As the year draws to a close, startups don't pause | TechCrunch
Nov 29, 2024 - techcrunch.com
The article provides a weekly recap of startup news, highlighting interesting stories, fundraises, and VC and fund news. Notable stories include ServiceTitan's IPO timing, Anduril's high compensation, the EU's focus on scaling startups, and Y Combinator's tendency to back similar startups. Significant fundraises include Eyewa's $100 million Series C round, Cradle's $73 million funding for AI protein design, Appcharge's $26 million round for its gaming monetization platform, PlayAI's $21 million seed round for voice cloning, and Roon's $15 million round for its health tech startup.
In VC and fund news, basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo launched a VC firm focusing on sports and entertainment investing, and Cleo Capital announced a cybersecurity accelerator. The article concludes with a prediction that Latin America's fintech market will be worth watching in 2025, with QED Investors partner Mike Packer stating the region is underfunded following the 2021 correction.
Key takeaways:
ServiceTitan's IPO timing may not be entirely due to market conditions, but rather a requirement for the company to go public, according to VCs.
Defense tech startup Anduril pays its top employees significantly well, as revealed by the U.S. government contracting database USASpending.gov.
Basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo has launched a VC firm, Build Your Legacy Ventures, focusing on sports and entertainment investing.
Latin America's fintech market is predicted to be worth watching in 2025, with 2024 figures indicating a market turnaround.