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April 25, 2025

Startups Weekly: Tech IPOs and deals proceed, but price matters

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here.

This week confirmed that deals can still happen in a troubled world, but price considerations and adjustments are now part of the picture.

Most interesting startup stories from the week

Man charging electric motor scooter
Image Credits:Ather Energy

Uncertain times are rarely good for M&As, which raises fears that tariff turmoil may have compromised the startup exit outlook for 2025. But don’t expect a total deal drought — as confirmed by this week’s news.

Price conscious: Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, is growing so fast that an acquisition by OpenAI is reportedly off the table. Whether OpenAI will acquire Windsurf instead remains to be confirmed, but the competition between the two AI coding assistant rivals is heating up.

Plane view: Datadog acquired AI-powered data observability startup Metaplane, a YC alum that has raised some $22.2 million to date. Deal terms were not disclosed. 

Hired: Erik Torenberg became a16z’s newest partner after the VC firm acqui-hired him and his podcast network, Turpentine, whose shows are set to continue.

Downsized: Ather Energy, an Indian EV startup seeking to go public, trimmed its IPO size and target valuation, citing market conditions. 

Most interesting VC and funding news this week

Supabase co-founders, Ant Wilson, Paul Copplestone
Image Credits:Supabase

This week confirmed that vibe coding is as hot as can be, but startups in several other sectors also raised funding. Plus, there’s still money to be deployed into emerging markets.

Vibe coding: Supabase, an open source database startup that benefits from the hype around vibe coding tools, raised a $200 million Series D just seven months after its C round at a reported $900 million valuation, which now officially increased to $2 billion.

Adaptive Computer, a vibe coding startup that differentiates itself by focusing on non-programmers from day 1, also raised funding: a $7 million seed round led by Pebblebed.

Too many chats: Manychat, which provides an AI-enabled tool for businesses to manage and automate conversations across multiple messaging channels, raised a $140 million Series B led by Summit Partners.

Spotting flaws: Endor Labs, a startup that builds tools to scan AI-generated code for vulnerabilities, locked a $93 million Series B round led by DFJ Growth.

Sovereign AI: Formerly known as Xayn, Berlin-based legal AI startup Noxtua raised a $92.2 million Series B that follows its pivot into developing sovereign AI for law-related use cases such as drafting legal documents.

Shear money: Fintech API brokerage startup Alpaca picked up a $52 million Series C to further expand internationally.

Virtual CISO: Cynomi, a London- and Tel Aviv-based startup that provides SMBs with an AI-powered “virtual CISO,” raised a $37 million Series B co-led by Insight Partners and Entrée Capital.

Superpowers: After gathering a 150,000-person waitlist, health tech startup Superpower launched publicly and announced it raised a $30 million Series A backed by several celebrities. 

Debt financing: Froda, a Swedish fintech startup that developed a debt financing platform for SMBs, secured a $22.7 million Series B led by Swedish fund Incore Invest.

Cheat code: Chungin “Roy” Lee, a 21-year-old Columbia student who was suspended after developing a job interview cheating tool, raised $5.3 million in seed funding for his startup, Cluely, which offers an AI tool to “cheat on everything.” 

Copy-paste: Backed by more than 75 unicorn founders and VCs, Fluent Ventures is distributing $40 million to international founders, replicating proven business models in emerging markets.

Last but not least

Techstars accelerator new fund raising $150 million
Techstars accelerator new fund raising $150 million Image Credits:Techstars (opens in a new window)

In case you missed it, Techstars recently updated its standard deal: It will now invest $220,000 into startups entering its three-month program. That’s $100,000 more than previously, with new deal terms that mirror Y Combinator’s.

Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch


April 24, 2025

Speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Applications now open

TechCrunch Disrupt returns October 27-29 to Moscone West in San Francisco — and we’re inviting thought leaders, founders, VCs, and tech experts to apply for a chance to take the stage at one of the most anticipated tech events of the year.

Applications are now open to speak at Disrupt 2025, where over 10,000+ tech leaders, investors, and startup experts come together to shape the future of innovation.

The application deadline is May 16 — Apply here and don’t miss your chance to lead the conversation.

Pick your session format

We’re looking for high-impact speakers to lead one of two session types:

Breakout Sessions — A 30-minute talk (up to four speakers, including a moderator) with a 20-minute audience Q&A. Capacity: 100 attendees.

Roundtables — A 30-minute speaker-led group discussion, designed for up to 40 participants. No slides or AV — just insight and conversation.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Breakout Session
Breakout Session at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 at Moscone West in San Francisco.Image Credits:Slava Blazer Photography
Disrupt 2024
Roundtable session led by Mike Seckler, President and CEO from Justworks. TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, October 28-30, 2024 at Moscone West in San Francisco.Image Credits:Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch

How the application process works

Each application will be carefully reviewed by our editorial team. Finalists will be selected for the Audience Choice vote — where TechCrunch readers choose which sessions make it to the Disrupt stage. Learn more about speaking on Disrupt’s Call for Content page.

Lead the conversation at Disrupt 2025

If you have actionable insights, real-world experience, and a desire to contribute meaningfully to the tech ecosystem — we want to hear from you.

Submit your application today before the May 16 deadline.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 October 27-29 San Francisco
Image Credits:TechCrunch

Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch


Founders, your moment is now: Apply for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200

Founders, the battlefield is open. And the bold are stepping forward. Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is now accepting startups to compete in the ultimate pitch showdown in front of over 10,000 tech leaders from around the globe to witness..

This is no ordinary pitch. This is the fight for visibility, capital, and legacy. If your startup has the fire, now is the time to step into the spotlight.

Take your place in the battlefield — apply now.

Salva Health Co-Founder & CEO Valentina Agudelo Vargas, winner of the Startup Battlefield 2024, poses onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Day 3 at Moscone Center on October 30, 2024 in San Francisco.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 30: Salva Health Co-Founder & CEO Valentina Agudelo Vargas, winner of the Startup Battlefield 2024, poses onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Day 3 at Moscone Center on October 30, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)Image Credits:Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Enter the arena: Submit your application

Thousands will apply. 200 will be chosen. 20 will pitch onstage. Only one will claim the crown and win a $100,000 equity-free prize.

You want to rise above the noise? Move fast. Apply early.

Startup Battlefield benefits include:

This is the launchpad for legends: Trello, Mint, Getaround,  Dropbox, Discord, and thousands more They began their battles here.

What it takes to join the battle

We’re scouting pre-Series A startups with MVPs and massive potential. Bootstrapped or backed, if your startup is bold, you’re in the fight. Some capital-intensive Series A companies may also qualify.

Make your first move

Gear up for the startup battle of the year. Applications close June 9. Step up. Stand out. Apply today.

Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch


RepAir Carbon is making carbon removal machines inspired by batteries

In the span of a decade, direct air capture technology that draws CO2 out of the atmosphere has gone from wildly expensive to somewhat expensive. Companies like Microsoft, which set a target to eliminate its emissions by 2030, are happy to pay more to get the ball rolling. But smaller companies would still balk at the prices.

A startup may have an answer, one that’s been inspired by batteries. RepAir Carbon is developing a new form of carbon capture the company says could drive the cost down as low as $70 to $80 per metric ton of carbon removed. That’s a significantly lower price than other approaches, which experts estimate cost around $600 per metric ton.

RepAir recently raised a $15 million extension to its Series A, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was led by Exantia Capital and Taranis Carbon Ventures with participation from Ormat Technologies and Repsol. The Israeli Innovation Authority also contributed a $3 million grant.

The potential cost advantage comes from the way RepAir uses electricity to capture carbon. Most companies rely on a solvent to remove CO2 that must be heated to release the gas so it can be transported and stored. RepAir, on the other hand, uses electricity to drive the chemical reaction.

The device is “more like a fuel cell, but operated more like a battery,” co-founder and CEO Amir Shiner told TechCrunch.

Inside, two electrodes are separated by a membrane. As air or flue gas is drawn into the reaction chamber, it encounters a nickel-based electrode with a current running through it. There, hydroxide is waiting to attract carbon dioxide, converting it into carbonate and bicarbonate ions with negative electrical charges. These then pass through the porous electrode and separator, attracted to the other electrode’s positive charge. 

When the ions hit the positive electrode, they revert back to CO2 and hydroxide. The CO2 is then drawn off to be stored while the hydroxide builds up until there’s enough that the reactor can be reversed and the process repeated in the other direction.

Compared with other carbon capture technologies, RepAir’s reversibility could give it an edge.

Other capture devices typically need time to heat the solvent to release CO2, a process known as regeneration, and that downtime requires more modules to capture a given amount of carbon.

“We regenerate while working,” Shiner said.

Each of RepAir’s reaction chambers are filled with multiple stacks of anode-separator combos, and the company can apply varying amounts of electricity to ensure they’re operating at peak performance.

Shiner said the technology works to capture carbon from the atmosphere and from exhaust streams from power plants and the like. RepAir is currently in talks with developers to add its technology to gas turbines to help eliminate carbon emissions from data centers.

“It’s early, but it’s something we’re working on and we have strong interest coming from that specific area,” he said. 

Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch


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