Weekly startups: Mercury has more than doubled its valuation and other news

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This week reminded us that creative accounts does not only occur in Hollywood. Some hopes have been wiped out, but startups hold all kinds of promises, from nuclear reactors to small electric vehicles.

The most interesting start -up stories of the week

This week’s startup news was really a mixed bag, with a finalized public outing and another delayed and a burst of other developments, promising and disappointing.

Unsubscribe creation: Techcrunch learned that several companies with logos on the 11x website were Not real customers From the startup supported by A16Z and Benchmark. Sources have also said that the creative means used 11x to calculate annual recurring income.

Additional details: Cerebras Systems saw its IPO again delayed. The manufacturer of ia fleas filed a public file in 2024, but his national security exam was dragged.

Nuclear: Earthly energy, an American nuclear startup that develops small modular reactors, went public via spac And expects to bring in $ 280 million. Meanwhile, Commonwealth fusion systems supported by Bill Gates Press a key step To build his demonstration reactor.

Not enough: Benefit of vertical agriculture bankrupt After raising nearly a billion dollars in funding from investors, including SoftBank, Walmart, Bezos Expeditions and Jeff Bezos investment advisers as a providential investor.

Dismissal: Block, the finup fintech co-founded by Jack Dorsey, licensee 931 peopleAccording to an email disclosed. The company, which has cash and square applications, has already made layoffs in 2024.

Rumor: Nvidia would be Close to an agreement to acquire Lepton AiA startup that rents servers powered by its AI chips. And Furiosaai, a South Korean startup that makes fleas for IA applications, would have rejected an acquisition offer of $ 800 million of Meta.

VC news and the most interesting financing this week

From the pre-series to an E series, here are some laps that caught our attention this week. In addition, new financing for VCs to invest in new offers.

Hot thermometer: Mercury digital banking startup lifted $ 300 million In primary and secondary funding, including a C series led by Sequoia. This has also more than doubled its evaluation at $ 3.5 billion after my money.

Assessment bump: Island, a company that manufactures business browsers, obtained $ 250 million In an E series led by Cotoue which appreciated the startup based in Dallas at 4.85 billion dollars – a significant valuation bump less than a year after its previous round.

Also: Rivian turned A new micromobility startup also calledwhich has already received $ 105 million from Eclipse Ventures. Its objective is to build small electric vehicles, with a flagship product which is in production next year for consumers in the United States and Europe.

Automated: Workflow startup based on fast growth Berlin N8N lifted $ 60 million In a round of funding led by Highland Europe, with HV Capital and previous investors Sequoia, Felicis and Harpoon also participating. Sources have indicated that the evaluation was nearly $ 270 million.

Latam ramp: YC alum based in Mexico City Mendel collected a series B of $ 35 million And expects its activities to reach profitability by the end of 2025.

Riche: Arcade, an AI generator market for jewelry design, announced simultaneously Its 25 million dollars series has a financing round And its expansion of goods at home, starting with carpets.

No free workforce:: The former CEO of Outreach, Manny Medina Make sure that AI agents are paid.

More ai:: Emergence capital based in San Mateo, California, closed a seventh fund of $ 1 billion To support B2B companies, with great interest in AI.

Blue checks: The French company of VC Daphni announced the first closure of its third fund, Daphni Blue, with around $ 215 million guaranteed On its overall goal of $ 270 million.

Beyond the voice:: The Alexa Fund of Amazon has expanded its scope beyond vocal startups, with a Wider focus on AI investments.

Last but not least

A new report presented the 20 warmest open source startups in the world. You can find it Complete list and more details here. As you may have guessed, more than half of them have an AI at the base.