Big tech companies are expanding their reach through acquisitions and new startup investments

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This week’s newsletter is about startups, but it’s also about big tech companies that are expanding their reach, whether through acquisitions or through investments.

The most interesting startup stories of the week

E-commerce app icons including eBay — **Image credits:**Alexcel/Getty Images

As technology IPOs remain scarce in the US, mergers and acquisitions dominated exit news this week. Plus, we have a new startup to keep track of.

Public markets caught fire: Blaize, an AI chip startup founded by Intel engineers in 2011 that focuses on edge applications, went public on Tuesday after… Announcing its intention to do so via a SPAC The day before.

Buy now, pay now: Amazon is Indian startup Axio is set to be acquired by BNPL According to sources, for more than $150 million. This will help the e-commerce giant accelerate its push into financial services in India, which is one of its fastest growing markets.

Car sales: eBay Planning to get caramela startup that helps car buyers and sellers complete the final steps of the transaction. It previously acquired Cargigi, an advertising and marketing technology company for car dealerships, as well as UK classifieds site Motors.co.uk.

Moody’s buys CAPE: Moody’s agreed to Acquisition of geospatial AI startup Cape Analytics For an undisclosed amount. This will give the financial services company the ability to create a database of properties it plans to use to provide local risk insights to its insurance clients.

Idea for AGI: Leading AI researcher François Cholet collaborated with Zapier co-founder and AI head Mike Knoop Nadia launchan artificial intelligence research and science laboratory looking to “develop and operate” artificial general intelligence (AGI).

The most interesting venture capital and finance news this week

Image credits:Leonello Calvetti/Science Image Library/Getty Images

Mammoth ambitions: Biological sciences raised tremendous $200 million Series C funding round At a whopping $10.2 billion valuation with an equally grand ambition of bringing back the woolly mammoth and two other extinct species.

Take off: Fast-growing space infrastructure startup Loft Orbital Raised $170 million in Series C funding Co-led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners. It declined to reveal its valuation, but this represents more capital in a single round than the total $160 million it has raised so far.

The rise of avatars: Synthesia, a British startup whose AI technology helps companies create avatar-based videos, Closed $180 million Series D funding round Led by NEA with a valuation of $2.1 billion.

GPT for Biology: French AI startup Bioptimus It raised $41 million To develop a basic AI model in biology, specifically trained for downstream biological applications.

Digital switch: With an ambition to become the largest fintech startup in the healthcare space, Berlin-based startup Nelly has sparked excitement $51 million in Series B funding To help more medical practices transition to digital workflows.

Quantum acceleration: Sparked quantum computing startup SEEQC $30M Series A extension Co-led by Booz Allen and NordicNinja to accelerate the commercial deployment of its chips and improve their capabilities.

spinning: Intel announced plans to Spin off its corporate investment armIntel Capital, into an independent fund, which will begin operating independently in the second half of 2025 with Intel as the “lead investor.”

Founders and investors: Powerset, the investment program co-founded by AngelList alum Jake Zeller that acts as a kind of decentralized venture fund, will give from five to 10 founders $1 million to invest in other startups.

Nvidia’s AI empire: Just a few days after TechCrunch reported on NVIDIA’s investments in the startupAnother one added: Mitaia Taiwanese company that creates powered digital twins.

Last but not least

After more than two years of interviewing founders for TechCrunch’s recently ended Found podcast, Rebecca Szkotak has heard her fair share of advice about startups. In this postshared the five most memorable recommendations. Some are counterintuitive – “it pays to not be first” – and all are worth reading.