tokyo, aiming to democratize AI development, raised $11M pre-Series A from Dragonfly, Delphi Ventures, and others, totaling $16.6M in funding.
• Observe in San Mateo, CA, raised $125M Series B for app performance insights, led by Sutter Hill Ventures with a valuation up to $500M.
• 900.care, a Paris startup offering waterless personal care products, raised $22.7M led by Lombard Odier and others including White Star Capital.
• Brightside Health in San Francisco, providing telemedicine for mental health, raised $33M Series C led by Section 32, reaching over $100M in total funding.
• Confetti in New York, facilitating team-building activities, raised a $16M Series A, co-led by Entrée Capital and IN Venture.
• Evoloh in San Carlos, CA, raised $20M Series A for green hydrogen production, led by Engine Ventures with NextEra Energy Resources and 3M Ventures.
• Fireworks AI in Redwood City, CA, raised $25M Series A for generative AI applications, led by Benchmark with Sequoia Capital and Databricks.
• Gather AI in Pittsburgh, raised $17M Series A extension for inventory data analysis via drones, led by Bain Capital Ventures, totaling $34M in funding.
• Global Screening Services in London, raised $47M for transaction compliance, including investors like Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
• Hive in Geneva, raised $13M Series A1 for cloud expense management, led by SC Ventures.
• Illuvium Labs in Sydney, developing blockchain games, raised $12M Series A co-led by King River Capital and Animoca Labs.
• MyPrize in Miami, building a crypto casino, raised $13M co-led by Dragonfly and Boxcars Ventures with Andreessen Horowitz and others.
• NewRetirement in Mill Valley, CA, raised $20M Series A for retirement planning software, led by Allegis Capital with Nationwide Ventures and others.
• Nourish in New York, connecting people to dietitians, raised $35M Series A led by Index Ventures, totaling $44M in funding.
• Oriole Networks in London, using light for AI GPU connections, raised $12.6M seed co-led by UCL Technology Fund and Clean Growth Fund.
• PipeDreams in Alameda, CA, consolidating HVAC and plumbing companies, raised $25.5M Series A co-led by Canvas Ventures and Plural.
• Viam in New York, providing robot management tools, raised $45M Series B co-led by Union Square Ventures and Battery Ventures, totaling $87M in funding.
• ALEX in Panama, for DeFi application development, raised $10M led by Spartan Capital with CMS Holdings and others.
• Century Health in Santa Monica, CA, applying AI to clinical data for drug applications, raised $2M pre-seed led by 2048 Ventures.
• Chiyo in New York, offering postpartum nutrition programs, raised $3M led by Bread & Butter Ventures with Ingeborg and others.
• Nominal in New York, automating accounting tasks via AI, raised $9.2M seed co-led by Bling Capital and Hyperwise Ventures.
• OrdinalsBot in London, for digital content on Bitcoin transactions, raised $3M seed led by DACM with Eden Block and others.
• Scaleup Finance in Copenhagen, streamlining financial analysis for startups, raised $8M pre-Series A led by Inveready with Crowberry Capital and others.
• StealthMole in Singapore, tracking cybercrime on the dark web, raised $7M Series A led by Korea Investment Partners with Hibiscus Fund and Smilegate Investment.
• ValidMind in Palo Alto, automating AI risk management, raised $8.1M seed led by Point72 Ventures with Third Prime Ventures and others.

IPO

• Boundless Bio, backed by Bayer, secures $100M in a US IPO.
• Renault to divest ~2.5% of Nissan for approximately $392M.

Fundraising

• HSBC to establish a $1B ASEAN Growth Fund for digital platform scaling companies.
• New Summit Investments targets $100M for its fifth fund to support startups addressing environmental and social issues.