WHAT’S INSIDE

• The latest in Tech: Trump Tariffs, DOGE vs SSA, Beijing Bailout, Milton, PwC 

• The biggest startup deals: xAI, Fleet.io, Mercury, Island + more.

• Companies To Watch: OpenAI, Monica, Nebius, HoneyBook + more

• The latest exit deals: and companies going public, IPOs 

• The latest VC & PE news and funds raised

TECH IN THE NEWS

Trump Tariffs Go Big — President Trump proposes a “universal duty” on imported goods to transform the U.S. economy, calling it more aggressive than earlier tariffs.

DOGE vs Social Security? — The SSA is revamping its decades-old COBOL code in a DOGE modernization push, aiming to streamline benefits for millions of retirees.

Beijing’s $72B Bailout — The Chinese government is injecting $72B into its biggest state-owned banks to spur lending and support infrastructure and tech growth.

Pardoned Nikola Founder — Trevor Milton, previously convicted of fraud for misleading investors about Nikola’s EV tech, received a full pardon from Pres. Trump.

PwC — Launched an AI Agent Operating System to enhance enterprise AI workflows. This system facilitates faster integration and collaboration of AI agents, boosting efficiency in logistics, marketing, and compliance.

DEALS WE’RE WATCHING
Closed Deals:

MASSIVE DEALS

Fleetio — The Birmingham, AL fleet-management software startup raised $450M at a $1.5B valuation, co-led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Elephant, to acquire Auto Integrate.

Mercury — The San Francisco online banking platform for startups raised $300M at a $3.5B valuation, led by Sequoia, with participation from Coatue.

Island — The Dallas secure enterprise browser startup raised a $250M Series E at a $4.8B valuation, led by Coatue.

The Bot Co. — The San Francisco household-robotics startup co-founded by Kyle Vogt raised $150M at a $2B valuation, led by Greenoaks.

Supira Medical — The Los Gatos cardiac device developer raised $120M, co-led by Novo Holdings and QIA, for its small heart pump technology.

Nexthop AI — The San Francisco cloud infra software startup raised $110M (seed + Series A), led by Lightspeed Ventures with Kleiner Perkins and others.

Also — The Rivian Spin-Out, lightweight EV maker raised $105M from Eclipse Ventures to develop small EVs like bikes and scooters.

LARGE DEALS

Character Biosciences — The Jersey City, NJ eye therapy startup raised $93M Series B, co-led by aMoon and Luma Group, with Bausch + Lomb also investing.

Underdog — The Brooklyn fantasy sports and betting startup raised $70M (part of a $100M+ Series C) at a $1.225B pre-money valuation, led by Spark Capital.

Epicrispr Biotechnologies — The San Fran developer of CRISPR-based muscular dystrophy therapies raised $68M Series B, led by Ally Bridge Group.

Hillstar Bio — The Boston autoimmune therapy startup raised $67M Series A from Droia Ventures, Frazier Life Sciences, Novo Holdings, and others.

Navina — The New York AI-based Clinical AI and EHR analytics startup raised $55M Series C, led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

GridPoint — The Reston, VA energy-efficiency startup raised $45M, led by Marunouchi Innovation Partners with Goldman Sachs and others.

Rogo AI — The New York enterprise AI platform for investment banks is raising $40M at up to a $350M valuation, led by Thrive Capital with Khosla also in.

SMALLER DEALS

Allen Control Systems — The Austin robotics startup focused on autonomous weapon stations raised $30M Series A, led by Craft Ventures.

Capital Markets Gateway — The New York digital ECM platform raised $30M Series C led by StageDotO, with major banks like BofA, Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and others.

Arcade — The San Francisco AI-powered design platform for custom products raised a $25M Series A led by Canaan, with Forerunner Ventures participating.

Rain — The New York stablecoin-based payments startup raised $24.5M, led by Norwest, with Galaxy Ventures and others.

Dyna Robotics — The Redwood City robotics startup raised $23.5M seed, co-led by CRV and First Round.

Playback — The San Francisco watch-parties-for-sports platform raised $22M total (seed + A) from Khosla, Seven Seven Six, and NBA Investments.

AtmoCooling — The Seattle large-scale seawater-based cooling startup raised $2.6M pre-seed, co-led by Nucleus Capital and Revent.

Companies to Watch:

OpenAI — The AI research lab is nearing a $40B funding round led by SoftBank with participation from investors like Magnestar Capital. An initial $7.5B investment will be followed by $22.5B, potentially increasing its valuation to $300B.

Monica — The Chinese AI agent startup behind Manus is raising an undisclosed round at a $500M+ valuation, more than 5x its previous mark.

Nebius — A full-stack platform provider targeting startups and enterprises. Unlike rival CoreWeave, Nebius boasts a debt-free financial structure and significant cash reserves, making it a potentially stronger long-term investment due to its diversified business model.

HoneyBook — The San Franbased platform for independent entrepreneurs has achieved $140M in ARR, maintaining a $2.4B valuation. New AI features aim to boost service pricing and customer engagement.

FuriosaAI — The South Korean AI chip developer turned down an $800M acquisition offer from Meta. FuriosaAI aims to focus on its Warboy and Renegade chips, targeting competition with Nvidia and AMD, underscoring innovation over acquisition.

Browser Use — This YC startup, focused on enhancing AI agents' website navigation, raised $17M. By converting web elements into a readable format, it aims to improve task automation for developers and become a key tool for online AI interactions.

Earth AI — Specializing in AI-driven mineral exploration, Earth AI has identified six new mineral prospects for tungsten, cobalt, and gold. The company's projects, Kooranjie and Elkedra, show promising results, eyes May 2025 exploring.

Ubisoft — Ubisoft is spinning off its major franchises into a new gaming subsidiary. Tencent is investing 1.16 billion euros for a 25% stake, valuing the subsidiary at 4 billion euros. This strategic move aims to enhance game ecosystems.

​See the full list of companies to watch from last week

DEALS WE’RE WATCHING
The Funding Buzz 

Emergence Capital — The 22-year-old San Mateo VC firm closed a $1B Fund VII to back early- and growth-stage enterprise SaaS startups.

Founders Future — The Paris-based VC with $324M AUM plans to raise up to $250M next to expand its European and U.S. footprint by 2030.

Daphni — The French VC raised a $215M third fund (Daphni Blue) to back 40 startups in fundamental science and sustainable tech.

Maven 11 — The Amsterdam-based crypto VC raised a $107M third fund, citing cautious LP sentiment amid current market conditions.

Tactile — Brian O’Malley (ex-Forerunner) is raising a $100M early-stage consumer-focused fund.

Olympus Partners — The midmarket firm closed its eighth PE fund at $3.5B during a period when the PE industry grappled with sluggish exit activity.

Madison Dearborn — The Chicago-based PE firm is seeking to raise $3B for its ninth fund, its smallest to-date.

Exit Watch:

Braze / OfferFit — Braze will acquire the Boston-based AI decisioning startup OfferFit for $325M to boost its enterprise customer engagement suite.

Willow / Elvie — Willow, the SF wearable breast pump maker, acquired UK company Elvie’s assets, strengthening its women’s health portfolio.

Infinite Reality / Napster — Infinite Reality is acquiring Napster from Algorand for $207M, expanding into AI-powered immersive music experiences.

Nvidia / Lepton AI — Nvidia is reportedly buying Lepton AI for several hundred million dollars, enhancing large-scale cloud AI capabilities.

IPO Watch

CoreWeave — The New Jersey AIaaS provider backed by Nvidia priced its IPO at $40/share, below its $47-$55 target range. It closed at $40, raising $1.5B in the largest U.S. tech IPO since 2021.

StubHub — The ticket marketplace’s IPO filing omits one co-founder from its official company history, sparking controversy.

eToro — The Tel Aviv multi-asset trading platform filed to go public, letting users trade stocks, ETFs, crypto, and more.

Terrestrial Energy — The Charlotte, NC developer of small modular nuclear reactors went public via SPAC to fund commercialization.

Flexport — The freight forwarder led by Ryan Petersen may either pursue an IPO or a secondary tender for employee/investor liquidity.