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- Meta Connect 2025 Steals the Show, Nvidia’s $5B Intel Bet, & Colossal’s De-Extinction Moonshot 🦣🐺
Meta Connect 2025 Steals the Show, Nvidia’s $5B Intel Bet, & Colossal’s De-Extinction Moonshot 🦣🐺
Meta doubles down on XR at Connect 2025, Nvidia shocks with a $5 billion Intel investment, and Colossal fuels biotech’s boldest swing at a $10.3 billion+ valuation.

Your dose of daily dealflow, essential VC & tech trends to know. The biggest moves in venture, all in one place. Celebrating startups, founders, and funders.

🧑🍳 Let’s get right into it…
🎤 Meta Connect 2025 showcases Hyperscape, Ray-Ban Gen 2, Oakley Vanguard, and Display Glasses — a full-stack XR push.
💰 Nvidia makes a $5B investment in Intel, betting on rival chip capacity.
🦣 Colossal Biosciences hauls in $320M Series C to fuel its de-extinction moonshot.
🥛 Slate Milk secures $23M Series B as it scales its high-protein chocolate milk to 20K+ stores.
🛍️ Phia raises $8M Seed for its AI shopping agent backed by Kleiner Perkins and A-list investors.
🎧 Airbuds lands $5M Seed from a16z + Seven Seven Six for its social music app.
🚁 Uber is testing drone food delivery again with Flytrex in U.S. pilot markets.
🏢 Workday to acquire Sana for $1.1B, adding AI-powered HR automation tools to its suite.
💻 Atlassian acquires DX in a $1B deal, boosting its developer productivity suite.
🧑🚀 Top Deals You Can’t Miss

2️⃣ Colossal Biosciences – $320M Series C to fund its de-extinction moonshot and biotech expansion.
3️⃣ Slate Milk – $23M Series B to expand its high-protein chocolate milk to 20K+ retail stores.
4️⃣ Phia – $8M Seed for an AI shopping agent, backed by Kleiner Perkins and A-list investors (Sandberg, Bieber, Rubin, Blakely, Jenner).

🧠 Dopamine Dealflow
🌳 Series B+ & Growth
Colossal Biosciences (Dallas, TX) – $320M total Series C after $120M add-on; de-extinction and biotech moonshots.
Slate Milk (Boston, MA) – $23M Series B; high-protein chocolate milk expanding to 20K+ stores.
Nvidia → Intel – $5B investment; strategic capital infusion into rival chipmaker.
PassiveLogic (Salt Lake City, UT) – $74M Series C; generative autonomy for buildings.
Splash Financial (Cleveland, OH) – $70M+ Series C; AI-powered student loan marketplace.
Imagine Pediatrics (Nashville, TN) – $67M Series B; virtual + in-home pediatric care.
Omnea (London, UK) – $50M Series B; AI-native procurement orchestration.
Markup AI (NYC) – $27.5M funding; content guardian AI.
🚀 Series A
Genomines (Paris, France) – $45M Series A; plant-based metal farming.
Ultralytics (London, UK) – $30M Series A; vision AI at the edge.
Irregular – $80M Series A; securing frontier AI models.
Omni Design Technologies (Milpitas, CA) – $35M+ Series A; Wideband Signal Processing for AI data.
Rec (San Francisco, CA) – $11M Series A; rec-tech platform backed by athletes + VCs.
Birches Health (NYC) – $20M Series A (with prior Seed component); gambling addiction treatment platform.
🌱 Seed & Early Rounds
Phia (NYC) – $8M Seed; AI shopping agent backed by Kleiner Perkins, Sandberg, Bieber, Rubin, Blakely, Jenner.
Airbuds (San Francisco, CA) – $5M Seed; music social app backed by a16z + Seven Seven Six.
Upscale AI (Palo Alto, CA) – $100M+ Seed; AI networking for hyperscale; Mayfield + Maverick Silicon co-led.
Mueon (Portland, OR) – $15.5M Seed; AI semiconductors; led by Intel Capital.
Turnout (San Diego, CA) – $21M Seed; AI-powered consumer services.
Ray Security (Tel Aviv, Israel) – $11M Seed; predictive data security platform.
GridStrong (NYC) – $10M Seed; automating electric grid compliance + ops.
Synthesize Bio (Seattle, WA) – $10M Seed; biological foundation models for gene expression.
XL Batteries (Marlborough, MA) – $7.5M Seed; energy storage tech.
Moby (NYC) – $5M Seed; democratizing Wall Street-grade research.
Senpi (Miami, FL) – $4M Seed; AI wallet services.
TeachMe.To (San Diego, CA) – $3M Seed+; local lessons booking marketplace.
Eagl (Ghent, Belgium) – €825K Seed; automating accounting + controlling workflows.
🤝 Strategic, M&A & Undisclosed
Workday → Sana – $1.1B acquisition; adding AI-powered HR automation tools into its enterprise software suite.
Atlassian → DX – $1B acquisition; adds developer productivity platform to its suite.
Onar Holding → Juice – Cash + stock acquisition; fintech consolidation deal.
Mongoose Software (NYC) – Funding from Vertical Venture Partners; healthcare experience platform.
Bria (NYC) – Series B extension; enterprise visual generative AI PaaS.
Character Biosciences (Jersey City, NJ) – Undisclosed Series B extension; precision medicine company.
Vie Ventures (Boston, MA) – Launched Therapeutics Advisory Council; bridging VC + disease philanthropy.
📈 IPOs / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Trade Republic (Germany) – Exploring $1.2B stock sale.
EQT → Reworld (US) – Considering $1B IPO for waste management firm.
Cars24, CarDekho, Spinny (India) – Early talks for combined $1B IPOs.
WaterBridge Infrastructure – $634M IPO at $2.3B valuation; stock up 14% debut.
Strava – Hiring banks for US IPO; last valued $2.2B.
Del Monte – Exploring $800M equity raise.
Rockpoint Gas Storage – Weighing Canadian IPO.
EQT → First Student – Considering US IPO of student transportation firm.
Momentum Group → Birla JV – Considering Indian IPO.
💸 VC Funds Raised & Raising
Crux Capital (Dallas, TX) – $340M Fund I; lower-middle-market PE.
VoLo Earth Ventures (Snowmass, CO) – $135M Fund II; climate + sustainability.
T.Rx Capital (Boston, MA & SF) – $77.5M Fund I; early-stage healthcare.
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📚 Read of the Day
💰 Nvidia’s $5B Bet on Intel

What Happened:
In a surprise move, Nvidia is investing $5B into Intel, despite being direct rivals in the chip race.
Why It Matters:
This signals a rare coopetition strategy — Nvidia needs Intel’s advanced fabs and capacity to meet surging AI demand. For investors, it shows how supply chain constraints are reshaping alliances even among the fiercest competitors.
🎤 Meta Connect 2025

What Happened:
Meta’s annual Connect event put XR and AI at the center of its roadmap, showing off how it plans to merge physical and digital worlds.
What Did They Come Out With:
Ray-Ban Gen 2 smart glasses with upgraded cameras + AI.
Oakley Vanguard ($499) performance glasses for athletes with Strava + Garmin support.
Display Glasses with in-lens AR and a wristband controller.
Hyperscape, a tool that scans real-world spaces and converts them into VR.

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