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

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📰 Important News

• TikTok briefly went dark in the U.S. on January 19, 2025, due to a federal ban, before going back online less than 12 hours after.

• Donald Trump has launched the $TRUMP meme coin, reaching a $13.3 billion market cap within days of its release, with plans to expand supply over three years.

• Anduril is investing nearly $1 billion to build Arsenal-1, a massive 5-million-square-foot weapons factory in Columbus, Ohio.

• OpenAI is funding Axios' expansion into four new cities with local newsletters as part of a three-year partnership.

• Electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations after struggling to secure funding and facing financial difficulties.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Truveta, a Seattle health data company, raised $320 million to create the Truveta Genome Project, pushing its valuation above $1 billion.

• Stoke Space raised $260 million in Series C funding, bringing its total to $480 million, to build the first fully reusable rocket.

• Colossal Biosciences raised $200 million at a $10.2 billion valuation to fund its mission to resurrect woolly mammoths and other extinct species.

• Tune Therapeutics raised $175 million to support clinical trials for its epigenetic treatment of chronic Hepatitis B.

• Loft Orbital raised $170 million in Series C funding to focus on expanding satellite launches and AI-powered virtual missions.

💰️ Notable Exits

• eToro has filed for a U.S. IPO targeting a valuation of over $5 billion, aiming for a Q2 2025 listing after a previous SPAC attempt was abandoned.

• Chainalysis acquired Alterya for $150 million to strengthen its fraud prevention capabilities in cryptocurrency and real-time payment networks.

• Global AI acquired Tectu for $13 million, integrating its technology and 70 employees into a new R&D center in Israel to develop advanced AI solutions.

• Perplexity acquired the professional social media platform Read.cv, which will wind down operations, with its team joining Perplexity.

• eBay is acquiring Caramel, a startup that simplifies the final steps of online car sales, including verification and financing.

🏦 About Investors

• Insight Partners closed $12.5 billion in new capital with Fund XIII and its second Opportunity fund, bringing its total AUM to $90 billion.

• Intel will spin off its venture capital arm Intel Capital into an independent firm by mid-2025, allowing external funding.

• The51 closed its $35.26 million Food and AgTech Fund, which focuses on investing in diverse founders transforming food and agriculture.

• Elron Ventures appointed Yaniv Shnieder as CEO, leveraging his expertise in deep/defense tech to drive growth and expand into early-stage investments.

• Alberta Enterprise Corporation invested $6.91 million into Luge Capital's Fund II, to support Alberta's fintech startups.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Truveta

Truveta, a health data company based in Bellevue, Washington, raised $320 million to launch the Truveta Genome Project, a massive genomic database aimed at driving precision medicine and disease prevention. The investment, which includes funding from 17 health systems, Illumina, and Regeneron, pushes Truveta's valuation above $1 billion. Founded in 2020, Truveta aggregates medical records from over 30 partner institutions, with a platform holding 120 million de-identified patient records. The new project, the largest and most diverse of its kind, will link genetic data with medical outcomes, aiming to explore the complex interplay between genetics and health.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Insight Partners

Insight Partners, a leading venture capital and private equity firm based in New York, closed $12.5 billion in new capital through its Fund XIII and second Opportunity Fund, bringing its total assets under management to $90 billion. This fundraise follows the firm's significant successes in 2024, which included over $8 billion in exits, driven primarily by acquisitions of portfolio companies such as Recorded Future, Own, WalkMe, and Jama Software. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners specializes in high-growth technology and software investments and is known for its strategic role in major deals like Databricks’ $10 billion fundraising.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge 6th Edition

Apply for the Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge 6th Edition by January 27th, 2025, to showcase your sustainable solutions and gain exclusive visibility from top investors. This global competition invites startups and SMEs to tackle pressing sustainability challenges in areas such as Climate Change, Green Buildings, Sustainable Agriculture, and Sustainable Materials. Submissions made early will receive feedback from industry experts and potential investors, opening doors to funding, collaboration, and mentorship. Don’t miss this chance to make a meaningful impact and contribute to a greener, carbon-neutral future.