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Venture Capital Trends: Mid Week Edition

Published 24 days ago • 2 min read

VC Update: May 14th

Hello Reader,

Here is a summary of the key Venture Capital relevant developments from May 9th to May 14th, 2025, based on the provided sources:

Venture Capital Trends

  • Supply chain tech VC dealmaking is normalizing, suggesting the sector’s funding pace is settling after a period of flux (PitchBook News, 09.05.2025).
  • Amid heightened geopolitical tensions, venture capital funding for defense technology is surging in Europe (PitchBook News, 07.05.2025), leading to European drone startups like Quantum Systems and Tekever achieving unicorn status (PitchBook News, 07.05.2025). (Note: While this specific point is from May 7th, it provides context for the ongoing trend noted in subsequent summaries). Final Frontier is also launching a defencetech fund backed by a former NATO Secretary (Tech.eu, 12.05.2025).
  • Private markets are facing uncertainty due to sweeping tariff changes and public market volatility, impacting the hope for a strong fund return rebound in 2025 (PitchBook Research, 11.05.2025).
  • Some firms are favoring employee share sales over traditional IPOs as an exit strategy (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 13.05.2025).

Biggest Deals

  • Anysphere raised a $900 million Series C round at a $9 billion valuation, highlighting significant growth in the “vibe coding” space (PitchBook Research, 11.05.2025), and was noted among major funding rounds (FinSMEs, 09.05.2025) and tech deals (FinSMEs, 12.05.2025).
  • Addepar raised a $230 million Series G round (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025). Addepar develops technology for wealth management (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025).
  • Bestow secured a $120 million Series D round (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025). Bestow is focused on life insurance technology (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025).
  • Owner raised a $120 million Series C round (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025). Owner focuses on restaurant technology (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025).
  • Saildrone secured $60 million in funding for maritime autonomy (PitchBook News, 13.05.2025), also noted as a significant fundraising (FinSMEs, 13.05.2025).
  • Tobin Scientific raised $65 million (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025), also mentioned among funding activities (FinSMEs, 09.05.2025) and significant fundraising rounds (FinSMEs, 12.05.2025).

Notable Exits (IPOs, M&A) and Company Shutdowns

  • Coinbase is acquiring Deribit for $2.9 billion, a significant merger and acquisition in the crypto/Fintech space (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025) (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 09.05.2025).
  • DoorDash is acquiring Deliveroo, marking a major M&A activity (PitchBook Research, 11.05.2025) within the European tech ecosystem (Tech.eu, 12.05.2025).
  • Tripledot Studios acquired AppLovin’s gaming portfolio (Tech.eu, 12.05.2025).
  • Faircraft acquired VitroLabs assets (Tech.eu, 12.05.2025).
  • OpenAI is reportedly in talks to buy AI coding startup Windsurf for $3 billion (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025).
  • eToro, the Israeli retail trading platform, priced its U.S. IPO above range at $52 a share (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025).

VC Ecosystem Updates

  • Work-Bench, a New York-based VC firm, closed its fourth fund at $160 million, emphasizing its focus on enterprise tech in New York (Term SheetFortune, 12.05.2025) (StrictlyVC, 14.05.2025) (Term SheetFortune, 14.05.2025).
  • Bosch launched a new venture fund valued at €250 million (Tech.eu, 12.05.2025).
  • Arbitrum Gaming Ventures launched a $200 million initiative (FinSMEs, 09.05.2025).
  • Crowd Power Ventures launched a $20 million fund (FinSMEs, 09.05.2025).
  • Matchpoint Ventures launched its $30 million inaugural fund (FinSMEs, 13.05.2025).
  • Symphonic Capital, an Oakland-based VC firm, closed a $13.5 million debut fund focused on fintech and healthcare (StrictlyVC, 03.05.2025). (Note: This fund close is from May 3rd, slightly outside the main date range, but it was highlighted within a May 9th summary).

​

Cryptocurrency

  • Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025) (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 12.05.2025).
  • There was a failed bipartisan attempt to regulate stablecoins in the US (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025).
  • Meta is reentering the crypto market with stablecoins (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025).
  • Coinbase is acquiring Deribit for $2.9 billion, a significant M&A deal in the crypto space (StrictlyVC, 09.05.2025) (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 09.05.2025).
  • The SEC reached a settlement with Ripple Labs (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 12.05.2025).
  • Coinbase debated investing a significant portion of its balance sheet in Bitcoin (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 12.05.2025).
  • Coinbase will join the S&P 500 index (Exec Sum - Litquidity, 13.05.2025).

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