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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 🌎️

If you haven't subscribed yet, now's the perfect time. Don't miss the opportunity to supercharge your understanding and stay ahead in this dynamic world.

Let's delve into the core sections of our weekly newsletter:

• 📰 Important News

• 💸 Top Funding Rounds

• 💰️ Notable Exits

• 🏦 About Investors

• 📈 Deep Dive Bites

• 🤝 Diversity Spotlight

• 🚀 Startup Of the Week

• 💼 Investor of the Week

• 🤑 Opportunity Radar

📰 Important News

• Google DeepMind scientists Demis Hassabis and John Jumper won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing AlphaFold2.

• Geoffrey Hinton, the "godfather of AI," celebrated his Nobel Prize and expressed pride in Ilya Sutskever for firing Sam Altman.

• SpaceX successfully executed its fifth Starship test flight, achieving a historic first by catching the Super Heavy booster with its launch tower's "chopsticks".

• Israel Aerospace Industries has launched its first U.S. innovation center in Washington, D.C. aimed at supporting aerospace startups.

• Fisker's Chapter 11 bankruptcy faces complications as American Lease may not finalize the purchase of over 3,000 Ocean SUVs due to technical issues.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Form Energy raised $405 million in Series F funding led by T. Rowe Price to expand operations and develop its iron-air battery technology.

• EvenUp has secured $135 million in Series D funding led by Bain Capital Ventures to enhance its AI-driven platform for personal injury law firms.

• City Therapeutics launched with $135 million in Series A funding led by ARCH Venture Partners to advance its siRNA-engineering platform for RNA interference-based medicine.

• AtVenu secured a $130 million equity investment from Sixth Street Growth to enhance its software that manages logistics and payments for events.

• Maven Clinic has raised $125 million in Series F funding led by StepStone Group to expand its platform for women's and family health.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Johnson & Johnson has finalized its acquisition of Israeli medtech startup V-Wave for up to $1.7 billion.

• Veralto Corporation has acquired TraceGains for $350 million to enhance its capabilities in food and beverage safety compliance and traceability.

• HubSpot has acquired Cacheflow, a startup focused on automating software sales processes, to enhance its Commerce Hub suite.

• NewSpring Holdings has acquired C Speed, a radar systems provider, to enhance its federal platform in the government services sector.

• Zillow Group has acquired Virtual Staging AI to enhance its real estate offerings with AI-powered virtual staging technology.

🏦 About Investors

• General Catalyst is planning to launch a "continuation fund" valued between $800 million and $1 billion, focusing on late-stage startups.

• Montreal-based venture studio Diagram has launched its Diagram Climate Tech Fund, raising $58 million to focus on developing climate startups.

• Venture capital firm NFX laid off four employees as part of a strategy to reallocate resources toward its investment team.

• Interlagos, a venture capital firm founded by former SpaceX leaders, is aiming to raise $550 million for its first fund targeting deep tech startups.

📈 Deep Dive Bites

Explore Toronto's vibrant venture capital landscape, where innovation meets opportunity. This article highlights the leading VC firms fueling the growth of startups across key sectors, from fintech to health tech. Discover how these firms, with their extensive investment portfolios and strategic guidance, are shaping the future of business in Canada and beyond. Delve into the full article to uncover the key players, their notable portfolio companies, and their pivotal role in Toronto's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

🚀 Startup Of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Form Energy

Form Energy has raised $405 million in a Series F funding round, led by T. Rowe Price, to accelerate the expansion of its iron-air battery technology, which can store electricity for up to 100 hours. This funding milestone brings Form Energy's total financing to over $1.2 billion. The latest round saw participation from new investor GE Vernova, alongside existing investors such as Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, TPG Rise Climate, and Temasek, among others. Founded in 2017 by former Tesla battery head Mateo Jaramillo and MIT professor Yet-Ming Chiang, Form Energy focuses on developing cost-effective, multi-day energy storage systems to facilitate a fully renewable electric grid.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

General Catalyst

General Catalyst, one of Silicon Valley's largest venture capital firms, is set to launch a continuation fund valued between $800 million and $1 billion, targeting late-stage startups such as Stripe and Gusto. This fund will allow original investors to decide between cashing out or remaining invested in the companies. As of 2023, General Catalyst manages approximately $25 billion in assets, and the exact composition of the continuation fund portfolio is still being finalized, likely including stakes in companies like Stripe, Gusto, and Circle. Founded in 2000 by Joel Cutler and David Fialkow, the firm has recently enlisted Jefferies as its secondary investment advisor.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: YC W25

Apply to Y Combinator's Winter 2025 Batch by November 12th, 2024, to supercharge your startup journey. Gain access to a world-class ecosystem, resources, and networking opportunities in the heart of San Francisco. The YC program is designed for founders at all stages, from those with just an idea to companies with significant traction. Begin your application process today and join the ranks of successful startups like Airbnb, Stripe, and Reddit. The batch runs from January to March 2025, featuring weekly meetups, eminent speakers from the startup world, and dedicated support from experienced YC partners. Don't miss this chance to tap into YC's $600B combined valuation network and receive $500,000 in funding to kickstart your company's growth.