Startups Weekly: Fast and furious
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Some startups accrued value at lightning speed this week, and we got confirmation that defense tech is red hot.
Most interesting startup stories from the week
Many startup stories this week occurred in Y Combinator’s orbit in some way. Also, Israel once again lived up to its “Start-Up Nation” reputation.
That was fast: No-code website-building platform Wix acquired 6-month-old, bootstrapped vibe-coding startup Base44 — both Israeli companies — for $80 million in cash.
That was fast, too: In just three months, Ramp’s valuation jumped to $16 billion following its Series E, up from $13 billion when the spend management startup did a secondary sale earlier this year.
Friends and foes: New details emerged on Meta’s $14.3 billion deal to acquire 49% of startup Scale AI, including a potential dividend payout. We also learned that OpenAI was dropping Scale AI as a data provider following the deal.
Frenemies: The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a contract worth up to $200 million directly to OpenAI, which could further strain the startup’s relationship with Microsoft.
ICYMI: Out of all the teams presenting at YC’s recent Spring 2025 Demo Day, here are 11 startups that investors have been talking about.
Didn’t happen: People are also still talking about the police shutting down the YC Demo Day after-party that controversial AI startup Cluely tried to throw; or as its CEO told TechCrunch, “the most legendary party that never happened.”
Most interesting VC and funding news this week
Most funding news was driven by either defense tech, AI, or both, but there were also some surprises. Plus, one VC firm is aiming high for its next fund.
Good intuition: Applied Intuition, a company making software for autonomous vehicles, secured a $600 million Series F and tender offer at a $15 billion valuation.
New tune: Munich-based defense tech startup Helsing closed a €600 million investment led by Prima Materia, the VC firm of Spotify’s founder Daniel Ek, which valued Helsing at €12 billion.
New unicorn: Israeli observability startup Coralogix became a unicorn after raising a $115 million Series E, which it will use to double its headcount in India, where 100 of its 550 employees are currently based.
Toldja: Mach Industries, a 2-year-old defense tech startup, confirmed having raised a $100 million round of funding led by Khosla Ventures and Bedrock at a $470 million valuation.
Money flows: Aspora, a startup formerly known as Vance and focused on facilitating remittances from the Indian diaspora, closed a $50 million Series B co-led by Sequoia and Greylock at a $500 million valuation.
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