Neon provides a serverless Postgres platform for database management that is increasingly being used for agentic workflows.
Prior to getting acquired, Neon had emerged as a clear leader among AI-native database startups. Its Mosaic score of 843 (in the top 1% of companies CB Insights tracks) ranked it as the #2 AI-ready database, behind Cockroach Labs (855 Mosaic).
Databricks had previously invested in Neon through its venture arm, and Neon is the second Databricks Ventures’ portfolio company acquired by Databricks, following Arcion (acquired in 2023).
Who could be next? Easy 3-step, 1-min process using CB Insights:
1️⃣ Search for all Databricks Ventures portfolio companies that are alive and active (not acquired)
2️⃣ Sort them by high Mosaic score and high M&A Probability
3️⃣ You get a list that includes Cleanlab (an AI 100 2024 winner), Hunters, and Snowplow
Meati, once valued at $650M, is being sold for just $4M after a surprise bank sweep wiped its cash.
The mycelium-based meat startup had raised $450M in funding to top alt protein funding charts — but a breached covenant and failed internal raise sent it into a fire sale.
Public player Beyond Meat is having struggles of its own. In Q1’25, it reported a 9% YoY revenue drop, negative 1.5% gross margins, and a $42M EBITDA loss — then pulled its full-year guidance.
The company’s plan? Cut costs, fix consumer perception, and aim for EBITDA breakeven by end of 2026.
But with $1.1B in debt and vague turnaround details, investors are losing their appetite.
Nvidia announced this week that it will supply “several hundred thousand” GPUs to HUMAIN, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, over the next 5 years.
Nvidia’s stock price surged following the news, driving its market cap above $3T for the first time since February. Now valued at $3.28T, Nvidia is the second-most valuable company in the world — and it’s knocking on Microsoft’s door to become #1. (Microsoft is currently valued at $3.38T.)
Nvidia has also leapfrogged big tech peers Microsoft and Amazon in terms of AI startup investments.
This weekend, 20 humanoid robots ran (and stumbled) through Beijing in what China’s calling the world’s first humanoid half-marathon.
The bots, built by university and company teams, clocked in far behind their human counterparts — with top finisher Tiangong Ultra taking 2 hours and 40 minutes (plus three battery swaps and a crew of handlers) to finish.
But this wasn’t about medals — it was about momentum.
China has invested billions in humanoids to catch up with US developers like Figure, Apptronik, and Tesla. While the US still leads in AI systems and chip access, China’s catching up with low-cost bots (as low as $14K vs. US companies’ typical $50K target) and scaled manufacturing.
The US has a slight lead in share of humanoid robot companies (32% vs. China’s 27%) — but as the chart below shows, the race is getting tight.
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