Startups Weekly: AMD Acquisition and Key Moves Scaling AI Startups
Welcome to this week’s edition of Startups Weekly, your essential briefing on the latest happenings in the startup world, focusing particularly on artificial intelligence. Amidst the buzz of earnings reports, significant developments are unfolding for startups and venture capitalists, meriting close attention, especially within the burgeoning AI sector.
AMD’s Strategic Acquisition
In a notable move, AMD acquired Enosemi, a startup specializing in custom materials crucial for silicon photonics product development. While the terms of the acquisition remain undisclosed, AMD’s objective is clear: to accelerate its co-packaged optics innovation tailored for AI systems. This acquisition underscores the increasing importance of specialized hardware solutions in advancing AI capabilities.
Anthropic Strengthens its Board
AI startup Anthropic welcomed Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, to its board of directors. Appointed by Anthropic’s independent Long-Term Benefit Trust, Hastings brings extensive board experience from Netflix, Bloomberg, Meta, and Microsoft. His addition signals confidence in Anthropic’s vision and strategic direction.
Life360 Integrates Tile Functionality
After a considerable wait, Family safety app Life360 has finally incorporated the lost item tracking functionalities of Tile, acquired three and a half years prior for $205 million. This integration highlights the complexities and timelines associated with merging acquired technologies.
Brief Encounters and Bootstrapped Success
Entrepreneur Sahil Lavingia shared details about his short tenure on Elon Musk’s DOGE team, noting he was booted after only 55 days. Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Thinkst Canary, operating for a decade without VC funding, reached $20 million in annual recurring revenue, demonstrating a viable path to success outside traditional funding models.
Venture Capital and Funding Highlights
This week saw a flurry of funding news, including confirmed rounds and well-sourced rumors:
- Neuralink: Elon Musk’s brain implant startup, Neuralink, reportedly secured $600 million at a $9 billion pre-money valuation.
- Exo: Samsung is considering investing in a $100 million round for medical device startup Exo.
- Horizon3.ai: Cybersecurity startup Horizon3.ai is raising $100 million, with $73 million already secured.
- Buildots: Chicago-based Buildots, employing AI and computer vision for construction tracking, raised a $45 million Series D.
- Rillet: Automating accounting reports with AI, Rillet raised a $25 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital.
- Snabbit: Indian home services startup Snabbit secured $19 million in a Series B round led by Lightspeed.
- SpAItial: Synthesia co-founder Matthias Niessner’s new company, SpAItial, raised a $13 million seed round to develop interactive 3D online environments.
- Gridcare: AI-powered energy optimization startup Gridcare emerged with an oversubscribed $13.5 million seed round.
- Humain Ventures: Saudi AI company Humain is progressing with plans to launch Humain Ventures, a $10 billion venture fund.
- Outset Ventures: Auckland-based Outset Ventures closed a second fund of approximately $25 million for deep tech startups in New Zealand.
Nuclear Fission and Data Centers
While nuclear fusion startups attract attention, nuclear fission presents immediate potential for powering data centers, leading to investments from Big Tech companies investing in nuclear fission startups.
