🎉 We're thrilled to announce a major new addition to next week’s StrictlyVC evening in Palo Alto next Wednesday, December 3: Max Hodak, who co-founded Neuralink with Elon Musk and whose new company, Science Corp., is poised to take the world by storm. (As one indicator of the groundbreaking work happening there, Science Corp. just landed on the cover of Time magazine earlier this month.) Why is this company so cool? Science Corp. has developed a tiny computer chip that's implanted in the retina to restore reading ability to people who've completely lost their vision to macular degeneration, and it’s pioneering "biohybrid" brain-computer interfaces, where chips seeded with stem cells actually grow into brain tissue, potentially allowing paralyzed people to control devices with their thoughts and even speak through AI systems that capture their own voice.

Max is also more than willing to tackle the thorny ethical questions this technology raises, including what it means when healthy people start enhancing their natural abilities with brain implants. Don't miss your chance to soak up great conversations about topics that will make headlines throughout next year. Thanks to our generous hosts at Playground Global, we'll have delicious food and drinks waiting for you when you arrive!

Nvidia responded to viral fraud claims with a memo stating that it is no Enron, but the exchange highlighted how its financial dealings may be deepening the risks of an AI collapse. The Verge has more here.

President Trump signed an order to build an integrated government AI system that unifies federal datasets, supercomputers, and national labs to speed scientific discovery, tighten U.S. tech leadership against China, and steer private-sector momentum toward national security priorities. Reuters has more here.

Polymarket has won long-awaited CFTC approval to reopen in the U.S., clearing the way for intermediated trading through brokerages and signaling growing regulatory comfort with prediction markets. CoinDesk has more here.

As markets tighten, finding quality deals before competitors becomes the real bottleneck. Affinity’s AI surfaces warm introductions, shared relationships, and founder activity signals—helping you uncover proprietary deal flow faster than ever. Cut research time, identify the right entry points, and stay ahead of competing funds. 

Explore Affinity AI 

By Marina Temkin

Italian company Bending Spoons flew largely under the radar — until last month. In a span of 48 hours, the company announced the acquisition of AOL and a massive $270 million raise, quadrupling its valuation to $11 billion, up from $2.55 billion set in early 2024.

Bending Spoons has grown rapidly by acquiring stagnating tech brands like Evernote, Meetup, and Vimeo, then turning them profitable through aggressive cost-cutting and price increases. While the company’s approach is similar to private equity, there is one key difference: Bending Spoons has no plans to sell these businesses.

Andrew Dumont, the founder and CEO of Curious, a firm that also acquires and revitalizes what he calls “venture zombies,” is convinced this “hold forever” strategy will become increasingly prominent in the coming years as AI-native startups make older VC-backed software businesses less relevant.

“Our belief is that the venture power law, in which 80% of companies ‘fail,’ produces many great businesses, even if they’re not unicorns,” Dumont told TechCrunch.  

Dumont defines a “great business” as one that can be purchased at a low price and quickly revived to generate substantial cash flows. This “buy, fix, and hold” strategy is the playbook for a growing number of investors, from the 30-year-old Constellation Software, which pioneered the model, to newer players, including Bending Spoons, Tiny, SaaS.group, Arising Ventures, and Calm Capital, according to Dumont.

“Our whole model is to buy these companies, make them profitable, and use those earnings to grow the business,” Dumont said.

Harmonic, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that builds math-focused AI to improve reasoning and was co-founded by Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev, raised a $120 million Series C round at a $1.45 billion valuation. The deal was led by Ribbit Capital, with Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins as well as previous investor Emerson Collective. Reuters has more here.

Pennylane, a six-year-old Paris startup that sells accounting software, is reportedly raising up to $200 million led by TCV at a $4.25 billion valuation. Bloomberg has more here.

Range, a six-year-old startup based in McLean, VA, that provides fully automated financial advice to replace human advisors, raised a $60 million Series C round led by Scale Venture Partners, with previous investors Gradient Ventures and Cathay Innovation also participating. The company has raised a total of $100+ million. Citywire has more here.

Cerrion, a five-year-old Zürich startup that uses visual AI to detect production line issues in factories, raised an $18 million Series A round led by Creandum, with Y Combinator, Goat Capital, 10x Founders, and Session VC also investing. SiliconANGLE has more here.

CoPlane, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that builds AI-native software to streamline back-office operations for large enterprises, raised a $14 million seed round led by Ribbit, with Stripe, Optum Ventures, and Terrain also stepping up. More here.

MindImmune Therapeutics, a 10-year-old company based in Kingston, RI, that develops treatments targeting inflammatory drivers of neurodegenerative disease, raised a $10.2 million Series A extension round led by Dolby Family Ventures, with Pfizer Ventures, Gates Frontier, Slater Technology Fund, RightHill Ventures, and the Foundation for a Better World also participating. The company has raised a total of $30 million. More here.

Overstory, an eight-year-old Amsterdam startup that provides tools for utilities to monitor and manage vegetation that could threaten power lines or other grid assets, raised a $43 million Series B round led by Blume Equity, with additional participation from Energy Impact Partners as well as previous investors B Capital, Semapa Next, Pale Blue Dot, CapitalT, Convective Capital, Bentley Systems, MCJ, and Moxxie Ventures. More here.

Zetagen Therapeutics, an 11-year-old company based in Syracuse, NY, that develops intratumoral treatments for metastatic and primary breast cancer, raised a $12.9 million Series B1 round. JSTAR Capital Investments was the deal lead. More here.

AI One, a two-year-old New York startup that helps enterprises interpret and organize complex internal data, raised a $7 million Series A round led by Vestigo Ventures, with previous investor Nadia Partners also participating. The company has raised a total of $11 million. The SaaS News has more here.

Cordance Medical, an eight-year-old startup based in Mountain View, CA, that develops noninvasive focused ultrasound systems to open the blood-brain barrier for neurological treatment, raised an $8+ million seed round led by Sonder Capital, with Shanda Grab Ventures, Angel Physician’s Fund, SmartGateVC, R42, the Sontag Foundation Innovation Fund, and the Brain Tumor Investment Fund also piling on. MassDevice has more here.

Find Your Grind, a seven-year-old Los Angeles startup that helps students explore alternative career paths, raised a $5 million Series A round led by Echo Investment Capital, with Gross Labs also participating. The company has raised a total of $8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

HyprView, a three-year-old startup based in Caen, France, that develops a photonic imaging and AI system for biological analysis, raised a $1.6 million pre-seed round led by Dasteria as well as Jean-Philippe Vert and Franck le Ouay. More here.

SPhotonix, a one-year-old startup that develops 5D optical memory and advanced optics technology, raised a $4.5 million pre-seed round co-led by Creator Fund and XTX Ventures. More here.

SportAI, a two-year-old Oslo startup that analyzes racket sports footage for coaching insights and match statistics, raised a $3 million round led by Altitude Capital. The company has raised a total of $5.7 million. Sports Business Journal has more here.

Uniphy, a 10-year-old UK company that develops touch-free human-machine interface technology for vehicles and devices, raised a $4 million round led by Mercia Ventures. Tech Funding News has more here.

Bitfury Group, a 14-year-old Amsterdam company that develops hardware, software and infrastructure for blockchain and digital assets, has launched a $1 billion initiative to incubate and fund startups focused on “ethical emerging technologies” such as AI, decentralized systems, quantum computing, and self-sovereign identity tools. More here.

Paxos, a New York–based 12-year-old blockchain infrastructure company that helps enterprises issue and manage stablecoins, acquired Fordefi, a four-year-old New York startup that provides crypto wallets for DeFi access, to meet rising institutional demand for decentralized finance. Terms were not disclosed. Fortune has more here.

The Wall Street Journal analyzes four top contenders to succeed Apple CEO Tim Cook. More here.

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI co-founder and the current CEO and co-founder of Safe Superintelligence Inc., talks to the AI podcaster Dwarkesh Patel about “moving from the age of scaling to the age of research.” More here.

Bitcoin ETFs bled a record $3.7 billion in November as Bitcoin plunged more than 35% from its October peak, dragging the broader crypto market to its weakest month since the 2022 collapse. Forbes has more here.

China is rolling out robots and factory AI at a scale that dwarfs the U.S., installing nearly nine times as many industrial robots as American factories last year and automating ports so that 88% of key equipment runs without workers. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

X’s chaotic new “About This Account” feature has exposed how many high-engagement political personas are run from abroad, underscoring that much of the platform’s culture-war energy is manufactured performance rather than real public sentiment. The Atlantic has more here.

TikTok is pushing TikTok Shop into high-end retail, with secondhand sellers now moving authenticated Hermes and Chanel bags, plus Rolex and Cartier watches, to its huge Gen Z audience as part of a broader ecommerce push into luxury. Bloomberg has more here.

A group of AI-safety advocates is raising about $50 million for new bipartisan super PACs to counter Andreessen Horowitz-backed efforts opposing regulation. The New York Times has more here.

Elite universities are rolling out “disagreement essays” to gauge whether applicants can engage thoughtfully with opposing views, signaling a shift toward valuing bridge-building and viewpoint tolerance amid rising political tension on campuses.

An unlikely Instagram star, Beef the bulldog is charming thousands with his 30-minute, quarter-mile walks alongside his 78-year-old best friend Manny, a slow-motion daily ritual that’s boosting both of their health and lifting plenty of spirits.

The Stahl House, a famed mid-century modern home overlooking Los Angeles, is hitting the market for the first time for $25 million.

Now that’s an Airbnb! The Tiny Cabin, a design-forward A-frame hideaway outside Cape Town, boasts lofty views, outdoor tubs, and easy access to Tulbagh’s trails.

Please send all of your hot gossip to [email protected] or [email protected].

To book ads directly, contact us at [email protected].