Defense tech was the talk of venture in 2023 as last year ended with some pretty large rounds. But this year, money has slowed despite global tensions picking up.
news.crunchbase.com/ai/defense-mil…

We speak with Bain Capital Ventures partner Rak Garg about the approach the firm — which currently is investing out of its latest $1.9 billion fund — is taking when it comes to backing startups in the increasingly competitive AI space.
news.crunchbase.com/business/bain-…

Q1 2024 statistics compiled by Paddle show evidence of a SaaS market reconciliation. Guest author Jimmy Fitzgerald, CEO of the payments infrastructure provider, provides some strategies for B2B and B2C founders to thrive as the market resets.
news.crunchbase.com/saas/market-re…

After some rough years in the startup world, things are starting to look up. But what’s the Goldilocks scenario investors and founders are hoping for? Investor Marc Schröder shares what he's discovered.
news.crunchbase.com/business/goldi…

U.S. venture investors have mostly closed the door on smart-home and smart-building investments, Crunchbase data shows, with less than $100M going to such companies so far this year. But while investment is down, it hasn’t dried up entirely.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/smart-…

Another big day for AI startups: SF's Scale AI raised $1B in a round led by Accel that values the data labeling and evaluation startup at $13.8B. And Paris-based AI startup H, previously referred to as Holistic AI, launched with a $220M round.
news.crunchbase.com/ai/scale-holis…

U.S.-based startups have collected 115 megadeals — funding rounds of $100 million or more — through mid-May, per The Crunchbase Megadeals Board. That's a 58% spike year over year and could be a signal that VC funding is poised for a more general recovery.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/megade…

Putting all your eggs in one basket can lead to precarious situations in your short-term commercial success and your long-term growth trajectory and exit potential. Startup adviser Itay Sagie offers strategies to mitigate and spread your startup’s risks.
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Security company CyberArk began the week with a bang — buying machine identity company Venafi for $1.5 billion. The deal is the largest this year for a private cybersecurity company, per Crunchbase data.
news.crunchbase.com/ma/cyberark-bu…

If the current sluggish pace of IPOs and acquisitions continues, it would take almost half a century for every U.S. unicorn to generate an exit, Crunchbase data shows.
news.crunchbase.com/startups/unico…

The vacation rental market has room for innovation, but 16 years after Airbnb set out to popularize a new model, startups attempting to address some issues have had limited success pitching investors, Crunchbase data shows.
news.crunchbase.com/real-estate-pr…

Startup founders often wonder (and fear) when their growth will slow down and eventually plateau. Entrepreneur and investor John S. Kim offers a simple way to calculate terminal ARR to set priorities to improve or structurally change your business.
news.crunchbase.com/startups/calcu…

Two deals to U.S.-based startups last week hit a quarter-billion dollars or more and there were 8 rounds of $100M-plus. Biotech made up nearly a third of the list, while other sectors that don’t usually make the list were represented.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/bigges…

The list for firms investing in U.S.-based startups had some big names — Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Lux Capital and Founders Fund all came in high. Look at who invested a lot in startups last month, and what they invested in.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/most-a…

The AI, Web3 and e-commerce sectors each added two companies to The Crunchbase Unicorn Board last month. The two AI companies were valued at a billion dollars-plus just in their first year of existence.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/unicor…

With graduation season upon us, we take a look at U.S. universities that graduate the highest number of startup founders who raised funding this past year. The results include a mix of Ivy League schools, flagship state universities, and others.
news.crunchbase.com/startups/top-u…

Startups tied to the planet’s lightest element are seeing some heavy funding lately. So far this year, developers of technology to produce and distribute low-emission hydrogen have raised more than $1 billion, our data shows.
news.crunchbase.com/ai/sf-bay-area…

Crunchbase funding data as well as interviews with startup investors and real estate industry professionals show the SF Bay Area has indeed become the undisputed epicenter of artificial intelligence.
news.crunchbase.com/ai/sf-bay-area…

Even as investors talk about learning lessons from the easy money days of 2020-21, valuations are still going crazy in the AI space.
news.crunchbase.com/ai/big-rounds-…

Big rounds this week continued as Vercel locked up a $250M Series E led by Accel. The company, which allows companies to develop web applications in the cloud, is now valued at $3.25B, a 30% uptick from its most recent raise in 2021.
news.crunchbase.com/cloud/vercels-…