Massive Wall Street sell-off - recession or correction? OpenAI co-founder leaves for rival Anthropic, Bitcoin falls below $50K, and new deals!
It’s been a rough couple of days for the market…
Welcome to Issue #24 of Startup Deal Desk!
Here’s what you can expect in today’s edition:
Massive Wall Street sell-off, OpenAI co-founder leaves for Anthropic, and Bitcoin falls below $50K for the first time since February
Digital health market stabilizes, clean energy remains popular among VCs, and autonomous driving remains the key investment focus among automakers
3 exciting open deals: Graceful Management Systems, TONA Activewear and HomeStop Inc.
and much more!
Keep reading to see the latest deals, news and trends 👇.
And don’t forget to subscribe!
Massive sell-off on Wall Street - Stocks have been dropping at worrisome rates for several days with the tech sector being hit the hardest (Nasdaq down 10%). Investors are questioning the underlying health of the economy. Is this recession or correction?
OpenAI co-founder leaves for rival Anthropic - OpenAI co-founder John Schulman has left the startup for competitor AI firm Anthropic. Schulman’s departure comes less than a day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman.
Bitcoin briefly falls below $50K - After trading close to $70,000 a week ago, Bitcoin dipped to $49,111.10, its lowest level and first time under $50,000 since February. The moves follow a broader market sell-off that began last week.
US digital health startups raised $5.7B in VC funding in H1 2024 - The digital health market finally stabilizes for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, with startups raising $5.7B in funding across 266 deals.
Clean energy sector remains popular among VCs in 2024 - The clean energy sector’s deal value hit $3.5B across 197 deals in Q1 2024, thanks to grid infrastructure startups, and more investors are flocking to the category.
Global automakers invested $2.8B in startups in H1 2024 - Global automakers and their affiliated venture funds have joined 52 startup funding rounds this year, collectively valued at $2.8B. Autonomous driving remains the key investment focus.
Autonomous AI-powered construction project management - Graceful Management Systems autonomously optimizes project costs, schedules, and estimates, reducing material waste and labor costs by ~30% and improving estimate accuracy to 95%. GMS is currently raising $900K to accelerate growth.
Meet the CEO and get more information about GMS here.
For serious gym-goes and a serious cause - TONA Activewear sells high-end women’s leggings designed for serious gym-goers and athletes. They donate one free mental health counseling session for every 10 leggings sold. Over 170 5-star reviews and sold $228K with 1783 orders in their first beta test. Raising a $3M Seed round.
Connect with the Founder and learn more about TONA here.
Specialty construction for wondrous experiences - HomeStop Inc. provides specialized services across commercial, residential, and community sectors. The company has a diverse portfolio with over 30K projects. Cash flow positive with $7.5M in revenue and $400k in EBITDA. Currently raising a $2M equity investment.
Talk to the Founder and find out more about HomeStop Inc. here.
AI chip startup Groq raises $640M - Groq, a startup developing chips to run generative AI models faster than conventional processors, raised $640M in a new funding round led by Blackrock. The company is now valued at $2.8B.
Agtech startup Agrovision raises $100M - Agrovision, a grower, packer, shipper and marketer of superfruits, is the newest unicorn in agtech, securing $100M at a $1B valuation. The new round was led by Alignment Capital.
Placer.ai quietly raises $75M at a $1.45B valuation - Placer.ai, a startup developing AI market research based on that location data, has quietly raised $75M. The company didn’t disclose specific participants but noted that existing backers participated.
Google’s illegal monopoly on search - A US judge ruled on Monday that Google violated antitrust law, spending billions to create an illegal monopoly and become the world's default search engine, the first big win for federal authorities against Big Tech.
US sues TikTok over child privacy violations - The US Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing it of illegally gathering personal information from users under the age of 13 without their parents’ permission.
Chinese software in autonomous vehicles to be barred soon - The US Commerce Department under the Biden administration plans to issue a proposed rule that would bar Chinese software in vehicles in the US with Level 3 automation and above.
✅ Is it better to collect Social Security at 62 or 70?
✅ 3 no-brainer stock to buy on the pullback
✅ 2 Nasdaq stocks to buy before they surge 226%
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Make sure to check out Graceful Management Systems, TONA Activewear and HomeStop Inc. if you’re looking for promising investment opportunities.
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Until next time!
Was this Wall Street news a shake up or wake up? Only the markets truly dictate. Traders can share the truth about what they learned after the chaos and news.