Last-Minute Deals of 2024: Bench Saved by the Bell & More

Startups Weekly: A Recap of Key Events

Greetings and welcome to Startups Weekly – a curated summary of the most important developments within the startup ecosystem. Interested in receiving this update directly in your inbox each Friday? Sign up here.

Entering 2025 with Growing Momentum

The initial days of 2025 saw a moderate pace of announcements from the startup community. However, a noticeable increase in activity is now being observed.

Preparations are also underway for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). If your company is a hardware-focused startup exhibiting at CES, please inform us of your presence.

Key Highlights This Week

• Startup funding activity is beginning to accelerate.
• CES is anticipated to be a significant event for hardware startups.
• Opportunities exist to connect with the Startups Weekly team at CES.

We aim to provide comprehensive coverage of the startup landscape, delivering valuable insights to our readers. Stay tuned for further updates as the week progresses.

Notable Startup Developments of the Week

Mergers and acquisitions continued to occur, even as dealmaking slowed in other areas. Activity wasn’t intentionally halted.

A timely acquisition: Bench, a Canadian startup specializing in accounting services, which unexpectedly ceased operations recently, is set to be acquired by Employer.com, an HR technology firm. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The final large transaction of 2024: World Wide Technology (WWT), a technology services provider headquartered in St. Louis, has reached an agreement to purchase Softchoice, a Canadian IT solutions provider. The acquisition will be completed with an all-cash payment, valuing Softchoice at approximately $1.25 billion.

A final shutdown in 2024: Epicery, a French company focused on food delivery, has ended its operations after operating for nine years. The company had been part of Geopost/DPDgroup since 2021, and this followed a substantial loss incurred from the sale of Stuart, a last-mile delivery service.

The first major deal of 2025: Thomson Reuters has finalized the acquisition of SafeSend, a company specializing in tax automation, for a total of $600 million in an all-cash deal.

Deal under scrutiny: The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated an investigation into IBM’s proposed acquisition of HashiCorp, a cloud software vendor. This follows a similar investigation already underway by the Federal Trade Commission.

Increased competition anticipated: Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, discussed the company’s evolving strategy to more directly compete with privately held prediction market startups, including Kalshi and Polymarket, in a recent interview with TechCrunch.

• Key Takeaway: Despite broader economic conditions, significant M&A activity persisted.

Strategic shifts are evident as companies reposition themselves for growth and navigate evolving market landscapes.

Notable Fundraises of the Week

Despite a generally slow start to the year, several startups secured funding this week, with a significant number of announcements originating from companies outside of the United States.

Key Investment Highlights

Here's a closer look at some of the most interesting funding rounds:

Calo: Revolutionizing Meal Delivery

Calo, a meal delivery startup headquartered in Riyadh, has successfully raised $25 million in new capital. This funding will be used to facilitate expansion beyond the Middle East.

The company intends to pursue a global reach and focus on providing increasingly personalized food customization options to its customers.

Carecode: AI-Powered Healthcare Solutions

A $4.3 million pre-seed round was secured by Carecode, a Brazilian startup specializing in the development of AI agents for application within the healthcare industry.

The investment round was spearheaded by a16z and QED, with additional participation from Endeavor Catalyst, KDX Ventures, K50 Ventures, and Latitud Ventures.

Apheris: Advancing Federated Computing in Life Sciences

Apheris, a German startup focused on utilizing federated computing for AI applications in the life sciences, has announced an $8.25 million Series A funding round.

This round was led by prominent deep tech venture capital firms, eCAPITAL and OTB Ventures, demonstrating confidence in the company’s innovative approach.

Notable Venture Capital and Fund Updates This Week

Continued Investment: Accel has successfully secured $650 million for its eighth fund dedicated to investments in India. The firm has been strategically increasing its attention towards opportunities within rural India.

Several companies within Accel’s Indian investment portfolio are projected to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) in the current year.

Future Outlook: TechCrunch gathered insights from twenty venture capitalists, requesting their forecasts for the enterprise technology landscape in 2025. Predictions ranged from the rise of AI agents to shifts in enterprise spending.

Nina Achadjian, a partner at Index Ventures, foresees increased liquidity in 2025. This anticipated increase will be observed in both mergers and acquisitions, as well as the public markets.

Climate Tech and AI Convergence: Tim De Chant of TechCrunch suggests that 2025 will mark a significant turning point for climate technology. The sector is expected to increasingly integrate artificial intelligence.

This integration is driven by the rapidly growing demand for computational power. Consequently, innovation aimed at minimizing environmental impact will be crucial.