Apple offers rare iPhone discounts in China & Peter Thiel-backed fund raised $300 M

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💰 STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

Startup Funding Updates

Apheris, a Berlin, Germany-based federated computing company focused on the life sciences sector, raised $20.8m in Series A funding. The round was co-led by OTB Ventures and eCapital with participation from Octopus Ventures and Heal Capital.

Vitalic, a Boston, MA-based mental health startup, launched with $4M in seed funding. Backers included Redesign Health and Medicare Advantage payor VNS Health (a national home- and community-based health care payor/provider).

Rembrand, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based In-Scene Media and Virtual Product Placement technology developer, raised $23m in Series A financing. The round was led by super{set} with participation from The Trade Desk and Naver D2SF plus existing investors such as BOLD, the corporate venture capital fund of L’Oréal; Greycroft and others.

Fairly, a Portland, Oregon-based vacation rental management platform that emphasizes individualized care and a community-driven approach to service, launched out of stealth mode with an internally-funded $10.1m pre-seed funding round. Led by founder Eric Breon along with vacation rental industry experts Subechya Person and Jeff Flitton.

Deterrence, a Fremont, CA- and Washington, DC-based defense technology company automating the production of energetics, raised a total of $10.1m in funding. The round included a seed led by Riot Ventures with contributions from others including Definition Capital, Impatient Ventures, Valhalla Ventures, Banter Capital, and Dmitri Alperovitch.

Proton Intelligence Inc., a Vancouver, Canada-based developer of a continuous potassium monitoring (CKM™) platform, closed a $6.95m USD seed financing round. Backers included SOSV, We Venture Capital, Tenmile, LongeVC, 15th Rock, Exor, and Trampoline Venture Partners.

Pi Photonics, a Shizuoka, Japan-based startup developing LED lighting for industrial use, received an investment from Toyoda Gosei (TOKYO:7282) via its Corporate Venture Capital Dept., an internal organization dedicated to these investments. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Qolab, Inc., a Madison, Wis.-based leader in superconducting quantum computing, raised over $16.0m to date in its Series A financing round. The round was led by Octave Ventures with co-investment from the Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ), Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), and Phoenix Venture Partners.

Comau, a Turin, Italy-based industrial automation company, received an investment from One Equity Partners. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

🏦 NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

Venture Capital Updates

Tacora Capital, an Austin-based venture debt firm, raised $268.7M for its second fund, following a $350M inaugural fund in 2022, which included $250M from Peter Thiel. Tacora specializes in non-dilutive loans for capital-intensive startups like fintech and hardware firms. Founder Keri Findley highlighted demand for "flexible, non-leveraged" financing solutions.

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📜 KEY STORIES IN TECH

Latest In Tech

xAI’s Grok 3, Elon Musk’s next-gen AI model promised for late 2024, remains delayed, with hints suggesting an intermediate model, Grok 2.5, may arrive first. This follows a broader trend of missed AI model launch timelines, including setbacks for Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. Industry experts suggest scaling limitations in AI training methods may be contributing to these delays.

Apple is offering rare discounts of up to 500 yuan on iPhone 16 models in China from Jan. 4-7 to counter competition from rivals like Huawei. The promotion includes other products like MacBooks and iPads, with discounts requiring specific payment methods like WeChat Pay. Apple’s move comes amid declining market share and cautious consumer spending in a slowing Chinese economy.

☕ LAST COFFEE SIP

Other News

Apple agreed to a $95M settlement over claims Siri improperly recorded users and disclosed conversations to third parties like advertisers. The class-action suit covers devices from 2014 to 2024, with eligible users potentially receiving up to $20 per device. Apple denies wrongdoing, while plaintiffs' lawyers may seek $28.5M in fees.

🖊️ REPORT THAT YOU SHOULD LOOK

In-Depth Insights

• How To Find Problem-Solution Fit? (A Framework): A simple framework that help you to find your problem solution fit.

• How to Talk About Valuation Numbers When Investor Ask? It discusses on things to consider while discussing valuation numbers with investors.

• Marc Andreessen's Guide: What to Do When VCs Say "No": An insightful post on things to do to excel in fundraising journey.

• Nearly 1 in 4 new startups is an AI company: A research by pitchbook found that 1 in every 4 new established startups is in AI company. Is it AI bubble?

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