BREAKING: OpenAI raises $110 billion in funding from Amazon, NVIDIA, and SoftBank
Weekly Digest: OpenAI’s Historic $110B Mega-Round, Stripe Hits $159B, and Jack Dorsey’s Radical 40% Cut at Block to Forge an AI-Lean Future
Just in the last few hours, OpenAI announced a staggering $110B raise from Amazon, NVIDIA, and SoftBank — capping off a week already packed with massive venture updates.
To help you make sense of it all, we’ve rounded up the most talked-about startup stories from the past week — broken down into these categories:
🗝️ Read of the week
🔍 Top tech news
💰 Startup funding news
👀 New VC funds
🤝 Acquisitions
🎤 Must-watch interviews
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🗝️ Read of the week
Jack Dorsey just cut nearly half of Block’s workforce — and says more companies could follow.
Since the announcement, Block’s stock has jumped more than 15%.
On Thursday, the billionaire CEO revealed on X that he is reducing Block’s headcount from over 10,000 employees to just under 6,000. The decision comes even as the company reports strong performance and growing profits.
The move offers an early look at what large-scale layoffs could look like in the AI era — and it’s stark.
In his statement, Dorsey explains why he believes dramatically leaner teams are the future. While many tech companies have made smaller workforce reductions in recent years, Block’s cuts stand out for their scale.
The decision raises a bigger question: as AI reshapes how companies operate, will other firms follow suit?
Read the statement in full here.
🔍 Top tech news
UK autonomous driving startup Wayve raised $1.2B in Series D funding at an $8.6B valuation. The round was led by Balderton Capital, Eclipse Ventures, and SoftBank Vision Fund.
After Zomato, former CEO Deepinder Goyal returns with a $54M brain-monitoring bet called Temple, which is described as "A new generation of wearables for a complete picture of your health." It’s part of a broader wave of next-gen health wearables we highlighted in our last edition.
Nvidia challenger AI chip startup MatX raised $500M. The Series B round was led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness.
Plaid valued at $8B has allowed employees to sell some of their shares. The valuation represents a 31% increase from the $6.1B valuation the 13-year-old company achieved in April of last year, when it raised $575M.
Dutch-based AI chip startup Axelera AI raised $250M to take on Nvidia.
Stripe is now valued at $159B following a tender offer for employees.
💰 Startup funding news
London-based Allica Bank raised $155M to expand SMB lending with the round being led by Ventura Capital. The additional funding now values the FinTech at $1.2B.
Y Combinator grad and AI insurance brokerage Harper raised $47M. The Series A round was led by Emergence Capital.
Defence-tech startup Constelli raised $20M led by General Catalyst.
Nimble raised $47M to give AI agents access to real-time web data. The Series B round was led by Norwest.
AI sales startup Letter AI raised $40M Series B four months after its last raise. The round was led by Battery Ventures.
As AI threatens search, Profound raised $96M to help brands stay visible. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Basis raised $100M at a $1.15B valuation to scale AI accounting agents. The Series B round was led by Accel, Google Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Lloyd Blankfein.
Lettings & property management AI-first platform Dwelly raised $93M led by General Catalyst.
UK-based firm BeyondMath raised $10M to expand AI physics simulation platform. The round was led by Cambridge Innovation Capital.
Flux, backed by 8VC, raised $37M to vibe code electronics.
Aalyria raised $100M in Series B funding to help grow laser-powered wireless space network. The round was led by Battery Ventures and J2 Ventures.
👀 New VC funds
Thrive Capital raised $10B for new fund, its largest yet!
Co-founders Chris Hollod and Patrick Finnegan of Second Sight Ventures, just closed a $75M fund.
🤝 Acquisitions
HubSpot acquired YouTube-based media brand Starter Story.
Canva acquired Cavalry, which works on animation, and MangoAI, which works on improving ad performance.
🎤 Must-watch interviews
Subscribe to our podcast to hear from founders, investors, and operators behind some of the most enduring companies.
Previous episodes include:
The $1.7B Mistake That Ended a Founder’s Dream | Colin Angle
Andreessen Horowitz General Partner: Venture Capital’s Future | David Haber.
He Built A $1.8B AI Company With No Experience | Max Junestrand.
Forget AI: Inside the Meltdown That Made Airalo #1 eSIM Unicorn | Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir.
The Hidden Skill Behind Every Successful Founder | Lindsay Kaplan.
The Harsh Truth About Building a Startup in the AI Era | Anish Acharya.
The AI Version of You Will Outperform You — Emad Mostaque.
How Solana Survived When Most Other Coins Fell | Anatoly Yakovenko.
Watch and subscribe now!
