breast-pump-startup-willow-acquires-assets-of-elvie-as-uk-women’s-health-pioneer-moves-into-administration

Breast pump startup Willow acquires assets of Elvie as UK women’s health pioneer moves into administration

Women’s health and its startups building connected breast pumps, period trackers, and other apps and hardware designed for women have collectively pulled in more than $5 billion in funding in the last five years, but the market is tight, and now, two of the trailblazers in the space are coming together as consolidation beckons.  Willow

factorial,-a-hr-unicorn,-snaps-up-$120m-from-general-catalyst-to-boost-sales-and-marketing

Factorial, a HR unicorn, snaps up $120M from General Catalyst to boost sales and marketing

Factorial, the Barcelona-based “unicorn” startup that provides an all-in-one HR platform in the cloud for small and medium businesses, has picked up a non-dilutive (no equity) $120 million from General Catalyst — money it says it’ll invest in one specific area: “go-to-market”, or GTM, the umbrella term used for the wider expenses associated with sales

karman+-digs-up-$20m-to-build-an-asteroid-mining-autonomous-spacecraft

Karman+ digs up $20M to build an asteroid-mining autonomous spacecraft

Investors on the lookout for startups working at the frontiers of technology are casting their nets ever further into unchartered territory, sometimes literally as well as figuratively. In one of the latest examples, a startup called Karman+ with ambitions to build autonomous spacecraft that can travel to asteroids and then mine them for materials has

meta-confirms-‘project-waterworth,’-a-global-subsea-cable-project-spanning-50,000-kilometers

Meta confirms ‘Project Waterworth,’ a global subsea cable project spanning 50,000 kilometers

Back in November, we broke the news that Meta — owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with billions of users accounting for 10% of all fixed and 22% of all mobile traffic — was close to announcing work on a major new, $10 billion+ subsea cable project to connect up the globe. The aim was

sgnl-snags-$30m-for-a-new-take-on-id-security-based-on-zero-standing-privileges

SGNL snags $30M for a new take on ID security based on zero-standing privileges

Security experts often describe identity as the “new perimeter” in the world of security: in the world of cloud services where network assets and apps can range far and wide, the biggest vulnerabilities are often leaked and spoofed log-in credentials.  A startup called SGNL has built a new approach that it believes is better at

lanch-bags-$27m-for-a-social-media-skewed-take-on-fast-food

Lanch bags $27M for a social media-skewed take on fast food

E-commerce startups built around food continue to gobble up funding as investors look for sticky consumer concepts that can scale without breaking the bank. On Wednesday, Germany’s Lanch — which taps social media and influencers to develop popular food brands alongside retail networks for distributing them — closed funding of €26 million ($27 million) to

google-leads-$230m-convertible-note-for-boston-quantum-computing-startup-quera

Google leads $230M convertible note for Boston quantum computing startup QuEra

Quantum computing, long relegated to the realm of theoretical, feels like it is back on the agenda as a potentially viable alternative to the expensive race for more powerful compute.  On the heels of some notable advancements in quantum chips and error correction (two of the key areas that have kept quantum computers from becoming

in-paris,-jd-vance-skewers-eu-ai-rules,-lauds-us-tech-supremacy

In Paris, JD Vance skewers EU AI rules, lauds US tech supremacy

At the AI Action Summit in Paris this week, the U.S. declined to sign the statement summarizing the resolutions. But it did make an appearance: Vice President J.D. Vance gave a speech to the audience of dignitaries, tech leaders and regulators. Amid a conference heavy on equitable AI development — specifically, beyond the outsized influence

canada’s-stackadapt-snaps-up-$235m-for-its-ai-based-programmatic-platform

Canada’s StackAdapt snaps up $235M for its AI-based programmatic platform

While the U.S. and Canada duke it out over tariffs between the two countries, a tech company based out of Toronto is announcing a major round of funding led by a homegrown VC. StackAdapt, a programmatic advertising startup, says that it has raised $235 million in equity funding, with Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) — the

tana-snaps-up-$25m,-with-its-ai-powered-knowledge-graph-for-work-racking-up-a-160k+-waitlist

Tana snaps up $25M, with its AI-powered knowledge graph for work racking up a 160k+ waitlist

An app that helps people and teams in the working world simplify their to-do lists — ideally by organising and doing some of the work for them — has remained one of the unsolved goals in business technology. Leaning into AI, on top of battle scars from once building Google Wave, a startup called Tana