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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - North America, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌎️
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📰 Important News
- Anthropic released Opus 4.5 with stronger benchmarks, new memory, endless chat, and Chrome and Excel integrations to boost agentic performance.
- xAI is planning an 88-acre solar farm for its Colossus data center while facing backlash over unpermitted gas turbines and rising pollution nearby.
- Warner announced it has reached a deal with Suno, settling its copyright lawsuit against the AI music startup.
- Anduril faced numerous setbacks during testing of its autonomous weapons systems, according to the WSJ.
- The New York Times alleged David Sacks’ role in shaping Trump’s AI and crypto policy could benefit his investments, though he denied any conflicts.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- X-energy raised $700 million in a Series D round to expand its SMR supply chain, pushing total funding to $1.8 billion as it secures major orders.
- Zipline secured $150 million from the U.S. State Dept. to expand its Africa drone network, boosting HIV care for 15,000 facilities and 100 million people.
- Harmonic landed a $120 million Series C at a $1.45 billion valuation to scale its Aristotle MSI model after gold-medal IMO performance.
- Model ML closed a $75 million Series A led by FT Partners to scale its AI platform automating workflows for banks, asset managers, and consultancies.
- Range secured a $60 million Series C led by Scale Venture Partners to expand its AI wealth platform Rai, accelerate hiring and grow its West Coast presence.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Jeff Bezos’ AI startup Project Prometheus acquired computer agent maker General Agents, bringing its Ace automation tech and team onboard.
- Paxos acquired institutional wallet provider Fordefi to unify advanced MPC custody with its regulated infrastructure.
- Usio acquired PostCredit in an all-stock deal to integrate its expense management and banking platform with Usio’s payments and card issuing stack.
- FluidAI Medical acquired Emmetros to strengthen its AI-driven Stream Inara platform and expand its RISE surgical recovery program.
- Energy Overwatch acquired Porosity to integrate its AI-driven workflow and data platform into its compliance SaaS ecosystem.
🏦 About Investors
- Entrée Capital raised $300 million across two funds lifting assets under management to $1.5 billion to back pre-seed through Series B rounds.
- Qumra Capital promoted Omri Strul to Partner of its Opportunity Fund which backs late-stage pre-IPO and pre-exit companies.
- Hercules Capital appointed Ella Tamar Adhanan to lead its Israel operations and open a local office as the venture lender aims to expand.
- Guillaume Mercier left BDC’s Industrial Innovation Fund amid ongoing leadership turnover at the bank as BDC restructures funds and teams.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
X-energy
X-energy, founded in 2009 by Kam Ghaffarian, has quickly become one of the most ambitious players in advanced nuclear as it scales its Xe-100 small modular reactor platform from its base in the United States. The company designs high-temperature reactors and manufactures TRISO fuel, a meltdown-proof technology central to next-generation clean power. Backed by a landmark $700 million Series D led by Jane Street, with support from ARK Invest, Point72, Reaves, and other major climate and infrastructure investors, X-energy is now pushing more than 11 gigawatts of projects through its orderbook. Under CEO J. Clay Sell, the company aims to deliver reliable, carbon-free baseload energy for utilities, industry, and hyperscale data centers worldwide.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Entrée Capital
Entrée Capital, founded in 2010 and operating from Tel Aviv, London, and New York, has grown into a global early-stage venture capital firm managing $1.5 billion across nine funds. The firm specializes in pre-seed to Series A investing with a sharpened focus on AI-native software, deeptech, quantum, crypto infrastructure, and dual-use technologies. This week, Entrée secured $300 million in new funds, doubling down on frontier innovation across Israel, Europe, the UK, and the United States. Led by partners Avi Eyal, Eran Bielski, Ran Achituv, Tomer Niv and Yoni Osherov, the firm continues backing category-defining founders and scaling contrarian ideas that shape the next generation of global technology companies.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: The Imagine H2O Accelerator
The Imagine H2O Accelerator is now open for applications until December 19, 2025, offering a zero-equity program designed to help early-stage water and climate tech founders scale globally. Startups gain access to world-class mentorship, pilot funding, investor networks, and a strong industry ecosystem, with participation open to teams worldwide, including all African markets. The 2026 program cycle begins soon, supporting innovators developing breakthrough solutions across water management, quality, access, and sustainability. Apply now to accelerate your technology and enter new markets.
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