SignalPulse:

WHAT’S INSIDE

Breaking News: Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs targets €3B, SoftBank To raise $22.5B for OpenAI, & Tesla’s $56B Musk Pay Package Reinstated

Open Deals: WYDE’s $EAT launches with 1.5M trades and 500+ meals funded in one week, directing 25% of trading fees to hunger relief, About WYDE.

Large Rounds: Lovable $330M at $6.6B, Radiant Nuclear $300M+ at $1.8B &Tebra raises $250M

Exit Watching: Notion’s employee share sale at an $11B valuation, Nvidia acquires SchedMD, and Coursera acquires Udemy in a $2.5B all-stock deal.

The Funding Buzz: Dragoneer raises $4.3B, S3’s $250M Fund VIII, & Krafton launches a $670M Unicorn Growth Fund focused on India with Naver and Mirae Asset.

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BREAKING NEWS

Big tech moves, movers and trends to watch this week

[OPEN DEAL] LeCun's AI Venture — Yann LeCun, departing Meta's AI chief role, aims to raise 500M at a €3B valuation for AMI Labs, focusing on "world models" AI and driving European AI innovation.

SoftBank Races for OpenAI Deal — The Tokyo investment giant is securing $22.5B for OpenAI by year-end through selling Nvidia and T-Mobile stakes plus margin loans.

Musk's $56B Pay Package Restored — The Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Elon Musk's $56B compensation package with Tesla on December 21, 2025, underscoring the financial and strategic significance of his leadership.

NYSE Eyes Crypto Payments — The NYSE's parent company is considering investing in crypto payment platform MoonPay, highlighting its growing influence in digital assets and appeal to major financial institutions.

Trump Trade — Tariffs and tax cuts create economic uncertainty with inflation concerns. The Fed faces interest rate challenges as unemployment rises and wage growth slows despite a climbing tech-fueled stock market.

Pentagon Urged to Scrutinize Chinese Tech — Nine U.S. lawmakers urged the Pentagon to examine DeepSeek, Xiaomi, and BOE Technology for allegedly supporting the Chinese military, following a $1 trillion military spending bill amid national security concerns.

Tech Giants Warn on Visa Delays — Google and Apple cautioned employees with U.S. work visas (H-1B, F visas) against international travel due to embassy delays for visa stamping. Trump administration vetting measures cause up to 12-month delays.

Resolve AI Hits $1B Valuation — The AI startup founded by former Splunk executives reached a $1B valuation after its Series A funding round, highlighting rapid growth and potential impact in the AI industry.

[OPEN DEAL] WYDE’s $EAT Impact Token Special Feature

Startups, firms or funds actively raising capital this week

WYDE just hit 500 meals funded through trading activity on its $EAT End Hunger Token on the first Impact Exchange regulated under Wyoming’s DUNA law. We have published a number of articles on the opportunity this week. Trade it now.

Aaron Rafferty on WYDE — Founder on the $592 Billion nonprofit fundraising machine and the blockchain and DUNA-powered channel that could make it bigger.

Meet the Founders — Episode 235 of Disruptors for GOOD, WYDE founders Martin Simms and Aaron Rafferty explain how their impact exchange turns trading activity into ongoing nonprofit funding with on chain transparency.

WYDE’s $EAT Token Launch — On Coinbase's Base network, the DUNA directs 25% of trading fees to hunger relief organizations, aiming to support the 47M food-insecure Americans.

WYDE & One Project on Public Investing — An independent report highlights the benefits of participatory investing projects like $EAT, showing improved outcomes across scales and sectors.

IN THE MONEY

Companies that raised money in the past week and why they matter

Massive Deals

Lovable — The Swedish vibe-coding startup raised $330M in a Series B round, tripling its valuation to $6.6B in five months. With $200M in ARR, notable clients include Klarna and Uber.

Radiant Nuclear — The California-based company develops 1 MW microreactors to replace diesel generators. It raised over $300M at a $1.8B valuation, led by Draper Associates and Boost VC.

Tebra — The EHR+ platform provider raised $250M in funding led by Hildred and J.P. Morgan to boost AI capabilities in practice management, including EHR, billing, and patient experience.

MoEngage — The Indian customer engagement platform raised a $180M Series F at $900M+ to enhance AI capabilities and support U.S. and EU expansion. Targets 35% annual growth and EBITDA positivity this quarter.

Syremis Therapeutics — The mental health biotech startup secured $165M in funding to develop treatments for schizophrenia and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Imprint — The customer engagement and loyalty startup raised a $150M Series D at $1.2B to enhance its platform, focusing on real-time rewards and personalization.

Atavistik Bio — The MA based biotech firm raised a $120M Series B led by Nextech Invest and The Column Group. Funds will advance allosteric therapeutics.

Mythic — The US semiconductor company secured $125M to tackle AI's energy consumption with a chip architecture 100x more efficient than current GPUs for industries like robotics and automotive

Ambros Therapeutics — A biopharma startup co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy raised $125M Series A to advance neridronate for complex regional pain syndrome. Led by RA Capital Management and Patient Square Capital

Large Deals

Edison — Edison, a spinout from FutureHouse, raised $70M to develop AI scientists for biology and chemistry research to accelerate research by data analysis and hypothesis generation.

Mirelo — The AI video startup focuses on solving the silent video issue raised $41M with backing from Index and a16z.

Fluency — The Burlington-based Digital Advertising Operating System startup secured $40M in a Series A led by Integrity Growth Partners. ~$3B in media spend.

Axion — The AI platform for manufacturing quality company raised $37M in Series B funding led by Salesforce Ventures to integrate with Salesforce ecosystem.

Neurable — The Boston-based brain-computerinterface (BCI) company raised $35M in a Series A round led by Spectrum Moonshot Fund, totaling $65M raised.

Codoxo — The AI-powered healthcare payment integrity provider raised $35M in a Series C round led by CVS Health Ventures, bringing total funding to over $75M.

Valerie Health — The healthcare automation startup, co-founded by Peter Shalek and Nitin Joshi, raised $30M in a Series A round led by Redpoint Ventures.

Thread Bancorp — The embedded banking startup raised $30.5M, combining an initial $27.6M and a $2.9M extension. The round was led by Portage Ventures.

Smaller Deals

Vital Lyfe — The California-based startup founded by former SpaceX engineers raised $24M seed to develop portable water-making technology. Systems create clean drinking water from natural sources, targeting remote areas and emergencies.

DataLane — The U.S.-based identity platform startup raised $22.5M Series A led by Amplify Partners. The AI-driven technology provides verified local business information using over two billion real-time data points.

Sequence — The London and New York based revenue platform for finance teams raised $20M from 645 Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Founded in 2022, it serves over 100 clients and will use funds for AI development.

HEN Technologies — The California-based AI firm closed a $20M Series A and added $2M venture debt to advance its Fluid-IQ platform. Funding will expand IoT-enabled hardware to build a comprehensive fire dataset for firefighting innovation.

Thread — The NYC-based AI service desk platform for managed service providers secured $18M growth funding, totaling $30M. Led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, funds will enhance AI solutions to automate support processes for MSPs.

Verisoul — The fraud detection startup based in NY/Israel raised $8.8M Series A, totaling over $12M. The platform uses AI for fraud detection by analyzing user behavior and device data.

EXIT WATCHING

Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs

Notion — The San Fran office app unicorn has initiated a share sale for employees at an $11B valuation, with Sequoia, Index Ventures, and GIC purchasing ~$300M.

Netflix — Acquired Ready Player Me, an avatar-creation platform, to bolster its TV gaming strategy, with new TV titles like FIFA. Ready Player Me ending in 2026.

Nvidia — Acquired SchedMD, developer of o-s workload management system to boost its o-s AI capabilities and ensure it remains vendor-neutral, vital for gen AI.

Cursor — The AI company enhancing coding processes, has acquired Graphite, an AI startup from Neo, for an undisclosed amount surpassing $290M.

Clearwater Analytics — Permira and Warburg Pincus are acquiring the Boise investment management software firm for $8.4B (including debt) at a 40% premium, with Francisco Partners and Temasek involvement to boost AI capabilities.

Coursera x Udemy — Coursera is acquiring Udemy in an all-stock transaction valued at ~$2.5B aiming to enhance online learning with AI-powered products.

Luminar — The lidar technology company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following layoffs and legal disputes with Volvo. Founder Austin Russell plans to bid for the company, Valuation down $3B+ with liabilities of $500M - $1B.

Rad Power Bikes — Seattle-based company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to sell within 45-60 days. The e-bike company faces $73M in liabilities and a disputed $8M debt to U.S. Customs.

Sestante Capital LLC — Giovanni Pennetta, manager of the investment firm, faces charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

IPO Watch

Open or upcoming IPOs to watch:

Wealthfront — Wealthfront, a fintech robo-advisor, made its public debut with a $2.1B valuation, raising $485M in its IPO. Despite success in high-yield cash accounts, its stock closed up just 1%. The fintech sector showed mixed performance in 2025, but the CEO remains optimistic about future growth.

Morgan Stanley Eyes SpaceX IPO — Morgan Stanley is positioned as a leader for SpaceX's anticipated IPO, leveraging its Elon Musk connection. SpaceX aims to raise over $25B to fund Starship and AI projects, driven by Starlink success.

THE FUNDING BUZZ

VC & PE Activity To Watch

Dragoneer — Raised $4.3B for its seventh fund, surpassing its target. $30B AUM, focuses on investing in leading tech companies like OpenAI, Airbnb, Datadog, DoorDash, Spotify, and Uber.

S3 Ventures — Texas-based vc firm marks its 20th anniversary with a new $250M Fund VIII. It focuses on software and healthcare, focusing on long-term partnerships.

Krafton — With Naver and Mirae Asset is launching a $670M Unicorn Growth Fund to support Indian technology startups. Plans to invest up to ₹60B expanding beyond gaming to fintech and digital markets.

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