All, we've reached that time of year where we're running on fumes and need to refuel with some eggnog, time with the "interns" (one of whom is now an actual college student), and a good book of short stories. In short, we're unplugging for the last two weeks of the year — as has been our tradition since the outset. We'll send one more reminder before Friday, but if you're wondering where we are next week, the answer is: on a giant sofa, with our feet up. We'll be back and recharged January 5th.:) — CL | Top News | Databricks, a 12-year-old San Francisco company that provides data-analytics software for enterprise AI, is reportedly raising a $4+ billion Series L at a $134 billion post-money valuation as private-market demand for AI infrastructure continues to remain red hot. The Wall Street Journal has more here. | The U.S. government escalated its regulatory fight with Europe by warning that it may impose restrictions and fees on firms including Accenture, DHL, Mistral, SAP, Siemens, and Spotify unless the EU reins in what Washington calls discriminatory lawsuits, fines, taxes, and directives targeting American tech companies. The New York Times has more here. | According to Bloomberg, Waymo is in the market to raise over $15 billion at a valuation near $100 billion. Alphabet is set to lead, but Waymo is looking to fill out the round with billions from private backers. More here. | A California judge ruled that Tesla engaged in deceptive marketing around its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features, prompting regulators to give the company 90 days to fix misleading claims before imposing a 30-day suspension of its sales license. TechCrunch has more here. | | |
Harmonic | Corp dev teams at Salesforce and Notion use Scout to source and evaluate opportunities with AI. | Join them! | | How Luminar’s Doomed Volvo Deal Helped Drag the Company Into Bankruptcy |  | Image Credits: Luminar |
| By Sean O’Kane | In early 2023, Luminar was riding high. After going public during the pandemic and scoring a key deal with Volvo, the company had added Mercedes-Benz and Polestar as customers of its “lifesaving” lidar sensors. Founder and CEO Austin Russell called it an “inflection point,” as Luminar prepped to have those sensors integrated into the first production vehicles. | Volvo in particular was all in on the technology. The Swedish automaker, which spent decades building a brand around the idea of making the safest cars, was the first to jump at integrating the laser-based sensors in its vehicles. Volvo initially tapped Luminar to provide 39,500 lidar sensors over the life of a deal signed in 2020. In 2021, Volvo upped that to 673,000. And in 2022, Volvo upped it again, this time to 1.1 million sensors. | Three years later, Luminar is now in bankruptcy. The company has already made a deal to sell off one subsidiary centered around semiconductors and is looking to sell its lidar business during the Chapter 11 process, which began on Monday. | The first batch of filings in the bankruptcy case shed new light on how Luminar’s cornerstone deal with Volvo came apart — and how its undoing helped push the once-promising startup over the edge. | Big promises, then big revisions | Luminar made “substantial up-front investments in equipment, facilities, and workforce” to meet the demand from Volvo back in 2022, according to a declaration written by Luminar’s newly hired chief restructuring officer Robin Chiu. It built out a manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, and spent nearly $200 million to prepare to make its Iris lidar sensors for Volvo’s EX90 SUV. | | | Massive Fundings | Adaptive Security, a three-year-old New York startup that provides AI-powered social engineering prevention tools, raised an $81 million Series B round led by Bain Capital Ventures, with NVentures, OpenAI Startup Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Citi Ventures also taking part. The company has raised a total of $146.5 million. More here. | Aeovian Pharmaceuticals, a 14-year-old Berkeley company that develops selective small molecule therapeutics for metabolic quality control, raised a $55 million Series B round co-led by Luma Group and CTI Life Sciences Fund, with Foresite Capital, SymBiosis, the TSC Alliance Endowment Fund, Wilson Sonsini, Apollo Health Ventures, Hevolution, Sofinnova Investments, and venBio also contributing. More here. | Databricks, a 12-year-old San Francisco company that provides data-analytics software for enterprise AI, is reportedly raising a $4 billion Series L round at a $134 billion post-money valuation. The deal is being co-led by Insight Partners, Fidelity, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with Andreessen Horowitz also joining in. The Wall Street Journal has more here. | Last Energy, a six-year-old startup based in Washington, DC, that builds small modular nuclear reactors, raised a $100 million Series C round led by the Astera Institute, with additional participation from AE Ventures, Galaxy Fund, Gigafund, JAM Fund, The Haskell Company, Ultranative, and Woori Technology. TechCrunch has more here. | RedotPay, a three-year-old Hong Kong startup that provides stablecoin-powered payment services, raised a $107 million Series B round led by Goodwater Capital, with Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Circle Ventures also participating. CoinDesk has more here. | | Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings | Alphyn Biologics, a seven-year-old Cincinnati startup based in Annapolis, MD, that develops dermatology therapeutics for atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases, raised a $25 million Series B round led by QCA Investment Group, with Angel Physicians Fund, and Serial Stage Venture Partners also stepping up. More here. | DataLane, a two-year-old New York startup that builds an identity graph to help companies find and verify local business owners with greater accuracy, raised a $22.5 million Series A round led by Amplify Partners, with Basis Set, Mischief, and Harry Stebbings also chiming in. The company has raised a total of $27 million. CityBiz has more here. | Echo, a Tel Aviv startup founded this year that uses AI agents to build cleaner Docker base images with fewer vulnerabilities, raised a $35 million Series A round led by N47, with Notable Capital, Hyperwise Ventures, and S Ventures also pitching in. The company has raised a total of $50 million. SecurityWeek has more here. | Fluency, an eight-year-old startup based in Burlington, VT, that provides a digital advertising operating system for scaling paid media operations, raised a $40 million Series A round. Integrity Growth Partners was the deal lead. More here. | IND Technology, a 13-year-old Melbourne company that provides early fault detection systems for utilities and grid operators, raised a $50 million round co-led by Angeleno Group and Energy Impact Partners, with Virescent Ventures and Edison International also investing. Business News Australia has more here. | Leona Health, a two-year-old Mexico City startup that helps Latin American doctors manage patient messages on WhatsApp through employing an AI assistant, raised a $14 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with General Catalyst and Accel also opting in. TechCrunch has more here. | MEQ Solutions, a ten-year-old Australian company that uses imaging and AI to assess red-meat quality and yield in real-time, raised a $15.3 million Series A round. Insight Partners provided the funding. Tech Funding News has more here. | Sequence, a five-year-old London and New York startup that automates billing, contract processing, and invoicing for finance teams, raised a $20 million round led by 645 Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz, Firstminute Capital, Passion Capital, Dig Ventures, and Vor Capital also participating. Sifted has more here. | Valerie Health, a two-year-old startup based in Lafayette, CA, that provides an AI front office for independent doctors’ offices, raised a $30 million Series A round led by Redpoint Ventures, with General Catalyst, Primary Ventures, BoxGroup, Karman Ventures, 406 Ventures, and Waybury Capital also engaging. The company has raised a total of $39 million. Fortune has more here. | Vital Lyfe, a two-year-old startup based in Hawthorne, CA, that develops portable systems that turn almost any natural water source into drinkable water, raised a $24 million seed round co-led by Interlagos and General Catalyst and including Generational Partners, Cantos, Space VC, and Also Capital. SiliconANGLE has more here. | Workbooks, a 19-year-old company based in Reading, UK, that provides a mid-market SaaS platform that unifies sales, marketing, customer support, and commercial operations, raised a $22.3 million round. The deal was led by BGF. UK Tech Investment News has more here. | | Smaller Fundings | AIR, a two-year-old New York startup that provides an AI-driven credit intelligence platform for continuous credit ratings, raised a $6.1 million seed round co-led by Work-Bench Ventures and Lerer Hippeau. CityBiz has more here. | Dux Security, a one-year-old Tel Aviv and New York startup that uses agentic AI to identify exploitable security weaknesses and recommend rapid fixes, raised a $9 million seed round co-led by Redpoint Ventures, TLV Partners, and Maple Capital Partners. SiliconANGLE has |
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