In venture capital news, Blue Bear closed a $160 million third fund to back AI founders in climate, energy, and industry, while Bling Capital secured $270 million for its fourth fund. The article also notes that defense tech startups have raised almost $3 billion so far in 2024, surpassing 2022's $2.6 billion record.
Key takeaways:
- Swedish unicorn Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., while German fintech unicorn N26 had its first profitable quarter, with a net operating income of €2.8 million ($2.9 million) during the third quarter of 2024.
- Cybersecurity heavyweight Wiz acquired Dazz, a specialist in security remediation and risk management, for $450 million, and cloud company Snowflake announced it agreed to acquire data pipeline management company Datavolo for an undisclosed sum.
- Indian quick-commerce startup Zepto raised $350 million in new funding, Finnish smart ring maker Oura raised a $75 million investment, and data analytics platform Lighthouse raised a Series C round of $370 million led by KKR at a $1 billion valuation.
- Defense tech startups raised almost $3 billion so far in 2024, surpassing 2022’s previous $2.6 billion record and over only 85 deals compared to 113 that year.