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Welcome to Startups Weekly — your hebdomadary retread of everything you ca n’t omit from the world of startup . Sign uphereto get it in your inbox every Friday .
This hebdomad we ’re wait at an AI inauguration that want to help people get creative with telecasting ; Kudos , which raised $ 3 million to help get disembarrass of diaper roseola ; and VCs back other VCs .
Most interesting startup stories from the week
investor keep pouring dollars and euro into startups that can help protect the world from aggressive res publica . Helsing , a defense startup that uses AI to amend battleground decisions , hasraised € 450 million ( $ 487 million ) . Some of that money will go toward a new entity in Estonia to protect the Baltic states from its dangerous neighbour , Russia . According to Bloomberg’ssources , Helsing ’s valuation jump from $ 1.85 billion last twelvemonth to $ 5.4 billion . Meanwhile , some U.S. venture funds with defense tech strategies are build up themselves withnew types of investor : veterans and X - Department of Defense officials .
talk of soaring valuations , the latest numbers from PitchBook information show that startup price have hit anall - meter highin 2024 . Is it time to rejoice about the destruction of the downturn ? Not so fast . Turns out that cost are up only for the best companies . Everyone else is still struggling to raise Washington or is find a manner to obfuscate poor valuations .
Turning AI foeman into friend : While Hollywood artists may be nervous about AI technical school steal their support , DreamFlare , a inauguration founded by a written document filmmaker and an X - Googler , want creators to make more cognitive content and a nice income with AI . The studio will help vitality artists work alongside an experienced originative team on story development and then will parcel out the video through its on-line platform .
puff your anxiety aside : Fears of war and the possibility of AI replacing people ’s jobs are only lend to the existing genial health crisis . Scribble Journeycreated an app that helps users search their emotions through artwork therapy .
Most interesting fundraises this week
The U.S. is short on tech and other gamey - skilled pro . import that endowment from abroad is one of the answers . But getting a workplace visa okay by the U.S. Department of State may not be just a social function of modified slots . Immigration lawyers sometimes give haywire advice to individuals look to act upon in the country . The Kyrgyzstan - bear , Harvard - educated Aizada Maratfounded Alma , an AI - powered legal tech inauguration that speed up and simplify the visa obtainment process for technologists , founder and researchers .
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Sending money afield : Nala , an African payments startup , raise a $ 40 million Series A round lead by Acrew Capital . The vast round shew that international remittances could be a vast business .
Data - powered diagnoses : Busy doctors do n’t always have sentence to review every information point in a affected role ’s chart , occasionally leading to missed diagnosing . Regard , a inauguration that just raised $ 61 million at a $ 350 million rating , does this for physicians with the aid of AI .
Bye - bye , nappy rash : Baby not sleeping well ? He or she may hate the touch of credit card on the bends of their diaper . GiveKudos , a inauguration that lines its diaper with 100 % cotton fiber and raised $ 3 million , a endeavour .
Most interesting fund news this week
Index Ventures restocks : Brand name investment trust seem to have no problem raise huge funds these days . Index Venturesannounced $ 2.3 billion in fresh Washington . The business firm ’s fundraise is slimly belittled than its previous time of origin , but Index state it ’s an appropriate amount for the current marketplace .
front to the stars : German - basedAlpine Space Ventureshas farm a $ 184 million ( € 170 million ) investment company to invest in companionship serve the space diligence in the U.S. and Europe .
VCs backing VCs : Kearny Jackson lift a $ 65 million third fundfrom pre - seed and seed B2B SaaS and fintech substructure startups . The house ’s LPs include Sequoia , Bain Capital Ventures , Menlo Ventures and Marc Andreessen .
Last but not least
Arianna Huffington teamed up with Sam Altman on a new health coaching job startup , Thrive AI Health . The company is backed by Huffington ’s wellness company Thrive and the OpenAI Startup Fund . The startup will offer an AI - power helper that nudges citizenry to lead a healthier lifestyle . The head is , of path , will it be as successful as a human coach in get individuals to exercise and eat on their vegetables ? Another question is how much financial support Thrive AI Health received to develop its capability .
