WeWork's woes, Tesla's big win, and a spate of stock market listings has proven to be a "flop" for investors

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WeWork will declare bankruptcy as early as next week, reports the WSJ. The outfit was famously, ingloriously, valued by SoftBank and others of its investors as high as $47 billion in early 2019 before it lost its momentum.

Tesla was found not guilty today in the first U.S. trial alleging that its Autopilot system had caused a driver's death. The company still faces a number of other lawsuits involving Autopilot's role in fatal car crashes.

FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up his testimony in his fraud trial today by denying that he knew Alameda Research was missing money and claiming that he was not involved in Alameda's "core operations." 

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CMBlu, a nine-year-old German startup that builds large battery storage systems, raised a $105.7 million round. Strabag was the deal lead. More here.

Kasa Living, a seven-year-old New York-based hospitality property manager that operates high-end apartments and hotels for flexible-duration rentals, has raised $70 million in Series C funding co-led by Citi Ventures and FirstMark Capital. Bloomberg has more here.

QI Tech, a five-year-old São Paulo startup that provides its clients with the ability to offer banking services via a modular API, raised a $200 million Series B round led by General Atlantic, with previous investor Across Capital also participating. The company has raised a total of $262 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Shield AI, an eight-year-old San Diego startup that develops "autonomous flying systems" (aka drones) for the U.S. military and its allies, raised a $200 million Series F round at a $2.7 billion post-money valuation. The co-leads were previous investors U.S. Innovation Technology Fund and Riot Ventures, with additional participation from ARK Invest and prior backers Disruptive and Snowpoint. TechCrunch has more here.

SkyCell, a 10-year-old Zürich startup that is building smart containers for the shipment of medicines, raised a $57 million round at a $600 million valuation. Catalyst led the transaction. TechCrunch has more here.

Aqtual, a five-year-old startup based in Hayward, Ca., that says it is using its cell-free DNA platform to develop products for chronic diseases and oncology, raised a $16 million Series A round. Investors included Genoa Ventures, Manta Ray Ventures, and Yu Galaxy. More here.

Cambrium, a three-year-old Berlin startup that is designing structural proteins for use in personal care and fashion, raised an $11.6 million round led by Essential Capital and including SNR, Valor Equity Partners, HOF Capital, and previous investor Merantix. TechCrunch has more here.

Charlie, a two-year-old Los Angeles startup that provides banking services to Americans over the age of 62, raised a $16 million Series A round and $7 million in debt. The deal lead was TTV Capital, while FPV Ventures and Better Tomorrow Ventures also joined in. TechCrunch has more here.

Fibracast, a 13-year-old Canadian company that develops and manufactures water filtration membranes and systems for companies and municipalities, raised a $32.1 million Series A round led by Cycle Capital, with Export Development Canada also pitching in. More here.

Funnel Leasing, a 14-year-old company based in Odessa, Fl., whose platform for property managers handles CRM functions, leasing, and tenant communication, raised a $32 million Series B2 round. RET Ventures was the deal lead. Commercial Observer has more here.

Guidde, a three-year-old startup based in Belmont, Ca., that uses generative AI to automatically generate software documentation videos, raised an $11.6 million Series A round led by Norwest Venture Partners, with Entree Capital, Honeystone Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, and Tiferes Ventures also anteing up. TechCrunch has more here.

Neuros Medical, a 15-year-old company based in Aliso Viejo, CA, that is focused on alleviating chronic post-amputation pain, raised a $25 million round. Trinity Capital was the lead investor. More here.

Railsr, a seven-year-old London startup that provides access to financial services via embedded software, raised a $24 million round seven months after it was rescued from collapse. Previous investors D Squared Capital and Moneta VC co-led the deal. Finextra Research has more here.

Samara, a one-year-old San Francisco startup spun out of Airbnb that makes prefab ADUs for homeowners, raised a $41 million round led by Thrive Capital, with 8VC, General Catalyst, New Legacy, SV Angel, and Airbnb also taking part. Fortune has more here.

Triplebar, a four-year-old startup based in Emeryville, Ca., that is developing animal proteins from microbes, raised a $20 million Series A round. Synthesis Capital led the round, with participation from Essential Capital, Stray Dog Capital, iSelect Fund, and The Production Board. The company has raised a total of $25 million. Alt-Meat has more here.

Wirepas, a 13-year-old Finnish company that provides infrastructure for large IoT networks, raised a $22 million round led by Highland Europe, with Amalfi and IQT as well as previous investors ETF Partners, KPN Ventures, and Vito Ventures also chipping in. EU-Startups has more here.

Almouneer, a six-year-old Egyptian startup that is building a platform to treat diabetes and obesity in Africa and the Middle East, raised a $3.6 million seed round led by Global Ventures, with Proparco, Digital Africa, and Wrightwood Investments also opting in. TechCrunch has more here.

Circu Li-ion, a two-year-old Luxembourg startup that is attempting to automate the process of recycling batteries, raised a $4.8 million seed round led by BonVenture as well as $4.2 million in grants from the European Innovation Council Accelerator and collaborations with recyclers and OEMs. Silicon Luxembourg has more here.

Graylog, an 11-year-old Houston company whose tools help companies analyze their logs and address digital security threats, raised a $9 million Series C extension and $30 million in debt. Silver Lake Waterman, Piper Sandler Merchant Banking, and Harbert Growth Partners co-led the equity piece. TechCrunch has more here. 

memox, a five-year-old Zürich startup that provides online booking services for conference rooms and meeting spaces, raised a $3 million Series A round co-led by Swiss Prime Site and 41 Group. Tech.eu has more here.

Yuzu Health, a one-year-old New York startup that aims to help small businesses offer more affordable health plans by customizing plans based on their employees’ needs, raised a $5 million seed round led by Lachy Groom, with Neo, Day One Ventures, Altman Capital, WndrCo, and Browder Capital also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.

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Leverage VC, a New York firm focused on seed stage deals in gaming, mental health, and eldertech, raised a $10 million fund. More here.

Whatever happened to the Adobe-Figma deal? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Palo Alto Networks said today it is acquiring Dig Security, based in Israel. The company isn't disclosing financial terms, but TechCrunch sources say the deal is valued at roughly $400 million. 

"A flurry of stock market listings . . . has proved to be a flop for investors, highlighting the challenges facing companies with plans for market debuts in today’s punishing environment," notes the FT, which observes that Arm, Instacart, Klaviyo, and Birkenstock are all now trading at below their initial IPO prices.

The reviews are in: FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's decision to testify in his own defense was about as big a mistake as everyone had predicted. 

In a panel discussion at the University of Virginia, investor and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian claimed he is a "techno optimist." Nevertheless, he bemoaned the current state of social media and said that the analogy of the platform X as a town square "falls flat."

A look at the rise and fall of caloric sweeteners.

Bernstein analysts are predicting that the price of Bitcoin will surge to $150,000 by the middle of 2025.

X banned a researcher after his work suggested that alt right influencers were taking over the platform. Now he is taking the company to court.

In case you're out of the loop, Tik Tok is debating whether The Cheesecake Factory is an acceptable place to take someone on a first date. (Oh, you know the answer.)

DoorDash is warning customers that bad tippers will be punished. 

What happens when cockroaches procreate in space? "It's like a space horror film in the making, when you think about it," one researcher said.

How long can you keep that Halloween candy? (This isn't a question we've had to confront, but in case you need to know.)

Balenciaga's $1,100 Steroid Derby shoes as modeled by actor Michael Shannon on The Tonight Show. 

Belts are back.

Marlon Brando's Rolex from Apocalypse Now is headed to auction. If you're interested, you better call your banker: it's estimated to go for somewhere between $1 million and $2 million.

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