China launches antitrust probes into Google and Nvidia & Deel's IPO Plan

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• 2700+ US angel investors & VC firms contact database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

• If you've got less than a year's cash left, you need to read this now.

• Ready-to-go financial modelling template to build your startup financial model that every investor wants to see.

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STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

💰 Startup funding updates

INFI USA, a Chicago, IL-based AI-driven self-service software platform, raised $12m in Series A funding. The round was led by MK Capital.

Desteia, a NYC-based technology startup supporting leaders and operators with tools to make optimal decisions for their supply chain, raised $8M in Seed funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $11.5M, was led by Autotech Ventures, Nazca, and Village Global, and included participation from Foundamental, Bridge Latam, and Nido Ventures.

Monograph, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a project management software for architecture and engineering (A&E) firms, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Base10 Partners.

Trayd, a NYC-based provider of a construction payroll platform, raised $4.5M in Seed funding. The round was led by Suffolk Technologies, with participation from Bloomberg Beta and Y Combinator.

Archive, a San Francisco, CA-based technology company that empowers profitable resale businesses for brands, raised $30M in Series B funding. The round was led by Energize Capital, bringing its total funding to date to $54M. Other participants included returning investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures as well as new investors Woodline Partners and Frontline Growth.

hallo theo, a Berlin, Germany-based digital property management company, raised €10M in Seed funding. The round was led by Insight Partners.

qeen.ai, a Dubai, UAE-based provider of agentic AI solutions for e-commerce, raised USD 10M in funding. The round, which brought the total amount to $12M, was led by Prosus Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Wamda Capital, 10x Founders and Dara Holdings.

Hidden Level, a NYC-based provider of a passive radar and radio frequency sensing technology, raised $64M in Series C funding. The round was led by DFJ Growth with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, Revolution Growth, Costanoa Ventures, Washington Harbour Partners, Veteran Ventures, Founders Circle Capital, and others.

Fimple, a London, UK-based provider of cloud-native core banking software, raised $12M in Series A funding. The round was led by DN Capital and Smartfin and participation from existing investors, Albaraka Portfolio and Tera Portfolio.

Solaris, a Berlin, Germany-based provider of an embedded finance platform, raised EUR 140M in Series G funding. The round was led by SBI Group and Boerse Stuttgart Group, with participation from a diverse group of investors and strategic partners.

PlantBaby, a Marin, CA-based company dedicated to creating solutions in the plant-based nutrition space, raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding. The round was led by B2 Partners, at a post-money valuation of $20 million. with participation from Big Idea Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, X Factor Ventures, Women’s Equity Lab Silicon Valley, and Babylist.

Tandem, a San Francisco, CA-based company developing a platform that discovers, leases, and manages office spaces, raised $6.1M in Seed funding. The round was led by Collide Capital, 1984 Ventures and Y Combinator, with support from angel investors including Nick Bloom at Stanford.

Sirius Medical, an Eindhoven, the Netherlands-based medical device company, raised €10M in additional funding. The round was led by Invest-NL and Nextgen Ventures, with support from De Groot Family Office and existing investors Brabant Development Agency (BOM), Holland Capital, Curie Capital, Team Holmium, and Sirius Medical’s team.

Qount, a Plano, TX-based developer of AI-powered practice management software solutions for public accounting firms, raised $17M in funding. The round was led by Savant Growth, with funding from its investment partner, Kennet Partners with a co-investment from the new leadership team.

LogicStar, a Swiss AI startup automating software maintenance, raised a $3M pre-seed led by Northzone, with angels from DeepMind, Sequoia scouts, and Spotify. Founded in 2024, the company uses LLMs for bug detection and fixes, targeting enterprises with Python support and plans to expand to JavaScript and Java.

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NEW VCs IN THE MARKET

🏦 Venture Capital updates

Hitachi Ventures, a Munich-based corporate VC, secured $400M for its fourth fund to back deep tech startups in AI, energy, biotech, and manufacturing. The firm, fully backed by Hitachi, focuses on Series A investments with $5M initial checks and 55% reserved for follow-ons.

GTMfund, led by Max Altschuler, closed a $54M second fund to back early-stage startups at pre-seed to Series A. The operator-led VC, backed by 300 GTM experts and six institutions, helps startups with sales strategies and hiring while investing $500K-$1.5M per deal.

KEY STORIES IN TECH

📜 Latest in tech

With $800M annual run rate, Deel plans for IPO:

• Deel sold $300M in secondary shares to General Catalyst and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, giving early investors liquidity while bringing on a new strategic backer.

• The HR and fintech startup reported a 70% revenue growth in 2024, reaching an $800M annual revenue run rate, as it lays the groundwork for an IPO.

• Deel’s valuation rose to $12.6B post-sale, with reports indicating a public listing could happen as early as 2025, despite ongoing legal challenges.

Hugging Face developers build Open deep research alternative to OpenAI:

• Hugging Face developers, led by Thomas Wolf, created Open Deep Research, an open alternative to OpenAI’s deep research, using OpenAI’s o1 model and an open-source agentic framework.

• Open Deep Research autonomously browses the web, manipulates files, and runs calculations, achieving a 54% GAIA benchmark score compared to OpenAI deep research’s 67.36%.

• While Open Deep Research is open-source and rapidly evolving, it lacks OpenAI’s o3 model, which remains unmatched in answering complex questions and gathering information.

OpenAI partners with Korea’s Kakao after inking SoftBank Japanese JV:

• OpenAI is partnering with Kakao to develop a Korean-language AI assistant, integrate ChatGPT into KakaoTalk, and deploy ChatGPT Enterprise for internal use, marking a major expansion in Korea.

• The announcement follows SoftBank’s commitment to invest $3 billion annually in OpenAI’s tech across its group companies and the creation of SB OpenAI Japan to offer enterprise AI solutions.

• These moves position OpenAI to train its AI on more Asian-language data, countering DeepSeek’s rapid rise and ensuring its models remain competitive globally.

Google wants Search to be more like an AI assistant in 2025:

• Google is transforming Search into an AI-powered assistant, with CEO Sundar Pichai calling 2025 a major year for search innovation, integrating AI features like Project Astra and Deep Research.

• AI-generated search results will move beyond simple links, with Gemini Deep Research handling complex queries and Project Mariner automating web interactions for users.

• Despite early missteps with AI overviews, Google is doubling down on AI-driven search experiences, aiming to compete with ChatGPT and reshape how people find information online.

Spotify reports €1.4 Billion profit in 2024, first profitable year:

• Spotify posted a record €477M Q4 operating income, closing 2024 with €1.4B in profits, marking its first profitable year since launch.

• The platform added 35M monthly active users in Q4, reaching 675M total users, while its paid subscriber base grew to 263M despite price hikes.

• Spotify’s profitability follows a new multi-year deal with Universal Music Group, potentially paving the way for exclusive fan offerings and a HiFi subscription.

LAST COFFEE SIP

☕Other news

Apple launches “Invites” app, competing with Partiful and Evite:

• Apple introduced Invites, an event invitation app that lets users create, share, and manage RSVPs, with features like Shared Albums, event soundtracks, and Apple Intelligence-powered writing tools.

• iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations, while anyone—including non-Apple users—can RSVP via the web, directly competing with apps like Partiful, Evite, and Paperless Post.

• Apple integrates Maps, Weather, and Apple Music into Invites, but its similarity to Partiful has sparked criticism, with the startup implying Apple copied its platform.

China launches antitrust probes into Google and Nvidia:

• China has revived antitrust investigations into Google and Nvidia, and is considering a probe into Intel, as a potential countermeasure against US tariffs imposed by President Trump.

• The investigations focus on Google's dominance in the Android market and Nvidia's compliance with conditions from its Mellanox acquisition, while Intel's case remains uncertain.

• These probes could result in fines or restricted market access for US tech giants in China, further escalating tensions in the ongoing US-China trade conflict.

HIRING ALERT: STARTUPS & VC ROLES

💼 Today’s VC & startup job opportunities

• Investor - Griffin Gaming Partner | USA - Apply Here

• Technical Investing Associate - Capital One Venture | USA - Apply Here

• Analyst - YZR Capital | Germany - Apply Here

• Senior Analyst/ Associate - Insignia Venture Partner | Singapore - Apply Here

• Investor Relation Associate - Venture Garage | India - Apply Here

• Legal Intern - Plug and Play tech center | USA - Apply Here

• Investment Manager - Outlier Venture | UK - Apply Here

• Chief of Staff - Seed Startup | USA - Apply Here

CURATED RESOURCES

🎁 Don’t miss - Curated Resources for Founders.

• Write Your Monthly Investor Update (Email Template Download).

• Excel Template: Early Stage Startup Financial Model For Fundraising

• 2700+ US Angel Investors & VC Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

• 1000+ Euro Tech Angel Investors & VC Firms Database.

• 350+ Indian Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

• 400+ French Angel Investors & Venture Capital Firms Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

• 250+ Latin America VC Firms & Angel Investors Database

• 150+ African Angel Investors Contact Database (Email + LinkedIn Link).

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