What OpenAI really wants, the AI winner who rejected VC, and the moguls (formerly) stuck at Burning Man

Hope you had a relaxing long weekend.:)

Apple has signed a new deal with Arm for chip technology that "extends beyond 2040," according to Arm's IPO documents filed today and spied by Reuters. Arm also unveiled pricing today for what it hopes will be a $52 billion IPO, which would be the largest such deal in the U.S. this year (and that has many asking whether the company could be worth even more -- or possibly less).

What more to know about the popular and relatively cheap iPhone hacking device Flipper Zero.

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Butternut Box, a seven-year-old London startup that sells healthy food and supplements for dogs, raised a $352 million round. Investors included General Atlantic and previous investor L Catterton. The company has raised a total of $466.8 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Josys, a Japan-based startup offering a software-as-a-service platform to automate corporate IT software application management, has raised a $93 million Series B round led by existing backer Global Brain and a new investor, Globis Capital Partners. The latest funding, which brings its total raised to $125 million, comes about a year after its $32 million Series A in September last year. TechCrunch has more here.

Star Therapeutics, a five-year-old San Francisco startup that is building a group of single-drug startups focused on blood or immune diseases, raised a $90 million Series C round led by Sofinnova Investments, with Qatar Investment Authority, Catalio Capital Management, Agent Capital, Soleus Capital, NYBC Ventures, and previous investors Westlake Village BioPartners, OrbiMed, Redmile Group, RA Capital Management, New Leaf Venture Partners, Cormorant Asset Management, and Cowen Healthcare Investment also piling on. The company has raised a total of $190 million. BioPharma Dive has more here.

ThetaRay, a 10-year-old Israeli company whose platform uses AI to scan and identify illicit transaction activity at banks and other financial institutions, raised a $57 million round led by Portage, with JVP and OurCrowd also joining in. The company has raised a total of $112.5 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Atomicwork, a one-year-old San Francisco startup whose software learns from company wikis, policy documents, FAQs, and historical tickets to answer employee questions, raised an $11 million seed round co-led by Blume Ventures and Matrix Partners, with Storm Ventures and Neon Fund also investing. TechCrunch has more here.

Envisics, a five-year-old UK startup that is developing technology to project navigation, safety alerts, and other data onto the inside of a windshield, raised a $50 million Series C extension, closing the round at $100 million. Investors included M&G Investments as well as previous investors Hyundai Mobis, InMotion Ventures, and Stellantis. TechCrunch has more here.

Harmonya, a two-year-old New York startup that provides retail and CPG companies with AI-powered product data enrichment, categorization, and insights, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Bright Pixel Capital, with Team8, J Ventures, Silicon Road Ventures, Allen & Co., LiveRamp Ventures, and Susa Ventures also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

AlixLabs, a four-year-old Swedish startup whose technology enables the precise division of nanostructures, thereby improving the performance and efficiency of semiconductors, raised a $3.6 million round. Investors included Navigare Ventures, Industrifonden, and Forward.one. More here.

Anchor, a Nigerian startup that provides APIs, dashboards, and tools to assist developers in embedding and building banking solutions, raised a $2.4 million seed round led by Goat Capital, with FoundersX, Rebel Fund, Y Combinator, and Byld Ventures also investing. TechCrunch has more here.

Athena Alliance, a four-year-old startup based in Moss Beach, Ca., that provides in-person and virtual coaching for female executives, raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Leonas Capital. More here.

Enzai, a two-year-old Belfast startup that helps its customers comply with rules and regulations regarding the use of AI, raised a $4 million seed round led by Cavalry Ventures, with Seedcamp and Techstart Ventures also contributing. Sifted has more here.

Integral, a San Francisco startup that de-identifies sensitive health data for use by health and life sciences companies, raised a $6.9 million seed round co-led by Haystack, The General Partnership, and Virtue Ventures, with Also Capital, Array Ventures, and Caffeinated Capital also pitching in. The Bakersfield Californian has more here.

Jude, a three-year-old London startup that aims to address female bladder issues, raised a $4.2 million seed round. Eka VC and Joyance were the deal co-leads, with additional funding from Samos VC and previous investor Crista Galli Ventures. The company has raised a total of $11.1 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Kind Designs, a three-year-old Miami Beach startup that produces seawalls using 3D printing technology, raised a $5 million seed round. Investors included GOVO Venture Partners, M4 Investing, and the Florida Opportunity Fund. Refresh Miami has more here.

Numeral, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that helps transaction-heavy businesses in areas such as e-commerce, financial services, and retail automate their accounting processes, raised a $3 million seed round led by Bienville Capital, with AngelList Quant Fund also joining in. More here.

Okra Solar, a seven-year-old, Sydney, Australia-based startup whose flagship offering is a mesh-based solar solution that re-apportions excess energy based on proximity, meaning that it prioritizes neighboring homes, has raised $7.85 million in Series A funding. One Ventures led the round, which also featured participation from FMO, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, Autodesk Foundation and King Philanthropies. TechCrunch has more here.

Opna, a one-year-old London startup whose mission is to connect carbon projects with corporates seeking to reduce their overall carbon emissions, raised a $6.5 million seed round led by Atomico, with previous investors Pale Blue Dot, MCJ Collective, Angelinvest, and Tiny VC also taking part. TechCrunch has more here.

Orange Quantum Systems, a three-year-old Dutch startup that builds equipment to test quantum chips, raised a $1.6 million pre-seed round. QDNL Participations and Cottonwood Technology Fund invested in the deal. EU-Startups has more here.

Point.me, a four-year-old New York startup that helps consumers filter search results by program, airline, or route to find the best available deals tailored to their preferences and points balances, raised a $10 million Series A round led by Thayer Ventures, with PAR Capital Ventures, RiverPark Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and MoreThanCapital also chipping in. The company has raised a total of $12 million. TechCrunch has more here.

ReOrbit, a four-year-old Helsinki startup that is developing satellites that it claims are optimized for the transmission of real-time customer data, raised a $7.4 million seed round led by Inventure VC, with additional participation from 10x Founders as well as previous investors Icebreaker.vc, Expansion, and Yes VC. The company has raised a total of $8.3 million. Tech.eu has more here.

Strise, a Norwegian anti-money laundering intelligence software company, has today announced a $10.8 million in Series A funding. Atomico led the round, joined by individual investors from Klarna, Peakon, Depop, Snap, and Sequence. Atomico Partner Don Hoang, a former senior executive at Uber and Revolut, will join the Strise board as part of the round. Business Insider has more here.

ViAqua Therapeutics, a nine-year-old Israeli startup that is developing a feed supplement to enhance resistance to viral infections in shrimp, raised an $8.3 million led by S2G Ventures, with Rabo Ventures, The Trendlines Group, Agriline, Nutreco, I-Lab Angels, and Circle Investments also anteing up. The company has raised a total of $12.6 million. More here.

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Realization Capital Partners, a four-year-old, Menlo Park, Ca.-based investment firm that says it makes both secondary and primary direct investments of $5 to $100 million in companies ranging in revenue from $10 million to $1 billion (it does this in partnership with management, owners, and controlling shareholders), says it just closed its second fund with $323 million in capital commitments. The outfit is now managing $490 million in assets. More here.

After launching its new classical music app earlier this year, Apple has taken its latest step into the space: BIS, a revered classical music label out of Sweden, announced today that it is joining the company. TechCrunch has more here.

Israeli cybersecurity startup Ermetic is in advanced negotiations to be acquired by U.S. company Tenable, says Calcalist. The deal is estimated at between $300 million and $350 million and is set to be completed in the coming days, says the outlet. More here.

Investors just granted a last-minute lifeline to the company looking to take former President Donald Trump’s social media venture public, handing executives another year to finish the transaction ahead of a do-or-die deadline this week. More than 65% of shareholders in Digital World Acquisition Corp. — a special purpose acquisition company — signed off on giving it until next September to complete its beleaguered merger with Trump Media & Technology Group and list the combined firm on Nasdaq. Politico has more here.

"Twice a week, Mr. Bankman-Fried is allowed to leave the jail and meet with his lawyers at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, according to the filings. But an internet-enabled laptop he was given for those meetings has limited battery life, and Mr. Bankman-Fried has not been permitted an extension cord to charge it, the lawyers said. The internet connection has also been shaky." More on Sam Bankman-Fried's life in jail here, courtesy of the NYTimes.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin,  Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, VC Bill Tai and comic Chris Rock were among the moguls who were caught up in the chaos of the mad scramble to escape deadly conditions at the Burning Man festival. The WSJ has more here.

Elon Musk's father told the U.S. Sun he feared his billionaire son could be assassinated. The 77-year-old Errol Musk criticized a recent article in The New Yorker that explored Elon Musk's influence on government decisions about the war in Ukraine. "It's a hit job, a shadow government-sponsored opening salvo on Elon," the elder Musk told The U.S. Sun. More here.

Sequoia Capital is fighting to retain the confidence of its own investors following a turbulent year, reports the Financial Times. Still, many of its LPs say they are sticking by it. “Sequoia will do everything to stay on top,” Eric Doppstadt, chief investment officer at the Ford Foundation, Sequoia’s longest-standing LP, tells the FT. “They are never a firm you could accuse of being complacent.”

"He doesn't need VC in his life"’: How Midjourney’s founder built an AI winner while rejecting venture capital.

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