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It’s not every day that we report on an 11-figure startup acquisition, let alone multiple high-value deals in a single week. Moreover, there are other subtle signs that suggest a surprisingly positive outlook in the startup landscape.

Key Startup Stories of the Week

This week saw several significant acquisitions, the emergence of new startups, and some heated rivalries.

A well-timed bet: Wiz’s decision to decline Google’s $23 billion offer last year has proven to be a wise move. Google has now agreed to acquire Wiz for $32 billion in cash, plus an additional $1 billion in retention bonuses.

This exit will result in significant liquidity for many, particularly for Israel-based VC Cyberstarts, which will see a massive 200x return on its early investment in Wiz.

Acquisition spree: SoftBank Group is set to acquire chip startup Ampere Computing in a $6.5 billion all-cash deal expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Insurtech deal: Insurtech startup Next Insurance is being acquired by Munich Re for $2.6 billion.

Synthetic data acquisition: Nvidia has reportedly acquired synthetic data startup Gretel for a nine-figure price tag exceeding its latest $320 million valuation.

New e-commerce startup: The former CEO of one-click checkout startup Bolt is launching a new e-commerce startup called Spangle AI, which creates custom landing pages for shoppers based on their search history or clicks.

Generalist robots: A key senior research scientist at DeepMind has left Google to create Generalist AI, a stealth robotics startup backed by Nvidia, aiming to make general-purpose robots a reality.

Partnership shift: Shortly after its IPO filing, Swedish scale-up Klarna announced it would now be Walmart’s exclusive BNPL partner instead of competitor Affirm.

Logistics rivalry: Logistics unicorn Flexport is suing two former employees who formed competing startup Freightmate AI, alleging they stole documents and code, which the pair strongly denies.

HR drama: HR tech company Rippling is suing competitor Deel in a lawsuit largely centered on an employee Rippling claims was working as a spy for Deel, which Deel denies.

Notable VC and Funding News This Week

The following funding news items suggest a sense of confidence in the market.

European cloud infrastructure: Evroc, a Swedish startup focused on building a secure, sovereign, and sustainable hyperscale cloud in Europe, has raised $55 million in Series A funding.

No equity dilution: Spanish HR unicorn Factorial has secured $120 million from General Catalyst in the form of a nondilutive loan, neither equity nor venture debt.

AI-powered code review: Graphite, an AI-powered code-review platform, has secured a $52 million Series B round led by Accel, with participation from Anthropic’s Anthology Fund and others.

Food e-commerce and AI: Food e-commerce startup GrubMarket has raised a $50 million Series G equity round at a post-money valuation of over $3.5 billion, planning to use the funds to implement more technology, including AI.

Fintech investment: Fintech-focused VC firm Ribbit Capital is raising $500 million for a new fund, another positive signal for the fintech sector.

Climate investments: Just Climate, an offshoot of Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management, has raised $175 million from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and CalSTRS for nature-based climate investments.

And Finally

Following Y Combinator’s W25 Demo Day and a couple of weeks before its spring batch, the accelerator announced the departure of Michael Seibel, who had transitioned into a less operational group partner role and will now be a “partner emeritus.”