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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - North America, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌎️

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📰 Important News

• Rippling has sued rival Deel for trade secret theft and RICO violations, alleging Deel hired a spy to access sensitive data, while Deel denies the claims.

• The White House is leading talks for ByteDance’s largest non-Chinese investors to increase their stakes and acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations.

• Armis laid off over half of Otorio's staff, including 45 employees, following its $120 million acquisition of the Israeli cybersecurity startup.

• OpenAI has upgraded its transcription and voice-generating AI models, introducing a more nuanced and steerable text-to-speech model, gpt-4o-mini-tts.

• Liam Fedus left OpenAI to start a materials science AI company, planning to compete with firms like Google DeepMind and Microsoft.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Cloud IT firm Nerdio raised $500 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at $1.2 billion, to simplify cloud management and expand globally.

• Latigo Biotherapeutics secured $150 million in Series B to advance its non-opioid pain treatments targeting Nav1.8 inhibitors.

• BuildOps closed a $127 million Series C round at a $1 billion valuation to expand its field service management software for commercial contractors.

• Curevo raised $110 million in Series B to advance amezosvatein, a shingles vaccine with improved tolerability, targeting a Phase 3 trial.

• Dataminr secured $85 million in convertible financing and credit to fuel growth, expand globally, and develop new products despite recent layoffs.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Alphabet has acquired cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion, marking its largest acquisition ever, surpassing a previous $23 billion offer.

• SoftBank is acquiring semiconductor designer Ampere for $6.5 billion in an all-cash deal to enhance its AI infrastructure capabilities.

• StubHub has filed for an IPO on the NYSE under the ticker “STUB” after a net loss of $2.8 million in 2024, following a $4 billion buyback in 2020.

• Munich Re is acquiring Next Insurance for $2.6 billion, with the digital insurer joining Munich Re’s ERGO Group to expand its presence in the U.S.

• Nvidia has acquired synthetic data startup Gretel for a reported nine-figure sum to enhance its generative AI services.

🏦 About Investors

• Michael Seibel is transitioning to a partner emeritus role at Y Combinator after over 12 years, with plans to focus on government work.

• Ribbit Capital is raising a $500 million fund, signaling renewed fintech momentum as the firm continues investing in global startups.

• Al Gore’s Just Climate fund raised $175 million from Microsoft and CalSTRS to focus on climate solutions like reforestation and biodiversity restoration.

• Sequoia Capital will close its Washington DC office and dissolve its policy team by March 2025, shifting its approach to policy engagement.

• Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts, and Index Ventures are set to gain up to 200x returns from Alphabet’s $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Wiz

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has acquired Israeli cloud security startup Wiz for $32 billion, making it the largest acquisition in Alphabet’s history. Founded in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak—who previously founded Adallom—Wiz provides a platform for analyzing computing infrastructure hosted in Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Kubernetes. Headquartered in New York City, the company specializes in securing cloud environments across multiple platforms. This deal surpasses a previous $23 billion offer that was postponed due to antitrust concerns, highlighting Alphabet’s strategic push into cybersecurity.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Michael Seibel

Michael Seibel, a longtime leader at Y Combinator, is transitioning to a partner emeritus role after more than 12 years, having served as a founder, group partner, managing director, and CEO of the accelerator. A co-founder of Justin.tv (which later became Twitch) and Socialcam, Seibel played a pivotal role in YC’s growth and influence in the startup ecosystem. As he steps back, he plans to take the summer off before focusing on government work, a passion he originally pursued after graduating from Yale with a degree in political science.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: the Techstars Tokyo Accelerator

Apply to the Techstars Tokyo Accelerator by May 14th, 2025, and elevate your startup on the global stage. This sector-agnostic program supports entrepreneurs in Deeptech, Fintech, Cleantech, and Climatetech, providing access to a world-class ecosystem, mentorship, and investor connections. If you’re an international startup looking to target Japan or find local business partners and talent, this program is for you. Powered by Mitsui Fudosan and JETRO Startup, in collaboration with the Cabinet Office, METI, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the accelerator kicks off on August 18th, 2025, with Demo Day on November 11th. Start your application today and join a vibrant global network of innovators in Tokyo!