The Defense Department gives startups the cold shoulder, Cerebras plots an IPO, and Salesforce stages another layoff

Shares of IBM soared 13% today to a 10-year high thanks to strong demand for its AI services, which are expected to increase 2024 revenue by 4-6%.

Meanwhile, Tesla's stock slid more than 12% today after a weak earnings report.

The FTC has confirmed that it is investigating Microsoft, Amazon, and Google for their investments in OpenAI and Anthropic and whether the deals might be anti-competitive.

Earlier this week, trolls flooded X with pornographic images of Taylor Swift, making a mockery of X's moderation efforts. Her massive fanbase pushed back.

A law firm hired by Cruise and GM has concluded that executives from the autonomous car unit adopted an adversarial stance towards regulators that hastened Cruise's demise. And, in a modern-day variation of "the dog ate my homework," the law firm asserted that a bad internet connection was the reason why Cruise didn't transmit to authorities the full video of a critical hit-and-run accident.

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Infinite Roots, a German startup that is focused on mushroom mycelium-based nutrition, raised a $58 million Series B round co-led by a holding company of the confectionary company Haribo, with EIC Fund, REWE Group, and Betagro Ventures as well as previous investors Clay Capital, FoodLabs, Redalpine, Simon Capital, and Happiness Capital also participating. Tech.eu has more here.

Sierra, an enterprise AI startup co-founded by by former Salesforce co-CEO and current OpenAI board member Bret Taylor, is reportedly in the process of closing an $85 million round led by Sequoia Capital at a near-$1 billion valuation. Bloomberg has more here.

Sion Power Corporation, a twenty-nine-year-old company based in Tucson, AZ, that develops high-energy lithium-metal rechargeable batteries for EVs and aerospace applications, raised a $75 million Series A round led by LG Energy Solution, with additional participation from Euclidean Capital and Hillspire. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

Axiom, a one-year-old New York startup that uses advanced cryptographic proofs to enable secure and efficient querying of Ethereum's history for use in smart contracts, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Standard Crypto and Paradigm. CoinDesk has more here. 

Anomalo, a five-year-old Palo Alto startup that says it uses AI to monitor the reliability and accuracy of business data without the need for coding, raised a $33 million Series B round led by SignalFire, with Databricks Ventures as well as previous investors Norwest Venture Partners, Two Sigma Ventures, and Foundation Capital also taking part. The company has raised a total of $72 million. TechCrunch has more here.

Bastille Networks, a nine-year-old startup based in Santa Cruz, CA, that uses sensor technology and data analysis to identify potential security risks from wireless devices and signals, raised a $44 million Series C round led by Goldman Sachs, with additional participation from previous investor Bessemer Venture Partners. More here.

Elo Life Systems, a seventeen-year-old company based in Durham, NC, that is working on a plant-based sweetener that is claims will be 300 times sweeter than sugar without the calories, raised a $20.5 million Series A extension co-led by DCVC Bio and Novo Holdings, with Hanwha Next Generation Opportunity Fund, AccelR8, and Alexandria Venture Investments also contributing. The company has raised a total of $45 million. TechCrunch has more here.

IMU Biosciences, a two-year-old London startup that is engineering immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells, including creating personalized treatments based on an individual patient's immune system, raised a $14.6 million Series A round led by Molten Ventures, with LifeX Ventures also pitching in. UKTN has more here.

Alinia Invest, a three-year-old New York startup that is working on a virtual AI assistant that will help users with their investing needs, raised a $3.4 million seed round co-led by F7 Ventures and GFR, with Worklife Ventures, FoundersX Fund, and Gaingels also stepping up. TechCrunch has more here.

Being Health, a New York startup that offers a combination of psychiatric, psychotherapy, functional medicine, and wellness services, including treatments like ketamine therapy, raised a $5.4 million round. 18 Park and HDS Capital co-led the deal. Alley Watch has more here.

Bioeutectics, a two-year-old startup based in Mendoza, Argentina, that produces green solvents for use in industries including food, pharmaceuticals, personal care, cosmetics, and agrotech, raised a $2.1 million round led by Atento Capital and including Fen Ventures, GridX, Synesqo Ventures, and IndieBio. LatamList has more here.

Boomerang, a two-year-old Miami startup that provides lost-and-found management software for airports, resorts, and sports venues, raised a $4.9 million led by LightShed Ventures and including GGV, GoldHouse, Harlo Capital, Dream Ventures, Lake Nona Fund, and SeventySix Capital. Sports Business Journal has more here.

CardioSignal, a seven-year-old Finnish startup whose mobile app uses smartphone sensors to monitor heart health and detect potential issues, raised a $10 million Series A round led by DigiTx Partners, with additional funds provided by Sandwater and previous investor Maki.vc. The company has raised a total of $15.2 million. MobiHealthNews has more here.

DXwand, a five-year-old Cairo- and Dubai-based startup that uses AI to streamline customer interactions in sectors like government, education, healthcare, e-commerce, fintech, telecom, and legal, raised a $4 million Series A round co-led by Shorooq Partners and Algebra Ventures, with previous investor Dubai Future District Fund also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

HEAL Security, a two-year-old Menlo Park startup that focuses on protecting healthcare organizations from cyber threats, raised a $4.6 million pre-seed round led by Health2047, with Evidium, HOPPR, Medcurio, Phenomix Sciences, ScholarRx, SiteBridge Research, and Zing Health also piling on. More here.

Heex, a four-year-old Paris startup whose platform assists in processing and analyzing large volumes of data generated by autonomous vehicles, raised a $6.5 million seed round from Shift Invest, Karista, and Techstars. The company has raised a total of $10 million. Tech.eu has more here.

Isaac Health, a two-year-old New York startup that offers virtual healthcare services focused on brain health and memory issues, including dementia and Alzheimer's disease, raised a $5.7 million seed round co-led by Meridian Street Capital and B Capital, with Primetime Partners, Co-Found Partners, VU Venture Partners, and AirAngels also anteing up. Fierce Healthcare has more here.

Prompt Security, a Tel Aviv startup that focuses on protecting businesses against cybersecurity risks associated with generative AI tools, raised a $5 million seed round led by Hertz Ventures, with Four Rivers also chipping in. TechCrunch has more here.

Send AI, a two-year-old Amsterdam startup that uses AI to help businesses extract and manage data from complex documents, particularly in verticals such as insurance, raised a $2.4 million round co-led by Gradient Ventures and Keen Venture Partners. TechCrunch has more here.

Sequence, a one-year-old Tel Aviv startup whose software allows users to visualize and control their money flow, set automatic rules for savings and investments, and manage multiple financial accounts, raised a $5.5 million round. Aleph was the lead investor. CTech has more here.

STAN, a one-year-old Bangalore startup that has created an esports fan engagement platform that allows fans to interact and engage with celebrities and famous personalities, raised a $2.7 million pre-Series A round. Investors included Aptos Labs, Pix Capital, Maelstrom Fund, and GFR Fund as well as previous investor General Catalyst. The Economic Times has more here.

Synonym Finance, a Toronto startup that provides a platform for cross-chain lending and borrowing, allowing users to transact across multiple blockchain networks, raised a $1.5 million round led by Borderless Capital, with Robot Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, and Veris Ventures also investing. More here.

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Innovation Endeavors just closed its fifth fund with $630 million in capital commitment, its largest fund to date. Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, started the firm in 2010 with Dror Berman, Scott Brady and Rick Scanlon to invest at the intersection of science and technology. TechCrunch has more here.

Luko, a French startup that offered offer "digital-first" home insurance services, has been acquired by Allianz Direct for a mere $4.65 million.

The rumor is that Cerebras Systems, a seven-year-old startup based in Sunnyvale, Ca., that has designed a wafer-scale AI chip that it claims is significantly larger and more powerful than conventional chips, is talking to bankers about a $4+ billion IPO. Some of the outfit's earliest backers include Eclipse and Benchmark. Bloomberg has more here.

Investors in Chinese fashion retailer and IPO candidate Shein are reportedly trying to sell their shares on the secondary market at a sharp discount. 

One of the first major, planned IPO debuts of the year is off to a rocky start, reports the WSJ. It says that healthcare-services company BrightSpring, backed by KKR, is on track to price its IPO below expectations after investors balked at the original price range.

Growth venture firm TCV has promoted Michael Kalfayan, Shalini Rao, and Julia Novaes Roux from Partner to General Partner. They work in TCV's London, Menlo Park, and New York offices, respectively. More here. 

Bill Gates is a big fan of humanoid robots.

Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees across its Activision Blizzard and Xbox divisions. TechCrunch has more here. 

Veho, a seven-year-old New York startup that provides last-mile delivery and return services for e-commerce businesses, is cutting 65 heads or 19% of its workforce. As TechCrunch reminds us, Veho was the company that raised a $170 million Series B round from Tiger Global at a $1.5 billion valuation two months after raising a $125 million Series A led by General Catalyst at a $1+ billion valuation. 

Salesforce is reportedly laying off around 700 employees across the company in the latest round of tech industry layoffs. According to the WSJ, those impacted comprise around 1% of the roughly 70,000-person company, which one year ago, laid off 10% of its workers, or around 8,000 employees.

Despite its protestations to the contrary, the Defense Department doesn't seem to be buying what tech startups are selling. 

OpenAI says the latest update of ChatGPT-4 will make the AI model less lazy.

Speaking of OpenAI, the company responded to a critique from the Congressional Black Caucus, acknowledging that its all-white, all-male board is a problem. TechCrunch has more here. 

A couple who were on a babymoon in Cabo started started to wonder whether they were in an episode of Black Mirror when they realized that they were the only people staying at their five-star resort.

A penguin tried to catch a flight at a New Zealand airport. Chaos ensued.

An amazing lip-sync battle between two police departments.

A 28,000 square foot Anguilla estate on 1.7 acres is going up for auction in February with no reserve.

Does Porsche have a problem when its all-electric Macan SUV can dust most of its legendary 911s?