Hello there,

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

• 📋️ Curated Lists

• 📈 Deep Dive Bites

• 🎙️ Expert Insights

• 🤝 Diversity Spotlight

• 🚀 Startup Of the Week

• 💼 Investor of the Week

• 🤑 Opportunity Radar

📰 Important News

• Bluesky reported over 1 million sign-ups in 24 hours last week, surpassing 16 million users, amidst a surge fueled by recent political events.

• CyberArk has partnered with Wiz to enhance multi-cloud security by integrating their platforms, addressing the complexity of cloud environments.

• 23andMe is laying off 40% of its workforce and discontinuing its therapeutics business as part of a restructuring plan.

• The Tel Aviv District Court rejected Nadav Shoval's request for an injunction against his removal as CEO of OpenWeb.

• Haliey Welch, known for her viral "Hawk Tuah" video, has launched Pookie Tools, an AI-powered dating app.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Wonder raised $250 million in funding from new investors to support its acquisition of Grubhub.

• Metsera secured $215 million in Series B funding to accelerate its GLP-1 weight loss drug pipeline, including the phase 2 study of MET-097.

• Writer raised $200 million in a Series C round, to expand its enterprise-focused AI platform and enhance mission-critical business applications.

• Firefly Aerospace closed an oversubscribed $175 million Series D round, led by RPM Ventures, to expand its responsive space services.

• Skydio raised an additional $170 million in a Series E extension, with investors like KDDI and Axon, as it diversifies into defense and enterprise.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Just Eat Takeaway is selling Grubhub to Wonder Group for $650 million, a 91% loss from its original purchase price, with the deal closing in 2025.

• Bitsight acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Cybersixgill in a $115 million deal to enhance its AI-powered cyber risk management solutions.

• JobGet acquired Snagajob, creating the largest U.S. platform for hourly workers with 100 million potential users.

• Cloudera acquired Israeli data analytics startup Octopai to enhance its data, analytics, and AI offerings across multi-cloud and on-premises environments.

• Red Hat acquired Neural Magic to strengthen its hybrid cloud AI offerings with open-source tools like vLLM.

🏦 About Investors

• Altos Ventures, a Silicon Valley VC firm that backed companies like Roblox and Coupang, has raised a $500 million fund, its largest to date.

• SoftBank Vision Fund co-CEO Rajeev Misra is stepping down from his roles at SoftBank Investment Advisers and SoftBank Global Advisers.

• Angel investor Hannah Bronfman announced plans to launch her own fund focused on overlooked founders.

• Pender Ventures closed its second fund at $71 million, focusing on early-stage B2B software and healthtech startups across Canada.

• Richa Mehta has joined Toronto-based VC firm Radical Ventures as a San Francisco-based partner to help lead the firm's new $800 million growth fund.

📋️ Curated Lists

Montreal’s venture capital ecosystem is a driving force behind the city’s rise as a global innovation hub. Home to leading investors like Inovia Capital and Real Ventures, with portfolios spanning AI, life sciences, and fintech, these firms provide startups with the funding, mentorship, and resources needed to thrive. Companies like Nomic, Enerkem, and Nesto have flourished under their support, showcasing the city’s potential for groundbreaking innovation. Delve into the full article to explore the complete list of Montreal’s top VC firms.

🚀 Startup Of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Wonder

Wonder, founded by Marc Lore in 2018, is a food delivery platform offering a unique multi-restaurant ordering system, featuring exclusive collaborations with top chefs and restaurants. Recently, the company secured $250 million in funding from new investors to support its growth and enhance its offerings. This investment comes as Wonder continues to expand its reach and revolutionize the food delivery landscape with high-quality, fast, and diverse meal options. Alongside the funding Wonder is acquiring Grubhub for $650 million, comprising $500 million in senior notes and $150 million in cash, to integrate its services and expand its capabilities.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Altos Ventures

Altos Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm founded in 1996 by Han Kim and Ho Nam, has raised a $500 million fund, marking its largest to date. The firm, known for backing high-growth, founder-led companies such as Roblox, Coupang, and PandaDoc, specializes in early-stage investments, particularly in SaaS, cloud-based business software, and consumer mobile applications. With more than $7 billion in assets under management, Altos Ventures has invested in over 250 companies, with several going public or being acquired by publicly traded firms. Despite the challenging venture landscape, Altos Ventures continues to attract substantial capital, signaling confidence in its strategy of focusing on select, early-stage startups.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: Techstars San Francisco

Apply to the Techstars San Francisco accelerator program by Nov 20nd, 2024, and accelerate your startup in one of the world’s leading entrepreneurial hubs. With a focus on Deep Tech, AI, and Enterprise SaaS, this in-person program offers funding, mentorship, and access to a powerful network of investors and industry experts. Starting in Mar 10th, 2025, Techstars provides the resources and guidance to help you scale your business and refine your product. Don’t miss your chance to join a dynamic community of founders and innovators—begin your application process today!