Plus: NT-Tao raised $22M for nuclear fusion technology
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Battery startup Our Next Energy secured $300M in funding through its Series B round. The firm intends to use the incoming funds to accelerate the construction of its lithium-iron-phosphate battery gigafactory, which is estimated to cost $1.6B to build. More: - Our Next Energy was valued at $1.2B post money at the funding round.
- The gigafactory will have an initial production capacity of two gigawatt-hours, which will be scaled up to 20 gigawatt-hours over the next three years.
- Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton led the Series B round, with participation from Temasek, Coatue, Riverstone Holdings, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BMW i Ventures, and others.
- The current round is 12 times bigger than the firm's $12M Series A round and almost 4.5 times larger than the $65M Series A1 round.
- Our Next Energy received $220M in grants from the state of Michigan, where the factory will be located.
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Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are launching Artifact, an AI-driven personalized news app. The startup is entering a space that includes apps such as Matter, SmartNews, Flipboard, Pocket, and Newsbreak, in addition to Apple News and Google News. More: - The app would feature a curated news selection that would adapt to user interests over time.
- While the product is not yet monetized, the founders said revenue sharing with news publishers would possibly be an option.
- Systrom and Krieger left Instagram in 2018. The photo-sharing app was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $1B.
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Meta received approval from a Judge in California to buy VR startup Within Unlimited. The latter provides VR experiences for workouts and kid stories. More: - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wanted to stop Within's acquisition as part of its antitrust enforcement policies.
- According to the FTC, with the purchase, Meta will dominate the emerging virtual reality market.
- FTC has a week to appeal the ruling.
- The Agency is also trying to stop Microsoft's merger with Activision.
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NT-Tao raised in a Series A funding round $22M for compact and scalable nuclear fusion energy technology. The funding was led by Delek US, a Fortune 500 downstream energy company. More: - The startup is planning to commercialize its nuclear technology by 2030.
- NT-Tao's product leverages ultra-fast plasma heating to reach a density 1,000 times higher than other fusion reactors.
- The startup's goal is to support the transition from conventional energy sources, like oil and gas, towards clean fusion energy technology.
- NT-Tao's total funding has reached $28M.
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Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI transcription startup Verbit is set to leave Israel, citing concerns about the impact of judicial reforms proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CEO Tom Livne confirmed that the firm would also stop paying taxes in the nation. Livne hopes that other startups follow in his footsteps. More: - Prime Minister Netanyahu's proposed reform is poised to give the government the power to override Supreme Court decisions by a slim majority and oversee judicial appointments.
- The reforms are facing public backlash, with venture fund Disruptive AI's Tal Barnoach calling it a "judicial coup."
- Venture firm Disruptive AI and startup Papayal Global announced last week that they are moving their funds out of Israel, but they will continue to operate in the nation.
- Barnoach argued that the reform would give the government the power to make changes at their discretion, including changing tax rates and regulations for companies.
- Verbit developed an AI-powered transcription platform that is used in courthouses and universities.
- The startup is valued at $2B, per CNBC.
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LifeAt, a startup working on productivity software, announced it raised $3M. The company claims over one million downloads, driven by TikTok videos of the productivity tools. More: - The software's features include to-do lists, calendars, a Pomodoro timer, soundtracks, and virtual backdrops.
- LifeAt graduated from Y Combinator last summer and gained investments from Meta, MySpace co-founder Aber Whitcomb, Pioneer Labs, and SV Tech.
- The startup was founded by Devin Ajimine, former product manager at T-Mobile; Pouya Rad, who worked as an engineer at Vimeo; and Marisa Chentakul, former product designer at TikTok.
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Quick Hits: - This year, try a resolution that sticks — going to therapy with BetterHelp. Save 25% off your first month.*
- Converge, an accelerator launched by OpenAI just a month ago, has already invested in 10 companies. Along with the funding, OpenAI is offering licensing discounts and early access to upcoming technologies.
- Seed-stage startups in New York City secured $447M in venture funding in Q4 2022, down 48% from the previous quarter's $860M.
- Documate, a startup building no-code legal automation tools, rebranded to Gavel. It also appointed Pierre Martin as its chief technology officer.
- Google launched its accelerator program to support women founders in Africa. The program is an extension of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Programme and will have a 12-week program starting March 2023.
- Aviation staffing and data analytics platform Portside secured $50M in Series B funding led by Insight Partners.
- Automation is your finance team's best productivity strategy. See five finance tasks you should be automating today.*
*This is sponsored content.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.
Nicolas is a Sr. Analyst at Inside, covering startups and transportation trends. He is an avid map maker and data nerd. Nicolas has worked in the shared-scooter space, as well as advised e-bike and moped start-ups.
Martin Ruiz-Cantu is a Business Researcher at Inside.com. He has a Master's in Global Business and Finance from Georgetown University. He previously worked at HSBC and the World Bank. He is passionate about finance, startups and tech.
| | | | Editor | Vibha Chapparike is a Freelance Writer & Editor at Inside.com. With her post-graduation in Management and Finance completed, Vibha is expanding her knowledge in venture capital, business, startups, and technology. She has had a career in public relations and communications. An ardent reader and writer currently residing in Singapore, you can follow Vibha on Twitter @VChapparike. | |
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