Defending Russia’s EU Neighbors | TechCrunch
Welcome to Startups Weekly – a weekly roundup of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups, Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday,
This week we’re taking a look at an AI startup that wants to help people get creative with video; Kudos, which raised $3 million to help relieve diaper rash; and VCs who are backing other VCs.
The most interesting startup stories of the week
Investors keep pouring dollars and euros into startups that can help defend the world from aggressive countries. Helsing, a defense startup that uses AI to improve battlefield decisions, has raised €450 million ($487 million). Some of that money will go toward a new entity in Estonia that will protect the Baltic states from its dangerous neighbor Russia. Helsing’s valuation has risen to $5.4 billion from $1.85 billion last year, according to Bloomberg’s sources. Meanwhile, some U.S. venture funds with defense tech strategies are arming themselves with a new type of investor: veterans and former Defense Department officials.
Speaking of rising valuations, the latest numbers from PitchBook Data show that startup prices are set to reach an all-time high in 2024. Is it time to rejoice that the recession is over? Not so fast. Turns out, prices have only risen for the best companies. Everyone else is still struggling to raise capital or looking for a way to hide poor valuations.
Turning an AI enemy into a friend: While Hollywood artists may be worried that AI technology will take away their livelihood, Dreamflare, a startup founded by a documentary filmmaker and an ex-Googler, wants creators to create more content and a decent income with AI. The studio will help animation artists work with an experienced creative team on story development and then distribute the videos through its online platform.
Eliminate your anxiety, The fear of war and the possibility of AI replacing people’s jobs are further exacerbating the existing mental health crisis. Scribble Journey has created an app that helps users explore their emotions through art therapy.
This week’s most interesting fundraising campaigns
The US is short of tech and other high-skilled professionals. Importing that talent from abroad is one solution. But getting a work visa approved by the US State Department may not be just a function of limited slots. Immigration lawyers sometimes give the wrong advice to individuals seeking to work in the country. Kyrgyzstan-born, Harvard-educated Aizada Marat founded Alma, an AI-powered legal tech startup that speeds up and simplifies the process of obtaining visas for technologists, founders, and researchers.
Sending money abroad: Nala, an African payments startup, raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Acru Capital. This massive round shows that international remittances can be a huge business.
Data-Driven DiagnosticsBusy doctors don’t always have the time to review every data point in a patient’s chart, which sometimes leads to missed diagnoses. Regard, a startup that just recently raised $61 million at a $350 million valuation, does this for physicians with the help of AI.
Goodbye, diaper rash, Is your baby not sleeping well? Maybe he doesn’t like the feel of plastic at the fold of the diaper. Try a startup called Kudos, which makes diapers from 100% cotton and has raised $3 million.
The most interesting fund news this week
Index Ventures restocks: Brand-name funds have no problem raising huge amounts of funds these days. Index Ventures has announced a new capital raise of $2.3 billion. The firm’s fund raise is slightly smaller than last year, but Index says it’s a reasonable amount for the current market.
look at the stars, Germany-based Alpine Space Ventures has raised a $184 million (€170 million) fund to invest in companies serving the space industry in the US and Europe.
Support of V.C. by V.C., Kearney Jackson raised a $65 million third fund of pre-seed and seed B2B SaaS and fintech infrastructure startups. The firm’s LPs include Sequoia, Bain Capital Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and Marc Andreessen.
last but not least
Arianna Huffington has teamed up with Sam Altman to launch a new health coaching startup, Thrive AI Health. The company is backed by Huffington’s wellness company Thrive and the OpenAI Startup Fund. The startup will provide an AI-powered assistant that motivates people to live a healthier lifestyle. Of course, the question is, will it be as successful as a human coach in motivating people to exercise and eat their veggies? Another question is how much funding Thrive AI Health received to develop its capabilities.